Kiasu Guide 2021 Part 1 Accommodation

KIASU GUIDE 2021 PART 1 ACCOMMODATION

Contents

1 Foreword ...... 4 2 Types of UCL Student Accommodation ...... 5 3 UCL Halls of Residence ...... 6 3.1 Ifor Evans Hall ...... 7 3.2 Ramsay Hall ...... 12 4 UCL Student Houses ...... 16 4.1 Arthur Tattersall House and John Tovell House ...... 17 4.2 Campbell House (East and West) ...... 23 4.3 Frances Gardner House ...... 28 4.4 John Dodgson House ...... 32 4.5 Langton Close ...... 39 4.6 Max Rayne House ...... 43 4.7 Schafer House ...... 50 4.8 Goldsmid House ...... 55 4.9 Astor College ...... 58 5 Intercollegiate Halls ...... 65

5.1 College Hall ...... 66 5.2 Connaught Hall ...... 70 5.3 International Hall ...... 76 5.4 Nutford House ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. 5.5 The Garden Halls ...... 80 6 Application Process ...... 90

1 Foreword

Dear Freshers,

On behalf of UCL Singapore Society, welcome to UCL! With the ongoing pandemic and shifting regulations, this must be a difficult and uncertain time for many of you. Fret not, you’re not alone as UCLSS is here to support your transition into UCL. The committee will hard at work this year to help prepare our Freshers for their first year. The Kiasu Guide is of the longstanding traditions of UCLSS Committees to provide freshers with insight into what to expect when you arrive at UCL – a world-class university right in the heart of London. The Kiasu Guide aims to provide Freshers with insight into the life of a student at UCL through the lens of our students from previous years. Part 1 will provide useful information on accommodations. I would like to credit the previous committee their hard work on Part 1 while we made minor changes where applicable. As quite a number of the current first-years engaged in virtual learning and have not been to London, we have passed down information regarding accommodations from the previous batch.

Other than releasing the Kiasu Guide, here are some other ways Freshers will be supported throughout the year. We’ll be organising a Pre-Departure Talk to brief you on what you should prepare before flying off to London. Following, we’ll be having our annual Orientation which will help you make new friends and get to know some of your seniors! Once you’ve started your academic year proper, we’ll be introducing Mentorship Programmes to continue our support for Freshers. In light of COVID-19, the committee has taken extra precaution to adhere to restrictions and relay relevant information to our members.

For more updates regarding our subsequent events, do follow us on Instagram @UCLSingSoc and join us on our Facebook Group! If you have any further questions, feel free to send us a message there as well and we’d be happy to answer! Keep safe and I look forward to meeting all of you soon J

Zhang Yu Fu President 4 UCL Singapore Society

2 Types of UCL Student Accommodation

There are 4 types of student accommodations. They are: 1. UCL Halls of Residence 2. UCL Student Houses 3. Intercollegiate Halls (by UOL) 4. Alternative accommodations by other providers (private partner accommodations)

This guide will largely only provide information for the first 3 types of accommodations as most freshers choose to stay in these residences. If you prefer not to live in any of the 3 types of student accommodations provided by the college, you can always opt to stay in a private lodgings or accommodation provided by other student hall providers. UCL Student Accommodation will however be able to only offer you limited assistance, like discounted prices for private accommodations. For more information, visit: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/accommodation/ucl-halls/private-partner-providers

Please take note that the information is accurate for the academic year 2021/2022, unless specified otherwise. While we also provide the information for which UCL faculties each hall is close to, it does not really matter as you are likely to have lessons all over campus. Living near your faculty is useful for submitting your tutorials though, in which you most likely have to leave in the pigeonholes of your course tutors. For any additional queries not answered by the testimonials, please feel free to ask for more information by sending us an email or message us through our Instagram.

More information can be found on the official UCL website at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/accommodation/ . UCL has also put together a brief guide on the hall application process here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/accommodation/prospective-students/undergraduates

3 UCL Halls of Residence

UCL Halls of Residence have catered and non-catered halls that provide accommodation exclusively to UCL students

(as compared to Intercollegiate Halls which are catered halls that provide accommodation to all University of London students). However, UCL Halls of Residence do not provide any meals during the weekends. Students can choose to eat out or cook in the hall pantries.

A bedding pack is not provided upon arrival and you can choose to purchase one set for £50, which is ridiculously overpriced for its quality.

For more information, visit: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/accommodation/ucl-halls/undergraduate-accommodation

For more information on fees for 2021/2022, visit: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/accommodation/fees-payment/ucl- accommodation-fees-20212022

For some halls, per week fees are given as a range to indicate that there are different sized rooms available.

3.1 Ifor Evans Hall 2021/2022 Hall Fees (per week): Single, non-ensuite (£193.06); Large Single, non-ensuite (£214.06) General Information: Places are offered for 39 weeks, except for 100 single rooms, which, for graduates only, will be available for 50 weeks. You can apply to arrive and/or leave earlier through the UCL Accommodation portal. Catering Options: Breakfast and dinner are provided for every weekday. Brunch is provided on weekends and no catering services during term breaks. There are no catering services during term breaks and bank holidays (you will be notified by the kitchen staff when to expect the dining hall to be reopened). Cleaning Services: Corridors and toilets are cleaned every weekday. Vacuum cleaners are available for borrowing at reception for cleaning of room. Hall Size: Ifor Evans blocks A-F has 5 to 14 bedrooms per corridor (spread over 6 floors) while Denys Holland Lodge (separate block) has 12 to 22 bedrooms per corridor (spread over 5 floors), adding up to a total of 342 rooms. Hall Security: The entrance to the main compound requires a key fob, while access to the residence blocks requires a master key, issued only to residents. (Note that your room key is separate from the master key) A security guard is on shift from 6pm-8am on weekdays and on full day duty on weekends. Ifor Evans has no restrictions on guests staying less than 3 days. Generally, nobody enters your room when you are not in, not even the cleaners. If maintenance works are to be done, an email would first be sent to inform you of such works. However, the bike of a UCLSS member got stolen even when he parked it in the hall compound. Hall Facilities: There is lift access to all floors in Ifor Evans blocks A-F only. Ifor Evans has 2 bike sheds where bicycles can be locked inside. Keys may be requested from reception. The computer cluster room has 12 computers connected to the UCL student domain with a printer using the UCL printing domain. The TV room has decent flat screen TV, several couches and a small library (2 shelves) of books of various genres. The music room is a rather spacious room equipped with a piano. The laundry room has 5 coin- operated washing machines (£2.50 per wash, various settings and temperatures) and 6 dryers (£1.50 for a 60 min cycle). In order to operate the washing machines/dryers, you will need either (i) a Circuit laundry card that can be requested from reception or (ii) the

Circuit app downloaded on your smartphone. There is also a multi-purpose room that has a table-tennis table and a tennis court that comes with the tennis net. The courtyard is an open space with tables and benches. Both places have a conducive environment for de-stressing purposes. Pantry/Kitchen: There is 1 kitchen per corridor per floor for both Ifor Evans blocks and Denys Holland Lodge. Each kitchen has 1 fridge (with freezing capability, or the kitchen may have a separate freezer), hot plate stoves with oven and grill, microwave oven, toaster, washing sink with potable water and plenty of cupboards. Kitchens in the Denys Holland Lodge are much bigger than those in the Ifor Evans building and have tables and chairs for dining. Restrooms: Ifor Evans blocks have 1 shower per 6 to 9 people while the Denys Holland Lodge has 1 shower per 5 to 7 people. The toilets are all unisex. Room Facilities: Each room is fitted with a bed, wardrobe, study table, a few shelves and cupboards (2 for most Ifor Evans blocks, 3 for Denys Holland Lodge), chair, couch, heater with adjustable temperature (not all rooms have this facility), bedside light, large cork wall, curtains and sink. Doors are fitted with a door closer that closes the door automatically after it is opened and are locked from the inside with a knob. There are two windows in each room, one smaller window on the top and a bigger one below. Windows do not open fully to prevent intrusion. Linen set (pillow, pillow case, bed sheet, duvet and duvet spread) may be purchased at £50 (indicate this during your online residence induction but it is not worth it so get your own). Rooms in the Denys Holland Lodge are generally bigger and newer than those in Ifor Evans blocks A-F. Distance from UCL Main Campus: Ifor Evans is one of the further halls away from the UCL main campus. It is a 40 min stroll south to the UCL main quad (about 2.4km). The main route to UCL passes through Camden High Street, a rather busy street with many shops along the way. It is generally safe to walk along this route even when it's late (9-10pm+) as there are many people on the street. If walking is not your thing and you want to be fresh, you may walk to the bus stop right outside Ifor Evans Hall after your bowl of cereal to catch a bus. Everybody will be rushing to the bus stop to catch the bus, so you'll see your friends. Don't bother with which seat to take as the bus stop is usually crowded in the morning when most people are rushing for 9am lectures. Bus 29 to Trafalgar Square (and N29 at night) takes you directly to the bus stop right outside UCL main quad in 15-20 min. Bus 253 to Euston takes you to Euston station, which is a short 5 min walk from UCL main quad (takes 10-15 min, this may be a better option for students with

