{"id":3939,"date":"2018-11-02T16:07:38","date_gmt":"2018-11-02T16:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/?p=3939"},"modified":"2018-11-02T16:14:09","modified_gmt":"2018-11-02T16:14:09","slug":"freshers-halls-vs-senior-year-halls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/2018\/11\/02\/freshers-halls-vs-senior-year-halls\/","title":{"rendered":"Freshers&#8217; Halls VS Senior-year Halls"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hi guys,<\/p>\n<p>As you (might) know, I&#8217;m a second year now (yayy&#8230; not so much T.T) and this year I&#8217;ve decided to stay in Evelyn Gardens.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For those of you who don&#8217;t know, Evelyn Gardens is an Imperial-owned student residence for returning undergraduate students (meaning second years and above). There are three halls in Evelyn Gardens, namely Willis Jackson, Holbein and Southwell. Unlike freshers&#8217; halls, it has a 51 weeks contract period (instead of 39 weeks). You can read more about it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imperial.ac.uk\/study\/campus-life\/accommodation\/halls\/returning-students-accommodation\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Having lived (and am living) in both a first year hall and a senior hall, I decided to compare these two so it&#8217;ll be easier for those of you who might decide to consider staying here next year.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>APPLICATION PROCESS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Now I&#8217;m not sure why exactly, but I&#8217;ve heard quite a lot of stigma surrounding the senior hall in my first year.\u00a0 Normally I&#8217;m not usually one to listen to rumors, but there were so much bad reput. about the place (cough- Felix and <em>some<\/em> of my ex-floormates- cough) that I was quite nervous about applying here initially.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>However, being the\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: line-through\">lazy ass and cheapskate<\/span>\u00a0energy-and-financially conservative person that I am \ud83d\ude09 , Evelyn Gardens is very strategically placed. It&#8217;s relatively cheap(er compared to Princes Gardens), it&#8217;s a reasonable distance from campus (~15 minutes walk from South Ken. campus) and there&#8217;s a Sainsburys Local AND an M&amp;S Foods (and cough- a cinema -cough) right up my doorstep.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Long story short, after some contemplating (and pressure from my parents who happened to guess that I&#8217;d probably be too lazy to travel &gt; 15 minutes if I only have ONE lecture on a particular day), I decided to just apply there and see for myself.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The application process itself is fairly straightforward. You go to the website after it opens sometime in ~April and fill in your name, student ID, etc. Then, you get to pick 3 choices\/ room preferences, and&#8230; you&#8217;re good to go.<\/p>\n<p>Yup, it&#8217;s that simple! They&#8217;ll send you a confirmation that they&#8217;ve received your application and (here comes the hard part) you just have to wait until ~June\/ July &#8217;til they allocate you a room.<\/p>\n<p>P.S Remember to confirm if you&#8217;re happy with your offer once they come out. They&#8217;ll think you&#8217;re rejecting it and offer it to someone else if you don&#8217;t and then you&#8217;ll be left homeless<span class=\"emoji\">&#x1f631;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>REACTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t get my first choice of en-suite single, instead I got a standard single room in Willis Jackson.<\/p>\n<p>My first reaction (when I first got the offer VS when I moved in for the first time)?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Offer:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nooooo, I have to go outside to go to shower or use the toilet!!! (hey, in my defense, it&#8217;s quite a hassle to have to bring your toiletries, your key AND wear your headscarf every time you have a tummy ache or need a quick shower, y&#8217;know)<\/p>\n<p>&amp;<\/p>\n<p>Oh well, at least I got a single room. And moreover, it&#8217;s pretty cheap. Yesss, my bank account is grateful&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Moving in:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While lugging luggage, &#8220;Of all the places, *pants* why *curses* do I have to get a room on the freaking third floor?! And there&#8217;s not even a lift? Curse my luck!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&amp;<\/p>\n<p>Finally got in the room, takes one look, &#8220;That&#8217;s it, I&#8217;m moving out right now!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>P.S Now that I think about it, I really feel for my friend who was helping me move in&#8230; not only did she have to help me carry several huge and heavy suitcases, she had to deal with my whining. Thank you and I&#8217;m sorry, Bam :&#8217;) #appreciationshoutout<\/p>\n<p>&amp;<\/p>\n<p>That night, all alone, *rolls around in bed screaming &#8220;I&#8217;m lonely&#8221; *fake cries<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Umm that sounded pretty bad huh *sweat drops* but really, I was ~mostly~ just being a drama queen. Honestly, after venting to my mum (who was sadly but understandably very unsympathetic about my situation) and cooling off, I realised (after viewing it more objectively) that it wasn&#8217;t that bad after all.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>COMPARISONS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ll put it in a table so it&#8217;s easier to compare them.