But I have to wonder which housing should I choose??? I figure university housing would be the least complicated in getting settled down in, I hope I'm right in that assumption.
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You are right in that university housing is least complicated for getting settled into the new environment. It's also the easiest/quickest way to meet friends and some of your new classmates. If you feel comfortable locking in an apartment through online means (prior to coming here), I would go that route. You can also try to get a hold of some of your future classmates to see if they'd like to go in on a place with you (there are people in my class that did that) If however, you're a little worrisome about both of those routes (like I was) I'd just stick with the university housing option.
Now, with that said... once you move into university housing, you have 2 weeks to change your mind and void your contract. Anything after that, you're pretty much screwed... they will not let you out of your contract unless you find someone to move into your room (in your place). Simple as that. You can bitch and moan all you want to them and they could care less... it's all about the funds.
If I had to do it all over again, I would have moved into housing EARLY and used that time (up to the end of those 2 weeks) to find an apartment of my own.
Ok, so I don't believe in sugar coating things, so now I'm about to go on a bit of a rant. If you don't want to hear ,er, read this, stop reading now.
Moving on...
You will have the option to rank your top 5 choices for university housing. Now, your ability to live in university housing is all about your personality and whether or not you've lived in a dorm-type environment before. I will go on the record and say I have never lived in a dorm before coming to glasgow.... and now I know why.
First, there's Queen Margaret. The newest of the housing options. This was my 1st choice on the list. I didn't get it. Most likely because I put on my application that I didn't want to be placed with a bunch of 18 year olds. I have classmates who were put there.... I believe all but 1 has moved out. I'm told you get 3 roommates, your own bathroom, and a communal kitchen. There is NO area like a common room to hang out it... just the kitchen. Like all the university housing places, all the doors are fire doors. Which means they are heavy and on springs so they stay closed pretty much all the time. They make you feel isolated and the living environment tends to feel cold and unwelcoming. My friends who lived there say they believe the school wants you to socialize with students in other programs... so it's highly unlikely you will be placed with another vet student....
Winton was my second choice... didn't get it...
Wolfson en-suite was my 3rd.... this is where I was placed... and so my hell began. Oh wolfson, what can I say about wolfson. So like I said before, I've never lived in a dorm before.... did I mention I'm also in my late 20s?? So yeah, perhaps I'm a little set in my ways; and in the beginning, I felt bad about always complaining - I didn't want to be labeled the complaining American... but I didn't have to worry about that for long as the majority of the students staying here complain, including the UK kids. So where should I begin...
The benefits of en-suite: you have your own bathroom/shower; room gets cleaned once/week. The end.
The cons of Wolfson:
- the food is horrendous. It's not the scottish food... it's Wolfson food. If you're a vegetarian (like me) it's even worse. Vegetarians get 1 food option per meal (eg - vegetarian lasagna; non-veg's get 2 options (chicken or fish). I've gotten yelled at for pouring myself a glass of milk at dinner - milk is for breakfast or with your tea at night. The quiche and scrambled eggs, well - you can squeeze out of them about 1/4 cup of water per serving. Gross. going back to the 1 option for vegetarians... the vegetarian chile is so spicy it's hardly edible; thus you are left without a food option. I will say, their soups, the vegetarian lasagna and the vegetarian pizza is the only food I like. The vegetables that are served have been boiled down so much that they have zero flavor... and zero nutrients. Bring vitamin supplements with you!!
The worst part about the whole food thing... you don't have an option to get the meal plan. Everyone pays for it. And... you DO NOT have a FULL kitchen!!! They failed to mention this to me. Your new kitchen will consist of 2 cupboards, a very small fridge (everyone steals around here), a kettle (it puts little black bits into your water cause its so old), a toaster (that's fine), and a microwave (fine again). There is NO stove/oven. You are not allowed to have any kind of appliance outside of that provided (so no George Foreman grill).
I got a month into term 2 and I have given up all together. I refuse to eat the wolfson food (except for breakfast - can't really screw up cereal). So I now pay double for food (wolfson's already collecting a monthly payment and I shop for my own) I have to hang my 'cold' food outside of my window... leave it in the communal kitchen and it will be gone within a day.