classes at buildings closer to Euston). Camden Town underground station is a 10 min walk south-west of Ifor Evans Hall. Camden Town is on the Northern Line and trains from here go to Euston station (5-10 min) and Russell Square Station (10 min), both stations are close to certain UCL department buildings. Closest UCL Faculties: All UCL facilities around the campus are equally near (or far....) to Ifor Evans Hall. Transport Network: Camden Road over ground station is a 5min walk southwest of Ifor Evans Hall. Camden Town underground tube station is a 10min walk south-west of Ifor Evans Hall. The bus services that lead to UCL include 29, N29, 253. More buses that lead to other destinations are available at bus stop closer to the Camden Town tube station. Other information: Grocery shopping can be done at Tesco express, which is located in a gas station that is a 2 min walk away from Ifor Evans Hall. If not, a bigger Sainbury's supermarket is a mere 7 min walk south-west. Camden High Street itself also contains various Asian supermarkets of varying sizes for those searching for cooking ingredients or snacks from home (Longdan is by far the largest, although there is also an Oseyo nearby). The world-famous Camden Market is a short 10 min walk away (beside Camden Town underground tube station), and walking another 10 minutes south-west will take you to Regent’s Park, a popular venue for picnics and sporting activities. Foodies will find their cravings easily satisfied (Camden is host to a wide variety of virtually any food - keep an eye out for the new Five Guys restaurant!). For those seeking to unwind on the weekends (or in the evenings), Camden is home to a bustling nightlife scene, with various popular clubs and bars situated along Camden High Street. Alternatively, if you are one who prefers peace and quiet, Ifor Evans Hall is a good option. Situated away from busy buildings and main roads, residents at Ifor Evans Hall are hardly disturbed by the sirens of police vehicles or ambulances that are commonplace around UCL. Also, as a greater share of residents are master’s students (and presumably less inclined to party), Ifor Evans Hall is generally quieter than other halls, though partying still happens along corridors occasionally. The sound isolation between rooms is decent - normal conversations at speech volume cannot be heard between walls or along corridors (unless you make loud noises or people press their ears against your door). Mail is kept in pigeon holes and registered packages are kept at the reception and are arranged according to last name of recipient. A point to note is that Ifor Evans, Ann Stephenson, and Max Rayne Halls/Houses share the same ground in Camden Town. Hence, parts of their facilities are shared amongst one another.

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3.2 Ramsay Hall 2021/2022 Hall Fees (per week): Single, non-ensuite (£231.21); Large single, non-ensuite (£252.84); Studio, ensuite (£284.20); General Information: Places are offered for 39 weeks and only for undergraduates. Catering Options: Breakfast and dinner are provided for every weekday. Lunch is provided on weekends. There are no catering services during bank holidays, college closure days, the Christmas vacation (3 weeks) and one week during the Easter vacation. Cleaning Services: There are no cleaning services for individual rooms, but the vaccum is free of charge and shared on each floor. Gets dirty quickly and no one wants to clean it so you're better off getting a handheld vacuum from argos. Common areas are cleaned everyday by the cleaners from the hall. Common room tends to get messy at night. A vacuum cleaner is provided in each shared kitchen. For those staying in studios, vacuum cleaners are available for borrowing at reception. Hall Size: Ramsay Hall has space for 508 guests. Some facilities do tend to be crowded, but the music room is well equipped and underused. Ramsay Hall is a pretty social hall, we get quite a few exchange students and foundational year students because it is one of the few halls for under 17s. Hall Security: There is CCTV surveillance, 24/7 support from student resident advisors and a night porter. Visits from guests are limited to three nights per month and guests must be signed in and out. Residents have to tap in with their key, but residents can let multiple visitors in and out easily as there is no restrictions on how many times you tap in or out your key, so it is not the safest within the building when considering ease of entry by visitors. Hall Facilities: There were foosball tables at the start of the year but they are gone now cause all the drunk jerks broke all of them. Vending machines sell snacks and drinks. Sometimes you may have to fight with other people for dryers, but we're cheaper than other halls and it's easy to make friends and eat together so that's nice. Ramsay Hall has a study room with computers on the ground floor, near the reception. It also has printing, scanning and copying facilities, which have to be paid for with your UCL ID card. There is also a common room, music room, study areas, lifts, bike storage, vending machines, a laundry room with washers and dryers, games tables and an outside courtyard with tables.

Pantry/Kitchen: There is 1 kitchen per corridor per floor. Each kitchen has 1 fridge, oven, hob, microwave, kettle, toaster, sink with drinkable water, food preparation areas and storage space. All in all it is a small kitchen to share among a lot of people. There are no rice cookers, so buy your own. Buy your own water filter as well. Restrooms: There are shared bathrooms and showers for every corridor that are cleaned by cleaners every weekday. Some toilets are shared between genders and some are single gender. Room Facilities: The large rooms are pretty large, enough to hold (read squeeze) up to ten for a late night heart to heart talk. The small rooms, on the other hand, are darn small. Each room is fitted with a bed, a desk, desk chair, additional chair, bin, wardrobe, bedside table, mirror, blinds, pin board, shelves and a sink basin. The windows are fitted with restrictors that are not to be tampered with. A bedding pack can be purchased from UniKitOut, with prices starting from £24. It includes a duvet, pillow, duvet cover, pillowcase and sheet. Distance from UCL Main Campus: Ramsay Hall is one of the nearest halls to the UCL main campus. It is about 0.2 miles away from the main campus, so it takes only 5 minutes to walk there. Closest UCL Faculties: Given its proximity to the main campus, all UCL facilities are very near to Ramsay Hall. Transport Network: Ramsay is located very close to multiple underground stations. It is a 4 minute walk from the Warren Street station, a 6 minute walk from the Goodge Street station, a 7 minute walk from the Great Portland Street station and a 6 minute walk from the Euston Square station. Other information: Grocery shopping can be done at Tesco express or Sainsbury’s, both of which are just a 3 minute walk away from Ramsay Hall. Alternatively, Marks and Spencer’s is just a 7 minute walk away. There is also an Oseyo nearby for those who would prefer going to an Asian supermarket. Given its great location, various shops and facilities are less than a 10 minute walk away. For instance, Argos for furniture and home products, Boots for health and beauty products, Primark for extremely affordable shopping. There are also banks such as HSBC and Barclays, student bars like Phineas and Mully’s, many gyms and the University College Hospital close by.

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4 UCL Student Houses

If you wish to have the flexibility of cooking your own meals and do not like catered food for your meals, then the UCL Student

Houses would be your preferred choice out of the various accommodations offered. They refer to exclusively non-catered halls that provide accommodation only to UCL students.

There are many UCL Student Houses scattered across Central London so you won't really know which one you will end up in.

However, most of the halls are not more than half an hour's walk away from the main campus. Freshers were not allowed to give their preferred choices during application if they selected this type of accommodation last year but things may have changed this year with the new online application system. Like the Hall of Residences, a bedding pack is not provided upon arrival and you can choose to purchase one set for £50 which is ridiculously overpriced for its quality.

For more information, visit: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/accommodation/ucl-halls/undergraduate-accommodation Some UCL Student

Houses like Endsleigh Gardens and Bernard Johnson House have not been included due to a lack of testimonials.

For more information on fees for 2021/2022, visit: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/accommodation/fees-payment/ucl-accommodation- fees-20212022

For some Houses, per week fees are given as a range to indicate that there are different sized rooms available.

