Hello everyone! If you have just started your Easter break from school then we hope you are finding some time to relax and wind down from a busy few months.
As we realise that some of you are still making your decision about whether you will put Exeter as your Firm choice (and we really hope you do!), we thought it might be timely to explain what happens about accommodation if Exeter is your insurance choice.
Probably the most important point to make is that you will only be apply for accommodation at Exeter if you have made us your Firm choice. If we are your Insurance choice then you will not be able to create an account or begin the application process until you change your decision and make us your Firm choice. For most students this is likely to happen once your exam results come out, but if this is after 31 July then you will not be covered by our accommodation guarantee.
While you can still submit an application for accommodation to us after 31 July, whether we will be able to make an offer to you will depend entirely on how successful the students who were in our “guaranteed” pot have been in their exams. If everyone does really well, then that means we will fill up all our bedspaces and not have anything left over to offer to the post-guarantee applicants. If some of the guaranteed applicants sadly don’t achieve the grades needed to come to Exeter then this will free up some bedspaces which we can offer to the post-guarantee applicants. We cannot predict what will happen each year, but we do try and come out with a message as soon as possible after A-level results day to advise whether we might have availability, or whether you will need to look at private sector accommodation.
If we are unable to offer you accommodation then you will need to be looking at private sector accommodation. We have lots of resources about how to start this search and the options you might have, and this may well be in privately-run halls of residence in the city which would offer you a very similar experience to our own residences.
Our accommodation application form changes after 31 July, and you will not be able to select a preference for a particular residence, only a preferred type of accommodation (e.g. self-catered or catered, and standard, en-suite or studio). Typically the types of accommodation we have previously been able to offer to post-guarantee applicants are self-catered off campus residences, or twin shared rooms in catered accommodation.
You can find out more about applying after the guarantee deadline on our dedicated webpage.
If you have Exeter as both your Firm and Insurance choice (because you have two different course offers) then you will be able to apply within the guarantee period, but if you end up coming through on your Insurance choice course then your application will no longer be treated as guaranteed and you may need to seek private accommodation. If this scenario might apply to you then we recommend you read the information under point 4 on this page.
We hope this information helps you to consider your options and make the decision that is right for you.
Accommodation Meridith