Uni Struggles: The Bathroom Situation
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For many prospective students, choosing accommodation can be just as challenging as choosing an actual uni for a number of reasons. Cost is often the main reason but in some cases, the most important factor can be the bathroom situation.
Back in Spring 2016 when I was approaching the end of Year 13, all anybody began to talk about at school was uni preparations. I found that a lot of people were happy to pay more money if it meant they could have an en-suite, and some even let en-suite bathrooms dictate which offer they accepted on results’ day. Clearly having a private bathroom and shower was a huge deal for people.
In my first year, I lived in accommodation where I had an en-suite. My university (Aberystwyth) is one of the cheapest in terms of accommodation, so it didn’t exactly break the bank and I did feel the benefit of having it. For a start, you can shower whenever you want without worrying about if other people might be in and you only have to buy hand soap, toilet roll etc for yourself. Also, if you’re a terrible drunk (speaking on behalf of a friend..), it’s slightly more pleasant to throw up in privacy at 2 am than in a shared bathroom where other drunks may be queuing up for their turn to be sick.
In my second year, I am currently in university accommodation with shared facilities; one bath, one shower and two toilets between six of us. I can honestly tell you that I have not missed an en-suite at all. It has made absolutely no difference whatsoever. I’m saving £30 per week compared to last year and I really wish I hadn’t been so hung up on having an en-suite. I have never had to wait more than five minutes to use the shower because of everybody’s different schedules and the only real difference is an extra 10-metre walk to the bathroom.
The only situation I can see where having an en-suite would be really important would be if you have a medical condition which means you need running water/bathroom facilities on standby at all times. For everyone else, I would advise you not to rule out certain types of accommodation or entire universities over a bathroom.