No matter which university you enrol at, you will find a range of accommodation at a variety of prices, from shared houses to studio flats.
Accommodation can be provided by the universities themselves or in partnership with private providers. And wherever you find a university, you will find a raft of private landlords and lettings agencies with houses available for students to share.
There’s a great deal of variation in price and quality – not just regionally, but also between different universities and private providers.
The NUS-Unipol accommodation costs survey of 2015 showed that Wales had the cheapest university-provided accommodation, averaging £107.73 per week, and Greater London was most expensive, at £181.62.
Yorkshire had the cheapest privately provided accommodation, averaging £119.93, while Greater London was dearest, at £250.67. The national average for university accommodation was £134.23; privately provided accommodation averaged £168.94.
But university accommodation isn’t always cheaper than private suppliers – in Yorkshire and the East Midlands, for example, private sector accommodation actually comes in at a lower cost.
In London, where most accommodation is owned by companies rather than universities, rents are very high, at 69% above the national average.
Some providers charge a booking or administration fee, most will require a deposit, and you may need to provide a rent guarantor, so always check before you sign.
‘It was all sorted within a few weeks’
Rani Issac, who got her University of Bedfordshire place through Clearing, also landed a nice room
I passed my A-levels with good grades but didn’t get the three As I needed to get into my first choice, which was Sheffield. And I didn’t get into my second choice either. All of a sudden I was like: “Oh my gosh, what am I going to do?”
Clearing saved me, with a place at the University of Bedfordshire, but then I needed to find somewhere to live. They advised me to apply for university accommodation and I was offered an en suite room in Fitzroy Court, which is literally a one-minute walk from campus. It was all sorted within a couple of weeks.
I was nervous about moving away from home, but during the application process, you could say what kind of people you wanted to live with to make sure you ended up with like-minded housemates. And thanks to the social media groups and social spaces, such as TV and games rooms in halls, it was really easy to meet people and make friends, which turned out to be the most important thing.
• Need to know which universities offer the course you are interested in? Consult the Guardian University Guide 2017.