- The mail box: It's a big box that consists of a bunch of smaller boxes. You get a key... not to your own box, but to the box that has the first letter of your last name. So, anyone with an 'R' last name, gets their mail in that same box. My bank statements have been left in the box; my friends bank card pin number has been left in the box; another friend's check book, left in the box. So basically, it's a game of how well do you trust those around you with your personal information. If you get a big package, or something they think is important (emphasis on the 'think'), they are supposed to hold it behind the front desk and slip a paper in the mail box saying come pick it up. Now, you are supposed to sign the paper and then they give you the package. My first time doing this: I signed for my package and realized they didn't even ask for I.D. to make sure it was me. So I politely asked, how do you know it's me that's signing for it. Their exact words, "We trust you." I was floored. When I pushed it further, I was told that if they had to check IDs of everyone receiving packages, it would take all day long (mind you, he plays solitaire all day long), and that if I was going to give them a problem about it, they would refuse to accept my mail. That they aren't the post office so they don't "have" to collect it for me.... no, I'm just paying a couple grand for s*&%$ food. Like I said before, complaints are futile.
- The shower water: The water in the communal kitchen is drinkable. The sink water in your room, not. Why? Because they shock treat the water supply with chlorine. So much so, I spent the first 2.5 months here hacking up a lung every time I took a shower because the chlorine vapors were awful. You may ask yourself, 'so why don't you just take a shower with the door open?' Because some genius decided it would be just brilliant to install the smoke detectors right outside the bathroom door. You take a shower with the door open and you'll have the fire brigade knocking on your door in no time. My friend wrote a letter about the toxicity of chlorine and we believe they actually listened because the chlorine is less than it used to be.... but my towels are still stained from the chlorine.
- Brings me to fire alarms. You'll be living with students who this is their first time away from home. They can be rowdy at times... which means, fire alarms at 4 in the morning.... in 20 degree weather!!! We've had 2-3 of those this year... some idiot doing something to set it off (shower steam, pulling the alarm itself, etc) and a couple pre-scheduled alarms. The last time it went off, it was about 330 in the morning, 15 degrees outside and we didn't get back into our rooms until about 530. After a half hour of standing in the cold, they were actually nice and let us sit in the cafeteria. Turns out someone sprayed a fire extinguisher in the common room.
- The laundry rooms. We have 2 washers and 2 dryers in my block... so for about 40 people. I came back from xmas holiday to only 1 washer. 3 weeks go by and still only 1 washer. I asked when they were going to fix it; they said, it's beyond repair. I asked when they were planning on replacing it; they said, when the accommodations office decides there's a good enough reason to give us the money for a new washer. So yeah, 2 months in and were still down to 1 washer. Oh, and be prepared, the dryers take about 3 hours to dry 1 load... literally.
Ok, so I could probably go on for another couple of paragraphs, but I think you get the point. I would NEVER recommend wolfson to someone. Period.
I know a couple people who were placed in Winton- they don't complain as much as I do.
I know people in Murano - they hate it there too. Mostly because it's so far from the vet school; but it's gets really rowdy there too.
And I know one person in Kelvin-whatever it's called. She's really quiet, not much of a complainer... so either she's really happy there and making the most of it, or she's just holding it all in.
Now, I do know a couple who moved into the actual houses the university lets out. They say they're very happy there. I believe they only go to students who are married and/or have a family of sorts. So, if that's you... he told me he would recommend it.
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So yeah, I don't typically tell people what to do... but unless you can't avoid it, stay away from wolfson. I mean, l don't want to scare you either... I just wish someone didn't sugar coat it for me before I came here. But it's like I said in the beginning... how well you like living in the dorms will depend on your personality. The things I complain about may not even bother the next person... so I guess it can be a crapshoot. Sorry this was so long...
one last thing to add... I have loved everything about Glasgow, the school, the vet program, classes, professors... everything!! My only complaint is living in Wolfson. Despite that, If you choose to come to glasgow, I think you would love it!!
