Choosing where to live is one of the most critical and exciting decisions you will have to make at the university, and it can be terrifying leaving your various homes to live with an entirely new set of people in a new environment. There is a range of student housing options to pick from, and wherever the student decides to choose affects their academic experience.
It so happens that for some residential schools, students may not need to rent a house outside the school premises from a letting agent. Still, non-residential schools pose great importance of having to look for accommodation outside the school premises.
When the seek for a student housing comes into play, one of the questions asked frequently is, how does it work? Notably, the newbies want someplace so conducive for their day-to-day activities, a place where they can have the feel of being at home. When this question springs up, there are some guides to follow to know exactly how the student housing works.
This question is good because renting a house from a landlord outside the school premises features a unique difference to living on campus or your homes. This is where you need to be sure you are renting the right house, at the right location, and of course, at the right price. To make a move as easy and smooth as possible, there are sets of investigations that should be carried out to ensure your potential abode suits your needs and is worth coughing up money for. This will be a quick guide on how renting a house as a student can be made easy and convenient.
Choose Which Student Housing Option Suits You
It should be noted that whatever choice you make, there are a lot of students in the same shoes who are looking to have that kind of accommodation. After your admission to study a course in a university, and all the admission processes have been trashed out, the next vital step to take is to find someplace conducive to live.
Student housing options include choosing to live in the university-managed accommodation, a privately-rented house that is off the campus or living in your home. The university-managed accommodation comes with a whole lot of benefits which include allowing the first-year student to settle in and get to know the city or country. Survey has shown that over 70% of the students love to live off-campus, starting from the second year onward.
Unsurprisingly, most residential schools give first-year students the opportunity of living in the school houses on campus, and most new students always love to live on campus to know the city well, make few new friends, and study people to know who to live within the second year. From the second year onward, the decisions you make with friends to work with and places to dwell in, play a crucial role in finding the best off-campus accommodation that suits your needs. This is the path followed by most students in their second year onward, and just very few take this path in their first year.
University-Managed Accommodation
Students want to leave the protective arms of their parents to study in a university, and it is wise to make use of this student housing option to have an understanding of the new area, country, and people. Even with that, it may take a while to acclimatize and gel into the new environment.
This university-managed accommodation, located on or near the school campus, is managed by the school management or in conjunction with a private company. They are always of a good standard for learning, and that is because they have to comply with the national code.
The students who are living away from home for the first time will find this accommodation very helpful, and that is because you can easily mingle with people like you for good relationships, and as time wears on, you will become used to the new environment; that is friends helping you settle down.
In this option of accommodation, bills of utilities, internet access, etc. are included in the accommodation fee, in some universities, they include the accommodation fee in the school fees. Here, you will know your budget, and you can always apply directly to the university website.
Additionally, as they are located on or near the campus, it ultimately puts you at the centre of student life, which is one of the things you shouldn’t deprive yourself of while you remain a student. Besides, life is more comfortable with on-campus accommodation, and the maintenance team is always on hand to see your complaints.
Some universities may even provide catered accommodation for students that do not know how to cook or those that don’t want to, though it will definitely increase the cost of accommodation but doesn’t take it away from being another enticing factor to consider before making a student housing choice.
Though, most of the first-year students may decide to stay in this accommodation for reasons beyond getting to know the new environment. Some first-year students may choose to live off the campus because they don’t want to abide by the management’s rules and regulations. This is a common factor some students consider before ditching the on-campus accommodation for the privately-rented accommodation.
Considering all the conveniences that come with on-site accommodation, you may be incurring more cost than making a choice of sticking by a privately-rented accommodation off-campus. This is not to say the latter accommodation is always cheaper than the former, but it varies from school to school.
Privately-Rented Accommodation
Securing privately-rented accommodation, in a student-friendly suburb, that suits your academic, moral, and psychological needs in a new city, or even a new country, can be a daunting and exhaustive task. But, it must be ensured that all desired boxes are ticked before settling for a house. There are many choices students make with renting a home, some may want to live amidst their fellow international students, some may want a perfect location that fits the budget, and some may even want a place where they can feel among people with the local culture so that they can improve their language skills.
Living off the campus in a privately-owned house does have its advantage over the former student housing. Students who make this choice get to live with whoever they wish to wish to live with, and this does well to spark a formidable relationship and bolster a better experience. It is good news that you could use the help of the university accommodation channel to find the available houses off-campus. More so, students are always advised to view the property available for rent to ensure everything is in order before signing up, and this is very crucial to fulfilling your needs.
Another critical point to note is that, mostly, the off-campus houses are relatively of low prices to the university-managed accommodations, but not without paying extra bills. This student housing option leaves you to sort bills for utilities, internet access, contents insurance, and TV license. Fortunately, you may not need to pay council tax as long as everyone in the house is full-time students.
It must also be noted that students must comprehend the rent contract properly to learn about the dos and don’ts of the landlord. More so, it is advisable that the landlord use a tenancy deposit protection scheme. This scheme ensures that the local council can insist on repair if your landlord doesn’t maintain reasonable tenancy standards.
Living at Home
The feeling of freedom when leaving home for an institution is one of the key attractions to university. But, some factors make going to school from home a plus. Many students who decide to study locally will find living home benefitting because they won’t have to settle bills like utilities, accommodation, and food, and there is no fear of having to adapt to new people or places. But, going to school from home may deprive you of the great student life and may be more challenging to make friends away from the lecture halls and student homes.
The benefits of low cost are one of the reasons why people studying locally prefer going to school from home while they enjoy being with their families. In this case, the student doesn’t have much to lose aside not being able to tell how much fun student life is; some may not even have social exposure. But overall, living at home is a great way to maximize saving and cut the necessary cost of staying on campus or living in privately-owned accommodation.
Conclusion
Choosing between the three student housing options is not as easy as it may sound, and that is because they all boast excellent benefits as well as problems associated with them. If you intend to go with either the university-managed accommodation or the privately-rented accommodation, you will need to save up some money, because it might be draining. Most universities will demand an upfront payment or, at least, a deposit while you apply for the on-campus accommodation.
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