4.1 Arthur Tattersall House and John Tovell House 2021/2022 John Tovell Fees (per week): Single, non-ensuite (£200.69); Large Single, non-ensuite (£224.42) 2021/2022 Arthur Tattersall Fees (per week): Small Single, non-ensuite (£177.03); Single, non-ensuite (£200.69); Large Single, non-ensuite (£224.42) Hall Catering Options: Self-catered. Hall Size: Arthur Tattersall (AT) and John Tovell (JT) are made up of individual Victorian-styled houses along Gower St with 4-5 floors each (Including basement and ground floor). Your room is literally a room in a big house. Housing is for both sexes and the total size is about 190 residents. As a result of being individual houses you will not meet half as many people as the bigger halls because you essentially only have 7-20 housemates. Another result is you have some really tiny half-roof rooms that slope downwards, and some really dark basement rooms that never see the light of day, but you might get a massive once-a-living-room room with plenty of sunlight in summer. In JT there are more double rooms than single rooms, so if you wanted to live there, you might do better to opt for a double room. But ATH is mostly newly renovated and it looks a whole lot better than JT. Cleaning Services: The corridors, kitchens and restrooms are cleaned on every other weekday, but not on Saturday and Sundays. The cleaners do not enter your room to clean but heavy-duty vacuum cleaners are available on every floor, sometimes people are selfish but you could borrow from other floors. Hall Security: Everyone would be given one key that conveniently unlocks both the front door and their individual rooms. But they cannot try to open each other's doors because the key does not work. Mind blown. Security wise, there is a surveillance camera at the front door. Other than that, there's nothing between you and a thug except 3 locked doors. But rest assured, physically breaking through one door would have made enough sound to wake everyone up because, thin walls. By the third door, the police should have arrived. If not, the resident warden would be beating up the intruder with her Teflon™ pan (or her hunky boyfriend would be). You are safe. Vice-wardens rotate being on duty. Some units have "auto-lock" doors like a hotel room as opposed to the traditional key. Please opt for the traditional key if you think you'll be locked out frequently. The management is open to such requests if you

send them an email right after you've been allocated. AT is marginally more secure than JT because they have a flat door in addition to the main door & room door. Hall Facilities: In AT some houses have common rooms (but they’re increasingly being converted to massive bedrooms) and all 4 AT houses share a laundry room in the basement. No matter which flat you live in, including 119, you still have to haul your laundry basket out the front door onto the streets and risk making eye contact with random people to reach the laundry room. There are 3 washing machines and 2 dryers. Machines uses a system from circuit laundry and cost 2.50 for a wash and 1.50 for drying. To be honest, I have found the washing and drying quality to be pretty good, if only they didn’t break down that often. I do recommend settling laundry early in the mornings or especially on days where most people have lessons and you hopefully not. Pantry/Kitchen: Large kitchens with a grill oven, oven, microwave, electric stove, a freezer, two fridges and large cupboard space or all. Each kitchen has about 8-10 occupants. Everyone cooks, so it can get crowded at times. Adequate spaces in the fridges to stock 1 weeks’ worth of microwaveable meals at least. The kitchen is the only common space. You either get networking in the first few weeks of school and make some friends or hang out with your orientation group from Singapore for weeks on end and suffer through awkwardness during meal times when you finally make an appearance. Also, you may have heard rumours about Arthur Tattersall house being haunted. That is not true. What is true is that there are rats. This also occurs for places which are newly renovated. Honestly, this has a lot to do with your housemates and your cleanliness. You will come to realise that most people are irresponsible and disgusting and leave everything unwashed and open. So be prepared for lousy kitchen habits. Restrooms: JT has a unisex restroom/shower on every half a floor serving about 6 people each. You're free to use the facilities on other floors/flats. In AT the restrooms are within each flat and serve between 4-10 people. Showers are also in abundance (6 showers for 20 occupants in Unit 115) and you’ll never queue for anything. Because of the thin walls in traditional British housing, you can hear everyone who stomps their way to the toilet. Room Facilities: Room sizes can range from palace to squatter. It depends on luck (and furniture arrangement). Each person gets a bed, a wardrobe, (shared) sink (ATH provides drinking water but I still recommend a water filter jug), study desk, chair and book shelves, bedside table. There is also a chair, LAN cable, fire place and a large notice board. AT uses central heating which is warmer. For JT, you can choose between central heating and individually controlled heat radiators (not advisable). It is advisable to

purchase duvet and bedding sets on your own. The only mysterious thing is the carpet, no one knows how long it has been there. In JT, it sometimes emits a strange, mouldy smell but you quickly get used to it. You don't know what the carpet has been through, and no matter how many times you run Henry the Vacuum Cleaner over it, you cannot shake off the feeling that something horrible had happened at every spot. Of course, that’s just exaggeration. It's not that bad. But the 3 second rule for food should still be banned for the sake of your health. A roommate of a UCLSS member once vomited on the carpet, but 3 months later he/she could hardly tell. Nevertheless, one learns to adapt to circumstances, however unfortunate. Distance from UCL Main Campus: AT and JT are on Gower St. If you're a skilled jay-walker, it takes 10 seconds to cross the 3- lane road to the main campus. Closest UCL Faculties: The closest faculties are the Departments of Engineering, Biological Sciences, and Statistics. Cruciform hub is also a minute walk away and so really good if you need to get some last-minute printing done as it is open 24 hours. Transport Network: The hall is a 3 min walk away from Goodge St. tube station. Within a 10 min walk there are Warren St, Russell Sq, Euston Sq, and Tottenham Court Road tube stations too. There are several buses right in front of AT and JT. (Due to ongoing regeneration works (West End Project), it is unsure how this will change, but I mean, the tube stations can’t run away!) Other Information: JT is generally quieter than AT with mostly post-graduate students who keep to themselves, but then again this is subjected to who lives there next year. AT and JT function as one hall - there are occasional hall parties in the AT common room. All mail is consolidated at the ATJT residences office that is located just beside AT and a 2 min walk from JT. The office is open only in the day on weekdays until about 5pm so you can't collect your mail after that or on weekends. Note that AT and JT are on Gower Street, which is a main road, so there'll be lots of vehicle noise, including ambulances/police/fire engine sirens which can be quite disturbing at first, but you should get used to it after a while. It is also quite dusty, so do bring along cleaning material when moving in, and consider an air purifier if you're no good with dust. Alternatively, request for a room that is not facing the main road or the basement room. There are supermarkets nearby (Sainsbury's and Tesco are 5 min away), in case you're worried about having to carry your groceries and walking all the way home. Generally, AT and JT are both pleasant places to live. If you would like to experience authentic British university accommodation life, this is the place for you. Not Garden Halls

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4.2 Campbell House (East and West) 2021/2022 Fees (per week): Small Single, non-ensuite (£177.03); Single, non-ensuite (£200.69); Large Single, non-ensuite (£224.42) Catering Options: Self-catered. Cleaning Services: The residents clean their rooms on their own while the kitchens and toilets are cleaned 3 times a week. Vacuum cleaner is available for borrowing. Hall Size: There are 6 floors in total, including the basement, making a total of roughly 100 single rooms and 50 twin rooms. The rooms are of varying sizes so it really depends on your luck! Hall Security: Campbell House is probably one of the halls with the least security. There are no restrictions on the number of guests and how long they can stay. Basically, there is no receptionist, you can get 100 people to party in your big kitchens and even host poker tournaments! You will be issued one key fob that unlocks the main door to enter the building. Quiet hours are from 2300-0700 and should any resident raise a complaint, the Resident on duty will be activated to attend to the commotion. The Residents are senior students, very friendly and will be more than willing to help you adjust into Campbell House. Hall Facilities: There is 1 common room with sofas and a TV. There are also small backyards with benches. The laundry room is only located at Campbell East. Washing machines and dryers cost £3.5 and £1.5 per wash and cycle respectively. An iron is also available in the laundry room, but advisable to buy your own iron. There is also no lift but stairs are great for your daily legs workout! The Hall recently partnered with Circuit Laundry which has an mobile app that allows you to top up and spend credit on the machines. Detergent is self-supplied. Pantry/Kitchen: Roughly 10 residents share 1 kitchen, which is generally well equipped and spacious. Each kitchen has 2 sinks, 8 stoves, 2 refrigerators, 1 freezer, a microwave, 2 ovens and 2 toasters. Each resident is also assigned a storage cupboard. The kitchen is accessible with the same key that you use to enter the room.

Restrooms: On average there are 2 showers and 2 toilets for every 5 residents. Toilets tend to be dirty after a heavy party session (as with all halls). Nevertheless, cleaners ensure that the toilets are serviceable during the weekdays. Over the longer Winter and Easter breaks, cleaners may not be on shift. Room Facilities: Bedding is not provided and you will have to get your own. They offer a bedding set for £50 but it is definitely not worth your money, purchase your own instead. Rooms are all non en-suite. Wi-Fi is available in all rooms. Room sizes vary regardless of it being a twin room or single. But rooms in Campbell House West basement and 1st floor are big in size with a balcony to use as fridge. Distance from UCL Main Campus: This is one of the halls where you can wake up 10 min before a lecture and still reach in time. It takes less than 5 min to get to the main quad. For economics/science students, your lecture theatre is just 30 seconds sprint away. For the Law students, you can reach your tutorials in under 5 minutes. One of the halls that allow you to go back to take your notes during break and get back early! Closest UCL Faculties: Campbell is close to the Department of Chemistry, Department of Economics and Faculty of Law. It is close to The Student Centre, Libraries, UCLU Bloomsbury Fitness, UCLU Bloomsbury theatre and other UCLU bars. Transport Network: A 3 min walk will get you to Euston Square and Euston tube stations while it takes 10 min to get to Russell Square tube station and it is not very far actually. Other information: The main positive aspect of Campbell House is that its location is extremely close to school. A 3 min walk also gets you to Euston Station Plaza where there’s a small Sainsburys, M&S and a number of cafes and restaurants (like Nandos). However, it takes almost 10 min to get to the closest large supermarket – Sainsburys at Warren Street. In terms of bringing in guests, there is a lot of freedom so you can make use of the large kitchen spaces. However, the reception is only open on working days and hours, thus some services such as collecting parcels can be quite troublesome especially during school holidays. The laundry room is only located in Campbell East, so if you get assigned to Campbell West, it can be a little troublesome to cross the road to do your laundry, especially during winter. Being a self-catered hall, it may be hard to make many friends in hall since meal times are different and hall activities are mostly during the first few weeks. There will usually be a Facebook Chat set up, and you can take the initiative to create one for your kitchen. Cooking and eating with hall mates are great ways of getting to know people.

