Good morning all,
As our application opening date comes ever closer, many of you have been asking for more information on the our room allocation procedure. Today’s blog will be looking at how we allocate our rooms to students.
Are rooms allocated on a first come, first served basis?
The short answer to this is no. If you are an undergraduate and have applied by our guarantee deadline then we will allocate all rooms in a random order, based on the information that you give us in your application. If you apply after our guarantee deadline then these will be processed in date order, we will still look into your preferences when allocating and try our hardest to allocate somewhere that matches these.
How are they allocated?
We allocate the most popular residences first but allocations are randomised. The computer will select at random an application from all students indicating a particular residence as their first choice. We then look at the additional accommodation preferences to allocate students to corridors/flats. This process then continues until the number of students required to fill that residence has been reached. Each application is allocated by a member of our team (not a robot!) so please do put any information you think we should know in your application!
What preferences can I choose when applying?
When you apply for accommodation you will be given 4 preferences for accommodation. You will also be asked a series of questions to help us determine the right place for us to place you. We then allocate this on a priority basis:
- If you would prefer to live in a single or mixed gender flat
- If you would prefer a quiet flat (to live with other people who have mentioned this within their application)
- The ages of people you wish to live with out of the following options: 20 and under, 21-25, 25-35 or over 35
- If you would prefer to live on the ground floor or not
- If you would prefer to live with people who do not drink alcohol
We also have a notes section where you can let us know any additional information that you believe to be relevant to your application. If you wish to live with a friend then you will both need to put each others name and student number in this notes section.
Do you prioritise certain students?
Whilst we allocate rooms randomly in the most-part. Any students with disabilities, health needs or other special supported requirements will be prioritised and considered on a case-by-case basis. If you haven’t already, please do get in touch with our wellbeing services if you have a disability or health condition that will affect your choice of accommodation.
Thank you for reading today’s blog. Remember that our applications open on Monday 4th April. If you have any questions for us in the meantime please do get in touch!
Have a good week!
Accommodation Shannon