America vs. England: On-Campus Housing

During my freshman year of university, I lived in "traditional" style housing in the honors dorms on campus. My roommate moved out halfway through the year, and I had the room to myself, I was right across from the bathroom and laundry room that I shared with maybe 12 others, and I had a sink in my room. It was kind of awesome.

In my sophomore year, I was an RA in truly traditional style housing, and while I didn't have a roommate, I shared a bathroom with 30 people. There was one shoebox of a kitchen and 8 washers and dryers shared between 350 residents. I lived with freshmen coming straight out of the pandemic who had no in-person classes for two years, and you could tell.

This year, things are very different. I'm staying in a flat, with my own bathroom and double bed. I have my own heating system and a huge window, and there was never an option to share my flat with anybody else. In fact, nobody who lives on my campus has to share a room or bathroom. I still live with first-year students, but there are only 7 of us sharing one kitchen and living space. I still share 8 washers and dryers with around 200 people, but the personal bathroom outweighs that.

Don't worry - we still have a reception desk you can visit when you get locked out of your flat or need to pick up your mail. If you're looking to study abroad and aren't sure whether an on-campus flat is a good option, it's nothing like on-campus American housing and is definitely worth exploring.