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4.3 Frances Gardner House 2021/2022 Hall Fees (per week): Single en-suite (£230.58); Double en-suite (£293.30) Catering Options: Self-catered. Cleaning Services: The corridors and kitchen are cleaned once every morning (around 10am) during the weekdays. Rooms are not cleaned. Vacuum cleaners are available at the reception of Langton Close. Hall Size: A building typically has 5-7 floors and they are all mixed floors. There are approximately 6-8 rooms in a flat with one kitchen. Total of 217 single en-suite rooms and 1 double en-suite room available. Hall Security: CCTV cameras are in operation in most of the common areas and electronic keys are needed to enter Frances Gardner House (FG). The electronic key is also needed to enter the respective block and a key is needed to enter your flat. That is about four levels of security before you can get to your room. As there is no reception to FG, there is no limit to the number of guests you want to bring over at any time or how long they can stay. Hall Facilities: FG shares its facilities with Langton Close (which is right next door). There are 3 common rooms, including one computer room with printing facilities and one study room. The common rooms have a TV, pool table, sofas and tables. The study room has tables and chairs. There is a laundry room with both washing machines (GBP 2 per wash) and dryers (GBP 1 per cycle). The computer room has 10-15 desktops and a printer, and you are able to print documents using the credit in your UCL account. There is also a mail rack where you can collect letters. Pantry/Kitchen: 8 residents share one pantry. Each resident has their own cupboard to store food. There are two big fridges, which are usually sufficient to accommodate all the groceries. There are 8 stoves, 2 ovens and 2 sinks. There are also additional cupboards if extra space is required. Restrooms: All rooms are en-suite (you get your own toilet and shower in the room). Room Facilities: FG is one of the halls that provide the largest rooms and is en-suite. Each room comes equipped with a bed, bedside table, wardrobe, study desk with four drawers, shelf, chair, heat radiator. All rooms have a corkboard and a metal dustbin provided. Each room comes equipped with a wifi router, and the wifi is the same as the one used in school, so you only need to register your devices once. A bedding pack can be bought for GBP 25 but it is overpriced so get your own.

Distance from UCL Main Campus: FG is one of the further halls and it takes about 20 min to get to the UCL main campus. Good exercise though! Closest UCL Faculties: FG is close to the Faculty of Speech Sciences (Chandler House). Transport Network: FG is near to Russell Square, King’s Cross and Chancery Lane tube stations. There are also bus services 45 and 46. Other information: FG is very quiet, spacious and good for studying. It feels very safe but can be a little isolating despite its fairly good distance from school. In the mornings when you are on your way to school, you may cut through St Andrew’s Garden to save a good 5 min of walking. On the way back, you may cut through Eastman Dental Hospital and exit via its back door to gain direct access to FG to save around 10 min of walking! FG is very close to the Brunswick, which has an ATM, NHS outlet, movie theatre, supermarket (Waitrose), Starbucks, shopping and eateries like Nandos.

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4.4 John Dodgson House 2021/2022 Fees (per week): Single, non-ensuite (£200.69.41), Single, ensuite (£259.00) Catering Options: Self-catered. Cleaning Services: Rooms and toilets are to be cleared by the occupant, on their own prerogative. Vacuum cleaners can be borrowed from the reception at no cost, by depositing your UCL ID card. The toilet for handicap access on the ground floor is cleaned by the cleaners every day. The common kitchen is cleaned by the cleaners thrice a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The cleaners will take out the trash in the kitchen on cleaning days, but personal trash is to be cleared by the occupants, at the garbage area on the lower ground floor. Communal corridors and areas are cleaned on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Hall Size: John Dodgson House has a lower ground floor and has 6 floors above the ground floor. Effectively, it spans 8 floors. Excluding the lower ground floor, which has no accommodation facilities, there are about 30-40 students living on each floor. Each floor has 4 flats, each having either 5 or 10 bedrooms. All flats are mixed sex. Single sex flats may not be arranged in this house due to its policy. Hall Security: There should be at least 1 receptionist or security guard on shift at the reception 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Entry into the hall is via your resident-issued key fob, which you swipe at the automated doors. Take note that you should be mindful when entering the automated doors, because the doors do not close immediately after you go through them. Ensure that no non-residents enter the residence behind you without permission. Because of this, there have been incidents when the homeless or even burglars have gained access to the residence. Access to individual bedrooms and the kitchen assigned to the flat you belong to is by key. Each resident is permitted to sign in an overnight guest, for a maximum of 3 nights every term, at no cost. The sign-in book is usually placed on a table near the receptionist. Of course, there are ways around this rule, e.g. don’t even bother to sign in the guest. Hall Facilities: Most rooms are en-suite (shower, sink and toilet) with the exception of the sole two-bedroom flat. Each room has a wired network connection point, and there is Wi-Fi throughout the building. The Wi-Fi is generally reliable, but there are periods when the signal is weak. The reception point is on the ground floor. The reception point is where you can collect bulky parcels, registered mail, sign in guests and make enquiries in general. On the lower ground floor there is a common area aka social learning space. The common area contains a separate computer room which contains around 25 desktop computers and printing facilities (using the

same printing system as UCL, so it is required to use your own printing credits there). At the moment, the regular mail (letters etc.) are deposited in mailboxes at the common area, according to your flat number. Outside, there is a TV area with comfortable couches and a large TV where residents can watch TV programmes. The TV is also equipped with a blu-ray player and a HDMI interface, hence giving residents an area to watch their favourite DVDs or play their favourite console games in a social context. The common room is open to residents 24/7 (despite rules that there should be no noise in common areas from 11pm to 8am) and most social events organized by the hall are held there. Residents usually gather in the common room to socialise, have a few glasses and play some drinking games before heading out to hit the clubs. Recently, they have instituted a new system to hosting parties, where you have to seek approval from the Estate Manager (Edd) beforehand. On the lower ground floor, there is also a garbage area (for personal trash) and a laundry room. The laundry room has 3 washing machines (£2.50 per wash cold cycles and £3.50 for hot cycles, 30min per cycle), 4 dryers (£1.50 per 60-minute cycle), and an ironing board and an iron. Residents must use their own washing powder or liquid. Be punctual when doing your laundry and transfer items to the dryer/remove them promptly, to avoid having others handle your freshly washed clothes and leave them in the large pile of unclaimed clothes atop the washers (which will subsequently be transferred to lost property). Additionally, there is also a bicycle storage facility (adjacent to the garbage area), lift access serving all floors, as well as accommodation that is catered for students with restricted mobility e.g. handicap access and toilets. Pantry/Kitchen: There is a kitchen for every flat of 5-10 bedrooms. Each kitchen has two fridges, freezers, sinks and stoves. Each resident is also allocated a cupboard (padlocks to be purchased separately) for the storage of dry foods and utensils. Restrooms: En-suite rooms come with a restroom containing a standing shower, toilet and sink with mirror. The restroom door also has a full-length mirror. The two-bedroom flat has the same restroom; the only exception is that two people share it. Room Facilities: Rooms come with a bed (with mattress), cupboard, drawers, storage shelves, study desk, chair, LAN port, table light and heater. On the walls beside the bed and above the study table there are corkboards that you can make use of to pin up notices and posters. The placement of posters upon the walls with tape or blue-tack is prohibited, but do as you wish, just be reminded to remove them before the periodic room inspections. Dates of room inspections are broadcast over the UCL e-mail.

