I was only here over the summer and had an awful experience. Genuinely couldn't have coped with a whole year. My room was filthy when I moved in with very obvious black mold over much of the ceiling and walls. The house was permanently infested with silverfish despite maintenance repeatedly treating them. Noise levels in the house are horrendous - when doors shut it's like an explosion and I'd wake up nearly every night from the sound of people using the taps in their room (and I'm a deep sleeper). The bed is uncomfortable. The shuttle bus doesn't run over the summer and it's a good 30 mins walk to Campus East. The college is in a quiet area but with few students over the summer there are very few people around on the streets. As a young woman this made me feel quite unsafe walking home in the dark especially as some areas of the main route to/from the college and the main campus are poorly lit. The cheaper rent is genuinely not worth it.
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I was only here over the summer and had an awful experience. Genuinely couldn't have coped with a whole year. My room was filthy when I moved in with very obvious black mold over much of the ceiling and walls. The house was permanently infested with silverfish despite maintenance repeatedly treating them. Noise levels in the house are horrendous - when doors shut it's like an explosion and I'd wake up nearly every night from the sound of people using the taps in their room (and I'm a deep sleeper). The bed is uncomfortable. The shuttle bus doesn't run over the summer and it's a good 30 mins walk to Campus East. The college is in a quiet area but with few students over the summer there are very few people around on the streets. As a young woman this made me feel quite unsafe walking home in the dark especially as some areas of the main route to/from the college and the main campus are poorly lit. The cheaper rent is genuinely not worth it.
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I was only here over the summer and had an awful experience. Genuinely couldn't have coped with a whole year. My room was filthy when I moved in with very obvious black mold over much of the ceiling and walls. The house was permanently infested with silverfish despite maintenance repeatedly treating them. Noise levels in the house are horrendous - when doors shut it's like an explosion and I'd wake up nearly every night from the sound of people using the taps in their room (and I'm a deep sleeper). The bed is uncomfortable. The shuttle bus doesn't run over the summer and it's a good 30 mins walk to Campus East. The college is in a quiet area but with few students over the summer there are very few people around on the streets. As a young woman this made me feel quite unsafe walking home in the dark especially as some areas of the main route to/from the college and the main campus are poorly lit. The cheaper rent is genuinely not worth it.
Halifax was my last choice accommodation and I wouldn’t live here again. I wish I’d changed to another college after I started uni. The college is highly antisocial and is far away from the rest of campus meaning you’re pretty much isolated. There are no interesting social events and the few that do run have very small turnouts. If you get lucky and have a sociable house which you get on with, you’ll likely have a decent experience — but there’s almost no chance of meeting any other people who live in Halifax, so be prepared to basically live in a bubble of your housemates. I suppose the one plus about its antisocial atmosphere is that it’s mostly quite quiet. It’s not well located, with the rest of campus and transport links being a good 10 minutes walk away. The NISA shop on Halifax, which is what would have been perhaps its one saving grace, has closed permanently since COVID. For £143 per week, this accommodation has been terrible. Don’t get me started on the silverfish.
Easy to get to campus in the morning.
Wouldn't recommend living here AT ALL, especially as a second/third year. - Expensive, and no benefit to that expense at all. Literally you get nothing good. - Slow, ineffective & often non existent maintenance of room & living space - Small, unfriendly kitchen area, inadequate space for food and socialising - Unwelcome living environment - Bus stop not convenient - Opposite side of town - Isolating - Rooms cold in winter, hot in summer - Too few and too expensive laundry facilities - When I moved in, my room was filthy & I had to clean it myself (covered in dust and dirt, took ages) - Front desk parcel collection service has lost or refused to accept deliveries on three separate occasions - Terrible wifi that cuts off at least every 45 minutes I can not wait to move out. Do NOT live here.
Honestly, worst experience there. The receptionists are amongst the rudest people you'll ever get to meet in your life, there is nothing set in place to provide a smooth and stress-free moving-out or moving-in. The college is remote from anything, with a Nisa that's virtually never open. If you can, try not to live there. Really.
I love it here especially with the silvers
It's amazing living here, it's really social and you can never get bored
I don't like how they charge you ten pound when you lose your card
i actually enjoyed the campus being outside of the university - the social areas were not great.
IF YOU WANT A REMOTELY FUN TIME AT UNIVERSITY GO TO DERWENT, HALIFAX IS SO ANTISOCIAL ITS ACTUALLY UPSETTING, NEEEDLESS TO SAY I DROPPED OUT OF UNIVERSITY IN FEB. DONT GO TO HALIFAX PLEASE.
I had an awful experience in halifax, i moved week seven because everyone was antisocial and basically i had to worst freshers week ever. Its a very isolating place that made me feel psychically and emotionally violated. Needless to say, I'm on a path to a better life now and I am hoping to go to a sociable university where people are normal and don't want to just sit in their rooms all day and read poetry<3 xoxoxo
There's just so many silverfish. Everywhere. They never leave no matter what you do or how many times you get them 'exterminated'.
Gonna be honest, the actual accommodation at Halifax is awful and over priced. But, the college team are amazing, which is an up side!
Brilliant College! Freshers week is made even better with the STYC system
The most social college at the Uni - big houses (up to 20) arranged in courts so there's plenty of socialising and stuff going on. It's only a 10-15 minute walk onto campus (and the nearest campus bar), which isn't too big. The boilers broke down regularly (every third week or so), there are silverfish in the walls and light fittings (that come back when pest controllers have cleared them) that sometimes get into rooms. The kitchen space per person in St Lawrence is abismal compared to other colleges. Maintenance is usually short term fixes that break again after a few weeks, all but two of the porters are miserable and not that helpful, the cleaner for my house spent her time Facetiming people and not cleaning. As bad as it sounds, I was so happy with my year there (I wanted Alcuin) and would not change at all. It is social (so there's noise) and there's plenty to do. If they lowered the price to make it value for money, I'd increase my rating.
