Moving away from home can be daunting, especially if you haven’t done it before. It was for me when I was a first year, and the idea of living in shared accommodation was intimidating yet also very exciting!

Bournemouth University have multiple options for student accommodation, for instance Dorchester House where I stayed in my first year. Others include, but not exclusively: Baily Point; Cranborne House; Purbeck House and Student Village.

How I decided on my accommodation

Choosing the right accommodation was really important to me and the first thing I did was to look at the options BU had on their website.

Key things I considered:

• Location of accommodation in relation to studies and amenities (e.g. shops)
• Cost of each accommodation
• The designs of the rooms
• The descriptions of the accommodations on the BU website.
• How many people I would ideally like to live with

I ended up choosing Dorchester House as I liked the location, near the ASDA supermarket and it was also a short walk to Lansdowne Campus where I had my lectures. This also fit into my budget for rent. However, if I had been on Talbot Campus, the University run busses from most accommodations to the campus.

It is important to consider what would suit you, whether a typically livelier accommodation or a more known to be quieter student accommodation.

Process of booking my accommodation

Once I had definitely decided I wanted to go to BU and I accepted my place, I was asked to rank my favourite options for accommodation to make it fair for everyone. When it got nearer the time to attending BU I received an email that it was time to choose my individual flat and room! (I was very excited for this part!) 

I logged in online through the accommodation portal and I wrote a short summary about myself so the other students choosing could see a bit about me, but also so I could see a bit about them! This meant that I could see if anyone had similar hobbies or lifestyles as me. I remember I mentioned that I am a friendly person who enjoys to go out, but also enjoys a night in watching TV, or a cycle along the beach!

Once I completed my profile I clicked through and could select the flat I wanted to join. I decided in the end to go for a larger flat of six people as I knew I wanted to be very social, however there are also options to go for smaller flats, or flats with good accessibility which equally were great options!

ResLifeBU

ResLifeBU is a great way while in halls to socialise, relax and get involved while you are studying in BU. Run by Student Representatives, fun activities are organised for halls residents like yoga on the beach; Winter Ice Ball; Arts and Crafts and alcohol – free socials. I got involved a few times with ResLifeBU when I was in first year and it was great to meet people in your halls, and it helped me relax after a day of studying at university! I would really recommend having a look when you move in to see what activities they are running! I particularly liked the beach clean. You can get involved as much, or as little as you like.

My experiences in halls of residence

My experience in halls overall was very positive. I got on with my housemates and I really enjoyed living in my university room. I made sure to make it as comfortable as possible, printing photos off and getting a comfy blanket and pillows to help relax. It is the nature of living with people that sometimes there may not be things you always see eye to eye on, but Bournemouth University can give you confidential advice if you feel like you need some support and the Res Life Reps are also a really lovely contact to have if you feel you would like to chat. Sometimes halls would get a bit noisy but I personally did not mind this too much. I am sure you will enjoy studying, and I hope this has been helpful in thinking about what accommodation would suit you while you study at BU!

I hope this has been helpful.

Find out more

BU accommodation options