Residents may purchase a bedding pack from UCL residences before their arrival, which includes a pillow, duvet, pillow and duvet covers, and fitted sheet. All rooms are carpeted. Distance from UCL Main Campus: It takes about 10-15 min to reach the UCL main campus on foot. Closest UCL Faculties: The nearest faculties are the Faculties of Psychology and Geography in Bedford Way (around 5-10 min walk) and the (temporary) Faculty of Law building in Bentham House. The School of Pharmacy is nearby Brunswick Square Gardens, which is also about 5min walk from the residence. Transport Network: John Dodgson House is extremely conveniently located. King’s Cross St. Pancras tube station is literally right opposite the house, about 2min walk across the main road. The next nearest tube station is Russell Square, in the direction of the Brunswick, around 5min walk away. The bus stops along the main road have many bus services (including night buses and 24-hour services) that serve various destinations, making the area relatively well-connected. It is also convenient for rail travel. The St. Pancras International rail station (for the Eurostar to France, Belgium, Germany etc. and journeys to the further northern part of the UK) as well as Euston rail station (for travel to nearer areas, such as Warwick, Bristol and Birmingham) are both a mere 5min walk away. Other information: John Dodgson House was newly re-opened in the autumn of 2013, after renovations the previous year. As a result, the facilities are relatively new; you’ll get nice kitchen facilities and rooms (as compared to some of the older halls). The TV and computers in the common room are also completely new, and run really quickly. You will definitely have a good social life in this house, as long as you take the initiative to talk to new people and avoid staying in your room by yourself all the time. The nature of this house allows for completely self-sufficient living, but don’t allow that to define you, and get to know the great mix of international students, both male and female, that live in your flat. You could even get to know people from different floors, especially during pre- drinking sessions in the common room. The Brunswick shopping area is just 5min away from John Dodgson House. There are some pretty good food outlets such as King of Falafel, China China, Fork Patisserie, Alara (for all you organic foodies), Gourmet Burger Kitchen (which has a killer 30% student discount), and most of them offer student discounts, because of the large number of students living nearby. If you get tired of that, hop on the tube at King’s Cross or take a short walk to Camden Town, Leicester Square, Chinatown, Covent Garden or Soho where there are lots of good food to be found. The Brunswick also offers many shopping

options: Waitrose (groceries), Robert Dyas (your kitchen utensils), Holland and Barrett (health products), and some clothing and shoe stores. There is also a 24-hour Tesco opposite Russell Square tube station, for your late-night snack. Right outside John Dodgson house, there is a convenience store that sells some fresh produce, snacks, tobacco and liquor. It’s a tad bit more expensive, but it’s really convenient. Other options right outside the residence along the main road include Pret a Manger and Starbucks for breakfasts, and the Euston Flyer for a couple of pints and a good EPL game with friends.

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4.5 Langton Close 2021/2022 Fees (per week): Small Single, non-ensuite (£156.03); Single, non-ensuite (£179.41); Large Single, non-ensuite (£203.07) Catering Options: Self-catered. Cleaning Services: Common areas, such as the toilets, corridor and kitchen, are cleaned. ROOMS ARE NOT. The kitchen is cleaned every morning, the toilets once every few days and the corridors vacuumed occasionally. Vacuum cleaners are available at the reception. Hall Size: Rooms are arranged in flats. There are 5 or 8 rooms to a flat. Really huge and segregated such that you generally only meet and hang out with people in your own flat, though this means you form close relationships with your flatmates. Moreover, Langton Close is home to a handful of exchange students that change at the end of every term - hence you get to make more friends from more places in the world. Hall Security: Hall security is minimal. An electronic key is needed to open 2 sets of doors at the front porch but that's all. Reception is open on weekdays from 8am to 6pm. There is one key for the front door of the flat and another for the room. However, that said, Langton Close is arguably very safe without being restrictive, due to both its location and the number of doors one has to pass through to get to the room Hall Facilities: Langton Close has common rooms, a laundry room, a printing cluster room and communal bathtubs, all of which are located at the basement. The common room is very clean – well furbished with a TV, pool table, table tennis table and a vending machine, together with comfortable couches, making it perfect for gatherings. Pantry/Kitchen: Langton Close offers probably one of the best kitchens among all UCL halls. It is very well-equipped. For a 5-room flat, there is a stove, a baking oven, a microwave oven, food cupboards for everyone, storage cupboards, dining table and chairs, as well as a heater. If you're lucky, you might get other appliances such as toasters etc. Everything is doubled for an 8-room flat. It is also clean and in an almost-mint condition.

Restrooms: There is 1 toilet and 1 shower room for a 5-room flat, 2 of each for an 8-room flat.

Room Facilities: A typical room is equipped with a bed (no sheets provided, but you can purchase a set from the reception when you first move in, it is overpriced so you should get your own), study table (NO study lamp provided so you will have to get your own if you want one), bookshelves, a small bedside cupboard, heater (centrally controlled), small wardrobe, washbasin, a huge mirror behind the door and a standard mirror above the wash basin. Note that the hall policy disallows the use of a kettle/electronic cooking devices in your room. Also, there appears to be a vast difference in room sizes depending on which floor you are allocated on. For instance, the ground floor level rooms are almost twice the size as the ones on the 3rd. Distance from UCL Main Campus: It takes 20min by walking to get to the UCL main campus. There is NO bus service to the main quad. and it is also impractical to take the tube as the nearest tube station from Langton Close (Russell Square) is 5-10 min away from the main campus and it is not on the same line as the tube stations nearest to school. Closest UCL Faculties: The nearest faculty is the Eastman Dental Institute, Faculty of Speech Sciences and the UCL Language Centre which is a 15 min walking distance away. Transport Network: Russell Square (5-7 min), King's Cross (8-10 min), Chancery Lane (15 min) are all near Langton Close. There is also a bus stop right outside Langton Close but it only has 3 bus services. There are also bus services from the bus stop at the back of Langton Close, meaning along Farringdon Road, which has more bus services. There is a night bus from there (N63) to the Elephant and Castle, which is of great convenience. Other information: There is a nice little garden (actually a refurbished graveyard...) behind Langton Close. It is a 25 min walk to Covent Garden and a 35 min walk to Oxford Street and Chinatown. Hall parties are held occasionally and facilities are shared with Frances Gardner House, although all the facilities are located in the Langton Close building. There is lift access to all levels. Moreover, its proximity to Brunswick and Exmouth Market (which a lot of people are not aware of), both around 5 minutes away, gives a massive plethora of restaurants and pubs. Moreover, being just off a main road (Gray’s Inn Road) from Euston Road makes the walk home late at night very safe as the roads are still busy though there is an alley which is sometimes empty that you need to walk through.

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4.6 Max Rayne House 2021/2022 Fees (per week): Single, non-ensuite (£130.97); Large Single, non-ensuite (£151.97); 1 Bedroom Flat (£256.34) Catering Options: Self-catered. Cleaning Services: The cleaning schedule includes 5 times a week kitchen cleaning (reasonable quality of cleaning), 5 times a week bathroom cleaning (reasonable quality, cleaning (2 times a week). Unfortunately, there have been previous instances of pest problems in Max Rayne. However, that has been fixed and the management and cleaners do a thorough job at maintaining that. The only problem remains the squirrels. Although not aggressive, they can be annoying if they sneak into the kitchens and rooms through open windows. Vacuum cleaners are available from main reception at Ifor Evans or can be found in the kitchen in each corridor. Hall Size: Max Rayne has 5 mixed floors and 28 corridors. Each corridor holds around 10 occupants of mixed sexes. Total of 243 single and 28 twin rooms. Hall Security: Two guards are posted at Ann Stephenson House (near the main gate). The security guards patrols the whole gated compound (4 halls plus reception including MR) but do not check for identity of guests. However, people cannot get into the building unless they have the keys and access fobs. (If you want to be on good terms with the security guard, one of them is especially interested in solar energy.) Look after yourself and lock the door when you are out for a long time. Reported cases of theft of laptops and strangers seen wandering within the building acting as relatives of students. However, such cases are very rare. Hall Facilities: Common room with a TV, vending machine, pool table and foosball table. It is usually utilised for gatherings but at times you can head there to study. There is a table tennis room as well. Laundry room is shared for the whole building and situated at the ground floor. It holds 5 washing machines and 5 dryers and is operated by circuit (laundry card company). Try to do laundry on weeknights to avoid long waits on weekends. Pantry/Kitchen: People along a corridor share the same kitchen, so around 10 to 12 people per kitchen. There are individual lockers for you to keep your cooking equipment. Provides 2 shared fridges and 1 large freezer for the corridor (you can request for an additional fridge on top of the one they provide if you are persistent in bugging the Ifor Evans reception) If comfortable, do explore the option of sharing milk and other commonly used essentials such as dishes, cooking pots and pans so that the kitchen will not be overloaded with personally tagged items and cause unnecessary arguments. Rice cooker is available for purchase at Argos and