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"354\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Linstead Hall (Freshers Hall)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center\" width=\"184\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center\" width=\"363\"><strong>Willis Jackson Hall (Senior Hall)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"354\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">All en-suite,<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">\u00a3 232<sup>(1)<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center\" width=\"184\">Room types and price<\/p>\n<p>(pw for the room I got)<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center\" width=\"363\">Various (but I got standard single),<\/p>\n<p>\u00a3 191<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"354\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">39 weeks<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center\" width=\"184\">Contract period<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center\" width=\"363\">51<sup>(2)<\/sup>\u00a0weeks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center\" width=\"354\">~5 min. walk<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center\" width=\"184\">Distance from South Ken. campus<\/td>\n<td width=\"363\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">~ 15 min. walk\u00a0<sup>(3)<\/sup>, ~10 min. bus\u00a0<sup>(4)<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center\" width=\"354\">Yes<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center\" width=\"184\">Lift?<\/td>\n<td width=\"363\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">No\u00a0<sup>(5)<\/sup>\u00a0:'(<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"354\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Friendly, welcoming environment suitable for coaxing introverted, shy freshers out of their shells lol.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">You do pay\u00a0\u00a3 2 per week (included in rent) for hall activities and there&#8217;s where the subsidised tickets, etc come from.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">Environment<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"363\">Everyone ~mostly~ keeps to themselves. We do say hi when we see each other in the hallway or kitchen, but we don&#8217;t make an effort to see each other, or go out together, nor do we have subsidised holidays\/ trips\/ dinners.<\/p>\n<p>Also, no hall-wide celebrations\/ parties\/ BBQs\/ brunch.<\/p>\n<p>(For all it&#8217;s worth, I miss my floormates in Linstead *sigh)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center\" width=\"354\">Priority towards first years (unless you apply to become a hall senior). Any vacancy is then opened to returning students earliest sometime in ~September<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center\" width=\"184\">Availability<\/td>\n<td width=\"363\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">All returning students considered equally as long as you apply before the application deadline.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0I think they increased the prices slightly this year though.<\/p>\n<p><sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0This is including the summer, so ideal if you&#8217;re planning to apply for an internship or UROP in London that year.<\/p>\n<p><sup>3<\/sup>\u00a0It&#8217;s closer than walking from Pembridge Halls (~ 25 min.) if you&#8217;ve ever lived there.<\/p>\n<p><sup>4\u00a0<\/sup>There&#8217;s a bus stop literally right in front of the road. I&#8217;m ashamed to say that I&#8217;ve taken the bus more often than not.<\/p>\n<p><sup>5<\/sup>\u00a0Bad news if you&#8217;re like me and got a room on the top floor. Not so bad if you got a room on ground or basement floor. Part of why I now do most of my grocery shopping online (Thank you Tesco delivery guys who have helped this very-much-weak-and-not-fit girl carry her groceries to her floor kitchen &lt;3 ).<\/p>\n<p>*I&#8217;m so sorry, for some reason idk why the footnotes won&#8217;t appear as footnotes in the real post<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>IZRYNNE&#8217;S (hopefully helpful) ADDITIONAL NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In terms of security and cleaning, they&#8217;re fairly similar. You need a card and\/ or a key to get into the building + room + kitchen. The washrooms are cleaned every two days (?) and the kitchen once a week (don&#8217;t quote me on that), while rooms monthly (this one&#8217;s I&#8217;m sure of).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Regarding room sizes and conditions, I do feel like my current room is slightly smaller than my room in Linstead but I&#8217;ve never actually measured them so it might just be me being biased. One thing to note is that the wardrobe is quite small (aka ~half or two-thirds the one in Linstead) so you might consider bringing less clothes or being creative about where you put them. Instead of a lockable drawer, you have a safe in your wardrobes to keep your valuables. Also, although the toilet and shower are shared, you do have a sink inside your room (I suggest buying a rug to put under it so you won&#8217;t get the carpet wet).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>So that&#8217;s it! I think it was more of a description rather than a comparison, but hopefully it&#8217;ll still be useful and\/ or informative read on Evelyn Gardens. Hope you enjoyed it and thanks \ud83d\ude00 Byeeeee<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3941\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3941\" style=\"width: 387px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"wp-image-3941\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/files\/2018\/11\/WhatsApp-Image-2018-11-02-at-4.01.35-PM-300x169.jpeg\" alt=\"\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3941\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">View from my window with the shining sun. Apologies for my atrocious photography skills (&#8216;=.=)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hi guys, As you (might) know, I&#8217;m a second year now (yayy&#8230; not so much T.T) and this year I&#8217;ve decided to stay in Evelyn Gardens. &nbsp; For those of you who don&#8217;t know, Evelyn Gardens is an Imperial-owned student residence for returning undergraduate students (meaning second years and above). There are three halls in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3939"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3945,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3939\/revisions\/3945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs-staging.imperial.ac.uk\/student-blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}