Our one small and one large kitchen (st Lawrence court) not big enough for 20 people. Could do with seating area/social space in the house, and perhaps another toilet
You'll always remain connected to the WiFi but the internet itself will constantly drop. They claim they clean shared bathrooms every day but it's actually every weekday. Small kitchen with more than enough cupboards. When cleaning the kitchen all they actually do is wipe down the surfaces, of which you have to prepare by emptying them completely. Common room is all right but does not have a TV license and a such can't play live TV. Out of the two campuses at UoY, Hes East and Hes West - Halifax is Hes South.
This is a huge college so it's away from all the other colleges, lecture halls and libraries. The only social thing is kinda like a small version of a church hall. It was pretty expensive for what it was but I guess bills were included. The big issue was the state of the place when I moved in. My room had these disgusting stains on the carpet from the previous year. They wouldn't do anything about it and no-one was actually sure what it was. It was awful. The porters were nice but the assistant provost was horrible, he came to our house one night and shouted at my housemate for asking him a question. Maybe he was annoyed that we were students but it's his job. Overall I had a good time there but it was housemates that made that happen and nothing else. Believe me.
In a house of 20 it was sometimes difficult but overall it was fun. I didn't want halifax at first but the location was bit a problem whatsoever
Great fun, low quality halls, don't expect much from the small rooms. Outside areas are probably the best at the uni though.
Cleaning should be done to a better standard, and price is too high along with all other colleges. Good fun, good social vibe, lovely location.
Halifax College provided me with a great first year experience! Having so many people within a college allows you to meet a range of different people so there is no worry of not meeting someone with the same interests, and less clique like some of the other colleges. Though slightly offset from the rest of the campus, I found the 5 mins walk along the sports fields a great way to wake up in the morning, and it forced me to get to know both campuses. Also, with so many people and the only college with a specific shop (for pre-drinks) there is always something going on and I would recommend it even if you feel like it wouldn't be your first choice!
Great community spirit, great wifi, get in my swede
Probably not the best accommodation on campus but it has a very homely feel about it and is right next to the sport pitches.
It was good. I especially liked the first day of freshers week where we did something as a college, and not just as a 'house'.
Not a bad price and excellent all round. The internet is superfast.
Cleaning was good and always reliable. Wifi wasn't great and the rooms are very small and very overlooked, not much privacy. The location is initially a pain as it is a walk to lectures but the location did grow on me and it's much quieter off campus. The 24hr porters are also an amazing practical bonus!
It was overall a pleasant experience. Not much to complain about
St Lawrence court in Halifax college, uni of York, has 20 students per house and singled bedrooms with shared toilets, the kitchen space isn't great for so may people but the social aspect of living there is great because you make close friends with so many people. It wasn't my first choice when selecting my accommodation but i wouldn't change where I ended up!
Lovely location, set next to Heslington fields, with locals farms to the back of the college. Houses could be updated, and the cleaners could focus a little more of the cleaning of the hallways, but other than that, it is a lovely college to be apart of! Might I add though, Nisa is a rip off! It is wrong that you're allowing them to charge students such extortionate prices.
its good as long you don't mind living in houses that are falling apart and infested with insects of a variety of species.
Though Halifax is furthest from the main campus, this actually makes it better, being a clear distinction between your work time and chill time! By far the busiest college, the house and court set up gives rise to some amazing social opportunities. It may be a final option for many residents there, but I promise none of them regret it, Halifax is the best college on campus by far!!!
The cleaning is pathetic and I had raw egg all over my window for weeks after Halloween.
Its not worth the amount of money at all, I have an ensuite, though there is no proper showet, just a wetroom. Also, £6500 is an obscene amount of money considering the boiler breaks about twice every three weeks
Loved my time in Halifax College - not my first choice but unbeatable atmosphere
Everyone complains Halifax is out of the way but in reality it's a 5 minute walk. Due to over a 1000 students in one place it's easy to make friends with people both on and off your course and the way it is set up as houses means that's a homely atmosphere is created without you getting loss in the vast amount of students.
Too big, very anti social. I pay nearly £6500 a year and only have this accommodation because I went through clearing. For the first term we had barely any hot water if any (not enough for showers and rarely enough for a wash at all) and no heating and porters just ignored us. No bar in the college, not many fun activities and students in this college don't go out much or drink/socialise as much as other students. there's been an ant problem in the kitchen for months, apparently it was sorted but they're still everywhere!
It's a nice area but far away from the campus and the facilities (particularly fridge space!) are not worth the price per week.
Like the rest of york, overpriced! Newer than some parts of York campus but a bit out of the way! Major problems with damp and infestations of silverfish also. Lack of social space in Halifax that is of quality and attracts people from the rest of the campus.... Lastly mattresses were poor. However did have a little shop for convenience :)
isolated and out of the way, but that has benefits and problems equally so you need to do your research
Doesn't really have any social space inside, rooms are okay, kitchen is okay, but living in close proximity to so many others means there's a great feel to the college. It's lively and i enjoy living there.
Awful, overpriced and overcrowded. Loud, dirty, unpleasant.
good size, not the worst accommodation on campus but not the best (although it's priced like it)
The accommodation in Ainsty Court was spacious, with a good en suite room, however had problems, a with radiator and one of the hobs in the kitchen. The cleaning staff rarely did their jobs properly, but overall, the size of the room and nd peacefulness of the location was ideal.