As the Accommodation team are supporting a virtual Open Day for prospective postgraduate students today, this week’s blog gives a summary of the options for students looking to undertake postgraduate studies from September.
Guarantee
We do have an accommodation guarantee to some postgraduate students who are starting their course in September. You can find out whether you would be covered by the guarantee by checking here.
We will guarantee to make an offer of accommodation if you apply by the guarantee deadline of 31 July 2022 and are:
- An unaccompanied* international postgraduate in your first year of study for the full academic year starting in September as a full-time student. Note: You are defined as an international student if you pay international fees.
- An unaccompanied incoming study abroad or exchange student studying at the University of Exeter for the full academic year starting in September
By submitting an application within the guarantee deadline, it does not mean that we will definitely be able to allocate you to one of your preferences or within on-campus accommodation, but you would be guaranteed a bedspace with us. Applications for accommodation are processed in order of receipt (first come, first served), and we allocate you to your highest preference of residence subject to availability. If your preferred residences are full then you will be allocated to the next available residence.
Before you submit your application, we would recommend that you review our postgraduate accommodation guide and the information on our website to understand the options available to you.
If you are not covered by this guarantee, you can still submit an application to us, and we will be able to assess availability and send you updates during the summer. However, we are not always able to fully assess the situation until September and for this reason you may prefer to go ahead and secure accommodation privately.
Private sector
Many postgraduate students choose to look at accommodation in the City rather than opt for University accommodation and there are a wide range of options available in the private sector. Many of the options are located very close to both the University and the city centre as shown on our walking distance map.
When you are ready to start your search, you may wish to use Studentpad, which is a website administered by us and where local landlords can place adverts for their properties. There is also a Message Board on Studentpad where students may advertise rooms available within a property which they have already secured, or you can say that you are looking for a room.
A large number of students live in the City and there is a support network available via our Wellbeing and Community teams similar to that offered within University accommodation. And remember, Exeter is a relatively small city so the most popular student residential areas are still within easy reach of campus.
Arriving with partners or dependants
There are very limited places in university owned accommodation on our Exeter campus for students with partners and/or with children, meaning the majority of new students who are accompanied with others have to seek private accommodation. In this instance the University cannot guarantee accommodation or accept any responsibility for housing couples, students with families or single parent families.
Currently, the demand for accommodation suitable for families in the South West of England exceeds the supply available and securing accommodation will be difficult, take time to find and be expensive.
Therefore, we would recommend that you do not bring dependants with you to Exeter unless you have secured accommodation.
Contracts
All students need to understand that they will be forming a contract for accommodation and when you have confirmed the acceptance of your booking you will be committed for the whole contract period.
This does mean that once you have agreed to the contract, even if you have not paid money or moved in, then you will be expected to pay in full for the contracted rent. This includes if you move in and then decide to leave at a later date.
Our Students Guild Advice team have lots of helpful information about contracts on their housing webpages.
So we would recommend not agreeing to any contract until you are sure if it right for you. Please remember, that if you have an agent or parents looking into the accommodation for you, once they have agreed to the contract you will be responsible for it and you may not be able to end the contract at a later date. Discuss and agree between you beforehand who will be responsible for securing the accommodation and make sure you know if they will be accepting a contract on your behalf.
Help and advice
The Accommodation team are available to give help and advice about seeking accommodation whether it is with the University or in the private sector.
In most cases we will only be able to signpost you to information as the University cannot find accommodation for you and the final decision about which accommodation you secure will be yours. However, there are lots of options in Exeter for you to explore so take some time considering what works best for you.
Accommodation Helen