Morrison, which are within walking distance. There are also 2 stoves and 2 ovens, and multiple cupboard and locker spaces, do not worry about storage options. One person usually gets more than enough space to store groceries and cooking equipment. Restrooms: There are 2 toilets and 2 shower rooms in each flat shared by guys and girls. It may be a bit embarrassing for girls to walk into a guy in the toilet but you'll get used to it. Room Facilities: Bedding items can be purchased from the reception but it would be expensive and bland. Do explore other options available along Camden High Street which are better quality and cheaper. Students usually purchase home decor items at Primark on Tottenham court road as they are much cheaper and nicer. Table lamps are not provided but lighting in room strong enough to go without. Rooms come with a sink, wardrobe, drawers, bedside table, window seat, single bed, a chair and a study table. Distance from UCL Main Campus: 20-30 min walk to main campus (depending on how fast you walk ) or take bus 29 or 253 which is directly outside the compound and goes directly to school or to Euston station (near school). Walks to school are quite nice and therapeutic as the scenery is beautiful and surroundings are less chaotic as compared to the Bloomsbury area. However, on busy school mornings, particularly for 9am lectures, buses may be quite crowded and you may find yourself having to wait for the next bus. Buses come at 5-10 minute intervals. The wait may go up to half an hour. Nearest tube station is Camden Town, which is 10 min walk away. Closest UCL Faculties: Nothing is close. Such is life. But there is the bus. Transport Network: The nearest tube station is Camden Town. Camden Overground is nearby too. There are two buses serving the area. King’s cross station is a 15-minute walk away. Other information: Max Rayne is one of the further out student residences and so more time will be spent travelling to and fro from school. However, along the way back, you will pass by Camden High Street with a lot of different options to buy your groceries, such as Lidl, Poundland (where everything is 1 pound) and a large Sainsbury’s. Shop around to get your items to cook since this is a self- catered hall. Behind the compound is the next town, Kentish Town. If you are lazy to travel to Camden high street, Kentish Town also has Tesco and Lidl, as well as plenty of quaint coffee shops and food places. If not, eat out and the stalls at Camden are cheaper too. Night time can be scary at first since it is a foreign place, but you just need to adapt and be vigilant. However, there is little to worry about as the streets are still busy even in the early mornings, and the area is generally residential.

A point to note is that Ifor Evans, Ann Stephenson, and Max Rayne Halls/Houses share the same ground in Camden Town. Hence, parts of their facilities are shared amongst one another.

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4.7 Schafer House 2021/2022 Fees (per week): Small Single, non-ensuite (£177.03); Single, non-ensuite (£200.69); Large Single, non-ensuite (£224.42) Catering Options: Self-catered. Hall Size: Schafer House consists of 5 blocks, organised into flats. Each flat houses 3 or 5 people, and the residents within share a toilet, a shower and a fully equipped kitchen. There are up to 7 floors of residents, and the complex contains lifts for 2 of the 5 blocks. Sexes are not segregated. The residence accommodates 369 students, according to its website. Cleaning Services: The kitchen and toilets are cleaned every 2-3 times a week. In general, the flat is maintained well, although the cleanliness of the toilets and the kitchen can vary depending on your flatmates. Cleanliness within the personal rooms is up to the prerogative of the individual, but there are vacuum cleaners available at the reception office (open on weekdays and office hours only) which can be borrowed out in exchange for one’s student ID. Note that the floors of all rooms are carpeted. Inspections are carried out once to twice a term, with notice given in advance. Hall Security: Security here is extremely lax. The main entrance consists of a set of double doors which require a key, but many visitors just loiter around until an incoming resident opens the door and slip in. One is not required to register guests (in fact, the comings and goings of people are not recorded at all). However, one technically is required to write down on a book in the common room if there are guests staying over. This rule is, however, almost not enforced whatsoever. Hall Facilities: The hall has a common room equipped with a television and a foosball table. There is also a laundry room with 6 coin-operated washing machines (£2.50 per half-hour wash – bring your own laundry powder) and 6 coin-operated dryers (£1.50 for an hour). Ironing boards are available in kitchens, and irons can be loaned from reception. There are also racks for bicycle parking, but these are exposed and not particularly secure. Most large-scale social activity takes place in the courtyard in the centre of the complex. Another benefit of Schafer is that it contains its own computer room and printer, which only Schafer residents can access, and which means that you do not need to walk to one of the UCL libraries in order to print stuff. Pantry/Kitchen: There is a very well-equipped kitchen per flat, which differs in size depending on whether your flat houses three or five people. Each of these contains a refrigerator (size depends on number of people your flat houses) and freezer, a microwave

oven, conventional oven, oven grill and an open-top induction stove with four hobs (of much less power than the ones back home, so be prepared to spend more time waiting for water to boil). Each student is entitled to one pantry cupboard in the kitchen and share one stove. All cold-water taps dispense potable water. There are plenty of electrical sockets, so there should be no problem with bringing in kettles, toasters and electric rice cookers as well. However, do note that kitchen appliances are meant to be kept in the kitchen and not your bedrooms (though this is generally not enforced unless there are room checks). Restrooms: Each flat has at least one bathroom with a shower and a toilet bowl. Flats housing 5 people (the vast majority) have an additional small toilet. Room Facilities: Room sizes generally do not vary very much, though if you are lucky to get a corner room you will have some extra space. Generally, there will be enough leeway to arrange the furniture to create some space. Each room comes with a standard single bed, lounge chair, bookshelf, desk and chair, trashcan, sink with small mirror (do note there is no full-length mirror in the bedroom or anywhere else in the flat), a small chest of drawers and limited cupboard space (this might pose a problem if you have a lot of clothes). Heating is erratic but generally sufficient. Bedding can be booked prior to arrival at an exorbitant £50 and is generally of low quality – would strongly recommend sourcing for one’s own. The room contains a LAN port and cable; though wireless routers are forbidden. There are also ample power sockets; though it is always a good idea to bring a few extension adapters (box adapters are disallowed). Corkboards and the like are not provided but can be obtained as there should be ample space on the walls for decorations, and the rules prohibiting blue-tack are not strictly adhered to. Distance from UCL Main Campus: Schafer’s great advantage is its great location, it is technically considered to be on the southern extreme of Camden, but it is really no more than 5 to 15 min away from the main Bloomsbury campus on foot. Closest UCL Faculties: Generally speaking, medicine, law and science students have their main buildings closest. It is also relatively close to the Main Quad and the UCL Union building. Transport Network: The hall is a short 5 min walk away from the following tube stations: Warren Street, Euston Square, Great Portland Street; and perhaps about 10 min to Euston, Mornington Crescent and Regent’s Park. Other Information: Do not be fooled by what you may have heard about Schafer. It is, for what it’s worth, an extremely good place and very good value. However, it is important to realise that living in Schafer requires some degree of independence and effort:

which is good practice for the following years anyway. Before arriving, many people online bemoan the flay layout and supposedly less-party atmosphere of the hall, claiming it to be not socially-inclined. This, however, is generally untrue, as Schafer is well known for its extremely sociable culture. Also, the apartment layout offers opportunities quality interaction with your flatmates, and the lax policies mean that you can throw parties and host friends over to interact. If you’re one who prefers to study from your room in silence, worry not - social events quieten down towards exam season, and the night guards can always be called to ensure that noise is kept at a minimum. The best thing about life here is its great flexibility compared to many of the other halls, which means that you can have a very good time if you are prepared to be responsible. It is also near to cheap food options on Tottenham Court Road like Wasabi (half-price sushi 30 minutes before closing!) and Simply Chicken. Final gripe: lighting can be a bit dim as rooms do not have ceiling lamps; be prepared to make a trip down to IKEA or Argos to correct that later on in the term.

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4.8 Goldsmid House

2021/2022 Hall Fees (per week): Single, ensuite, (£219.52) Catered food: Food is uncatered. Hall Size: The hall is divided into two buildings - North and South. As of now, only the North building is being used. There are 8 floors in the building, with there being 12 rooms per floor. There are two kitchens per floor, with 6 people being assigned each kitchen. There are around 90 students living in Goldsmid, but this constantly changes as a lot of exchange students are assigned to live in Goldsmid. Expect people living on your floor to come and go. This is great as you get to meet more people, but not so much fun when you become close to flatmates who have to leave at the end of the term. Cleaning Services: Kitchens are cleaned on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Bins in the kitchen are emptied every day. Upkeep of your room is left entirely to you. Vacuum cleaners can be borrowed from the hall reception, and there is a mop and broom available in every kitchen. Hall Security: The hall has two electric gates you must pass through to gain access into the building. There are no guards, only a warden sitting in reception. You are allowed one guest to stay up to 10 nights a week. You are supposed to sign your guests in, but really no one cares or checks who you bring into your room. Hall Facilities: The hall has limited facilities. The only truly common area is a podium for smoking. There are organised events from time to time, but this is hard in the winter when no one wants to hang out outside. All washing machines and dryers have a card where you can put credit in and top up when the credit runs out. I recommend getting the circuit app instead of using a card. That way you can never lose your card, and it also tells you how long you have to wait untill your cycle is over. The price for washing machines are £2.50, £1.50 and for the dryers. The hall also has a UCL printer. This comes in very handy. You are also given £12 worth of credit for the whole year. Pantry/Kitchen: Food is uncatered, so you’ll have to learn to cook for yourself. Kitchens are decently sized. You’re provided with two fridges, a toaster, microwave, oven, hob and kettle. You will be sharing with 5 other people. It can get a bit busy at times but nothing unreasonable. Everyone also gets their own labelled cabinet. You can lock your cabinet, but few people do that because it looks hostile and most of the time you end up becoming friends with your kitchen-mates. I do know people in other floors steal, so really it

