USyd Residences

[NazTNaz]

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Hey everyone, to those of you who have accepted offers from USyd or anyone who is already studying in Sydney), I was just wondering what everyone is planning on doing for accommodation... I have applied for a spot at Sydney University Village (SUV), but I figure I should probably apply to a couple of others just in case... I am planning on staying on-campus for the first year just so that I can get a feel for the city before getting my own place, but I don't really know how to decide between the other on-campus residences. How would you rank the other options (St. Paul's, St. Andrew's, St. John's, etc...)? and why? Does anyone know how difficult it is to get a room in SUV? I was told that I have to wait until November (at the earliest) to hear back from them, which will be a bit late to explore other on-campus options...

 

[NazTNaz]

I applied for SUV too, but I heard that it's first-come-first-serve with housing confirmations coming out in late September. I thought about applying for the residential colleges but I found the large amount of information required for the application slightly off-putting (I didn't even need that much info to apply for med!).

So what do you plan on doing if you don't get a spot at SUV?

 

[toescrossed]

I was wondering about this too. When applying for these things - does it matter that we are post grads? Like would we fit in at a Res College? Very confusing!

 

[KCShaw]

I wish I could be more helpful. Personally I lived in off-campus rental apartments & houses pretty much the entire time I was there, and the few months I didn't were at a building which I gather no longer serves as a student residence. I literally landed, stayed at a hostel for a week or so while I searched local apartments, found one I liked and moved in. Not what I would recommend, but it worked out.

The on campus houses/colleges such as St. John's, Andrew's, Ravenclaw, etc. are almost like large fraternities -- they have their own parties and activities, and are somewhat more geared towards undergrads looking for a way to fit in. A few people in my class lived in them, but I don't think anyone stayed there all 4 years. I never hung out in any of them except for the occasional party, so..I dunno. When I spent time with friends it was primarily at someone's shared large apartment or house, at a campus facility, or out on the town somewhere.

I seem to recall the international house being relatively nice, clean, and quiet. Not a bad place to start out, anyway.

The downside is that although there are a lot of off-campus accommodations around USyd, many are not in the best of physical shape, being geared towards and used primarily by grungy undergrads. But! If you're willing to go further than a walk from USyd (I thought the public transport was pretty decent), you should easily be able to find a decent place...it just may take some time from when you first move there to find the right spot.

 

[PacificBlue2012]

SUV is convenient but its overpriced, you could probably get your own apartment for the same price. Also the studios at SUV have no cooking facilities, if you need to cook, you have to use their common areas. I would say its okay for the first year but if you want better accomodation there is a lot around the area. The area around USyd is kind of pricey(Newtown, Camperdown, and Glebe) if you go to Stanmore or Enmore which is only slightly further down you could get something decent, I actually walked from Enmore to classes, its a fair bit of walking but you can take a bus from there as well. This is the only real downside of Sydney, that its pricey for students compared to Melbourne and Brisbane. I had a friend who went to UQ and rented a whole house for the same amount that I paid for a studio near USyd.

I seriously would not recommend staying in hostel and looking on your own, it will be much better to get prearranged housing before you arrive in Australia so you can focus on school.