all comes down to luck with your floormates. Also, as the hall doesn’t have a common room, oftentimes kitchens function as social areas. Expect pres and social gatherings to occur in your kitchen. Restrooms: Everyone gets their own bathroom, with a sink, shower and toilet. It is rather small and there is no true separation between the shower and the bathroom except for a curtain, so it does get rather well. But it’s good enough and all your own! Room Facilities: Rooms are all the same size, but can either be rectangular or square shaped. Chances are you will get a rectangular shaped one. They are bigger than other rooms I have seen, and the beds are big enough to accommodate two people if you ever have someone sleep over. Each room comes equipped with a bed, wardrobe, bathroom, study desk, two chairs, a small table, a heater and two sets of shelves. You can purchase a bedding set before moving in which you can collect from reception on the first day (includes a really flat pillow, pillowcase, bed sheet, duvet and duvet case). It is probably more worth it to get a duvet from a senior or from Primark, which has the same quality things for cheaper. Distance from UCL Main Campus: Goldsmid is the furthest hall to the UCL main campus, being a 50-minute walk away from school. However, since it is so close to Victoria station, it is only 20 minutes away from school if you take the tube. Due to this, many students have an unlimited monthly travel card as it is pretty likely they’ll be taking the tube to and from school every day. Transport Network: The hall is a short 5 min walk away from Victoria Station. The Station is incredibly connected, being on the Victoria, District and Circle lines. Southwest and east trains also depart from Victoria so you are well connected to south London and other areas in South England. Furthermore, there is a coach station right by the trains station, with trains that go all over. Easy access to airports as well, with the Gatwick express and Luton coach. Other Information: Don’t get put off by the distance from school. Victoria is a lovely area. It’s just a short walk from Buckingham palace, Hyde Park, Green park and St James Park. Wicked is shown probably a 2-minute walk from halls. It’s really easy to get around, and it is actually quite nice to be further out from school. It forces you to get to know London a bit better, rather than being stuck in Bloomsbury constantly. Also, since it is a small hall without a proper common room, it is far quieter than other big UCL halls. You can always go to Schafer for parties, and come back to quiet Goldsmid for rest. Also, the hall itself is really quite clean, brighter than a lot of UCL halls, with bigger rooms. The area is safe as well.

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4.9 Astor College 2021/2022 Hall Fees (per week): Small single, non-ensuite (£184.03); Single, non-ensuite (£208.74); Large single, non-ensuite (£233.38); Single, ensuite (£269.36); Large single, ensuite (£292.53); Duplex single room, ensuite (£292.53); Large duplex single room, ensuite (£300.30) General Information: Places are offered for 39 weeks and only for undergraduates. Catering Options: Astor College is self-catered. Kitchens are communal and located on each floor. They contain a microwave, fridge, freezer, table and chairs, cupboards, kettle, hob, oven, bin and recycling bin. Cleaning Services: Communal corridors are vacuumed once a week and communal toilets are cleaned 2-3 times a week. Cleaning services are only for shared spaces, such as the kitchen/common area and common corridors. Even then, this tends to be insufficient so you either come up with a roster among your flatmates...or you have a clean kitchen for only one day every week. Vacuum cleaners are available in every kitchen/common area and are shared between flatmates. Laundrettes are available at B1. The price is £1.80 for a wash and £2.40 for a drying cycle. Hall Size: There's approximately 400 students in this Hall, with 7 floors above the ground floor and 1 lower ground floor. Flats are assigned based on the type of room you opt for (single vs shared, ensuite vs non-ensuite, normal room vs small room) and the number of people in each flat depends on the type of room you opted for and the location of your room in the floor. All flats are mixed-sex. You do not get a choice in the location of your room but room trades are possible (see Accommodation website). Each floor is divided into 5 flats and has 7 shared shower facilities (inclusive of one handicapped facility). Noise level really depends on where your room is and the flatmates you have. If you stay next to the kitchen and your flatmates happen to be pre-drinking, you'll definitely be able to hear them. But apart from that, the rooms generally block out sound from the outside (so you won't hear your flatmates in their room and they won't hear you in yours). Since there are 5 flats for every floor, you do meet a lot of new people in the lifts and along the corridors (especially during Freshers' week). Astor College is housed in a single building spanning seven floors serviced by two lifts. Vacuum cleaners, irons and ironing boards are located in the kitchen/common area, where you share it with seven other flatmates. It is usually noisy early in the year, though it will die down over time. Wednesdays and Fridays are the noisiest (because people will go clubbing). Apart from that, while it depends on your flatmates, generally people are friendly and nice, with

plenty of opportunities to meet with flatmates and other flatmates. Kitchen/common areas are where pre-s usually take place, and an opportunity to meet new flatmates if you're keen. There are also numerous parties organised by the College staff and by Hall reps throughout a year! Hall Security: There is CCTV surveillance and 24/7 support from student resident advisors. Reception is manned 24/7 by the warden and reception staff. Hence, entry to the main building is always monitored. CCTV is used on all entrances and in the lobby, common room and outdoor lounge area. You need a key card to enter the hall, as well as the lift lobby, the stairwell, your floor, your kitchen and your room. Only residents living in the same flat as you can enter your kitchen. Reception is very strict about signing guests in especially after 8pm (when the security guard goes on duty), and thus, one should be cautious about not signing people in and sneaking them up. Each resident is permitted to sign in an overnight guest, for a maximum of 3 nights every term, at no cost. The sign-in book is usually placed on a table near the receptionist. The area around the hall is generally safe (there were some incidents of moped theft at the start of the academic year but isn't that just London in general). The roads around the hall are rather brightly lit so don't worry too much about getting back after a night out. Hall Facilities: This is one of only a few newly renovated residences in UCL, so everything is brand-new and really well-furnished. The large common room located at the basement is decked with a large TV, to which you can connect your own devices to watch something together with friends. The common room also has 2 two-player arcade game machines where you can play many different retro games like Pacman and Donkey Kong. From the common room, you can head out and access the outdoor lounge area which has tables, chairs and a couch. The post room hasn't been set up so at the moment, mail is sent directly to the reception desk and you will receive an email informing you to collect your mail should you receive anything. There are four washers and four dryers in the launderette. Each wash cycle is £2.60 while each dryer cycle costs £1.20. Laundry detergent is not provided. There is a study room with desktop computers if you need a larger screen or the computers in general, there is also a printer which uses the same printing credits as UCL. If you do need a print-out in a stitch, reception is very friendly and always willing to help. The trash room is also located on the ground floor (key card access only) for residents to dispose of their personal trash. Astor College is known to be accommodation that is catered for students with restricted mobility so if you do require handicap access and toilets, you are likely to

be given a room on the ground floor, as well as a larger room. Regent's Park is about a 20-minute walk away, making it a perfect place to exercise (or train if you join some sports). Pantry/Kitchen: Kitchens at Astor are shared between 5-9 flatmates. There are eight electric stoves, with shared kitchen cupboards (try to grab some space as quickly as possible, so that you at least have a cupboard to yourself). There is a full-sized fridge and a separate full-sized freezer, so space should not be an issue. While food does not go missing often, it is suggested that you label your food nevertheless. There are no locks for the cupboards but residents are unlikely to take your stuff without asking, unless you happen to get bad flatmates. Entry to the kitchen is by key card and only by those of the same flat as you so your stuff is still relatively safe. Additionally, each kitchen has a cupboard with a mop, a bucket and a vacuum cleaner to be shared among the flat. Since the kitchen amenities are barely a year old, you can rest assured that they are relatively cleaner and newer than that in other halls. You will have to purchase your own sponges and dish-washing liquid, and any utensils and cutlery needed. Restrooms: If you opt for a non-ensuite room, you'll be sharing 3 shower and 3 toilet cubicles for every half a floor. Each floor also has a handicap access toilet. All toilets have a shower cubicle, a toilet and a sink with hand-soap and hand-dryer. The shared toilets are shared among both guys and girls but cleanliness isn't a problem as they are cleaned 2-3 times a week. Toilet paper is also restocked and the hand-soap dispensers will be topped up. While 3 toilets doesn't seem like many, there is rarely a need to wait for an available cubicle. If all 3 toilets are occupied, one can always walk further down the floor to access the other 3 shower and toilet cubicles. There have been issues of hot water or no running water on the 7th floor, but these issues have generally been quickly resolved. Room Facilities: Beds are listed are 3/4 double, so buying sheets can be problematic, but not impossible; you can make do with a double. If you opt for a small room, the bed will be a normal single size. Depending on the direction your room window faces, you either get a well-ventilated room facing the road or a stuffy one facing the construction site at the back of the Hall. Each room is fitted with a bed, desk, desk chair, bin, wardrobe, mirror, blinds, pin board, shelves and a sink basin. Also comes with a lamp for studying, and another lamp permanently fixed beside your bed (for reading at night). Everything is uniformly white or a shade of white, so while it is pleasant to walk into, it's good to make sure it stays clean. There should be enough space for clothes in the cupboard and drawers under the bed. There are also many (SO. MANY.) shelves for you to display your books/photos/snacks. Under the study

table and between the bed, there is also a space for you to store your luggage/boxes. On the walls beside the study table and above the bed, there are magnetic whiteboards that you can use to put up memos and posters. The placement of posters up on the walls with tape or blue-tack is prohibited, but do as you wish, just be reminded to remove them before the periodic room inspections. Dates of room inspections are broadcast over the UCL e-mail. Distance from UCL Main Campus: Astor College is only 8 minutes from campus, and a street away from Tottenham Court Road. The route is simple and intuitive, with getting to further buildings such as the Law Building, Bentham House, taking about 15 minutes. A short 7-minute walk from Oxford Street as well. Generally paths are safe, even when walking back late from campus or from Oxford Street, and easily accessible. Closest UCL Faculties: Cruciform Building and Main Quad are located 8-minutes away, but truthfully anywhere around campus is not more than 15 minutes away. You may want to keep in mind that Astor College, being located west of UCL and of Tottenham Court Road, means that buildings toward the east will take an additional 3 to 7 minutes (Drayton House, Gordon Square, Lewis Building, Bentham House, Bedford Way). Transport Network: The nearest stops are Goodge Street and Warren Street, a mere 4 minute and 7 minute walk away respectively. Those are on the Northern and Victoria line respectively, making it easy to get to anywhere you need to go. Many buses, running through Warren Street run up through Camden, making it easy to get back to Astor College. Generally, however, food places around Tottenham Court Road (mere 10-minute walk) and around Soho and Chinatown (another 5-10 minutes out) make food places accessible and easy to get to, especially if you're craving some Cantonese food. There are two great Indian restaurants nearby, Sagar and Chettinaad along Tottenham Court Road, which serve good Indian (especially South Indian) food. Old Chang Kee is a mere 3-minute walk away, serving good Singaporean food at reasonable prices, and at a 10% discount if you are a UCL SingSoc member! Generally, the low price alongside great facilities make Astor a snag, so long as you're willing to cook and eat out if need be! Other information: Astor was recently renovated and only re-opened in the autumn of 2019 so the hall is relatively new and clean compared to other halls. The TV and computers in the common room are also completely new and run really quickly. While the rent at this hall is slightly more expensive compared to other non-catered halls, I find it worth it because you get nicer kitchens, rooms, a

clean carpet and a much newer mattress (barely a year old). The design of the Hall also feels more modern. You will definitely have a good social life in this house, as long as you take the initiative to talk to new people and avoid staying in your room by yourself all the time. I find it easiest to socialise while in the kitchen because you get to share the food you cook and you can learn about different cultures, especially if you have flatmates from different countries. Astor College is what you make of it. It being well- connected means you can choose to spend time with friends in and around school, or make friends at Astor itself. It can get rowdy, but its low cost and generally friendly and chill atmosphere more than makes up for it. I managed to find myself in Astor because I set my price cap at 210 pounds and set distance as being my most important factor - since you cannot request the exact college, merely listing preferences. For its price and facilities, it's difficult to beat, and it's very new. Groceries can be bought at the nearest Tesco Metro, only about 5 minutes away, Asian supermarkets like Oseyo and Seoul Plaza are 7 minutes away. With proximity to TCR and Oxford Street, you're spoilt for choice when it comes to food options. There is also a newly opened Old Chang Kee that sells curry puffs, laksa and other local food just 5 minutes away from Astor. I would recommend downloading apps like Karma and Too Good To Go as many food outlets along Goodge Street use it. These apps will allow you to buy a meal or pastries at 50% off at certain timings. This is especially useful when you don't have time to cook. Late-night options, namely Subway and McDonald's, are located along Warren St. The Warren St junction has been noted to be unsafe, although I have not been victim of nor witnessed anything problematic. Much like the rest of London, it is best to play safe, keeping your hands in your pocket and not checking your phone while walking along the street. For stationery, a Ryman's store is located along TCR (5-minute walk), and Waterstones, located opposite UCL along Gower St, is an alternative for stationery, alongside textbooks and other books. Many Singaporeans are bound to stay in Gardens, which is an 18-minute walk (being on the other side), but walking from Russell Square and its surrounding areas back is on brightly lit streets (generally) and takes no more than 20 minutes. Walking up to Camden for food and groceries is a 30- minute walk, or shorter by bus/train (but take the walk, it's cheaper and walking isn't too troublesome). Making use of the kitchen and improving your cooking skills is something I recommend (which I did not manage to do much of), but it is a good time to pick up some new skills, given how much money you will be able to save. Overall, I'd highly recommend Astor College to anyone who's willing to cook, and is looking for the closest thing to campus not named Arthur Tattersall House. It's really good accommodation, being new, and I think it's one of the best bang-for-your-buck deals on UCL accommodation there is.

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5 Intercollegiate Halls

Intercollegiate Halls are catered halls that provide accommodation to all students under the University of London (as compared to UCL Hall of Residences which are catered halls that provide accommodation to UCL students only). Hence, you will not only live with people who study in UCL and are likely to meet fellow residents who study in LSE, KCL and other colleges. Another difference as compared to the UCL Hall of Residences is that food is catered on the weekends.

Although these halls are run and administered by UOL, application to stay in intercollegiate halls is still through the UCL platform.

There are a variety of Intercollegiate Halls to choose from and most of them are within a 15 min walking distance from the main campus. Preferred choices of intercollegiate halls can be made through the online application process. Like the Hall of

Residences, a bedding pack is not provided upon arrival and you can choose to purchase one set through the hall management when you do the online application, or procure a set yourself.

For more information, visit: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/accommodation/ucl-halls/intercollegiate-halls and https://halls.london.ac.uk/

Not all the Intercollegiate Halls have been featured in this guide as we have been unable to get adequate information about them. Do follow the links above to find out about other intercollegiate halls like Handel Mansions and Lillian Penson Hall.

5.1 College Hall 2021/2022 Hall Fees (per week): Single, non-ensuite (£249.48); Single, ensuite (£287.28); Accessible single room, ensuite (£287.28) Catering Options: Breakfast is served on weekdays from 8am-9.30am. On weekends brunch is served from 11am-12.30pm. Dinners are served daily at 6pm-7.30pm. There is always at least vegetarian option and sometimes halal options. There are no rebates for Christmas holidays or any long absences from hall. Cleaning Services: Trash bins in the rooms are cleared 3 times a week. All rooms and en-suite toilets are undergo a full clean once a week, during which the cleaners will also vacuum the carpet. Rubbish is cleared twice a week. Shared toilets are cleaned every weekday. Hall Size: 8 floors and 1 single sex floor. All the other floors are of mixed sexes. There are about 40 rooms on each level. College Hall is generally not noisy but if your neighbour smokes in the toilet it will get smelly. Hall Security: Entrance to the hall is regulated by electronic hall passes which open doors and lifts. There is a security/reception on the ground level at the entrance of the hall 24 hours. Guests have to be signed in, up to 3 day-guests each time (before 11pm) and 1 overnight-guest every night, maximum of 10 nights per month (other arrangements can be made but requires emailing the hall head). Hall Facilities: The common room is a relatively large area with two additional lounges. There are scattered tables, sofas and chairs. There is a foosball table, table tennis table and a pool table, equipment available for use at the reception. There is a music room which is sufficiently sound proofed with a piano which you can book for 2 hours at a time. There is a separate TV lounge. It is supposed to have a gaming console to be available for use by next year. Laundry room is at the end of the basement with 5 washing machines and 5 dryers. It costs £2 to wash your clothes, and £1 to dry them, done through contactless payment. The washing machines and dryers are good but can be crowded at peak times, best is morning and later at night. The dining room is very conducive for studying, equipped with 2 vending machines selling drinks and snacks in the dining room if you get hungry. The vending machine sells cheap coke. Water cooler is available there as well, if you don’t feel like investing in a water filter.

Pantry/Kitchen: There is at least 1 pantry on every floor and a few floors have 2 pantries. In every pantry there is an ironing board, irons, 2 medium-sized fridges, a kettle, a microwave oven and large bins which are cleared once a week. There are no kitchens. While the pantry is not bad, there is the occasional food theft case. Restrooms: On every floor, there are about 20 en-suite rooms that come with an attached toilet, shower and basin. The other 20 residents share 2 common restrooms that come fitted with a standing shower, bath tub, heated towel rack, basin and toilet. You will find them mostly empty when you need them. Some may find the ensuite showers a little tiny. Room Facilities: Basic room facilities are decent-sized built-in closet space, a large spacious table and at least 10 built-in shelves for storage. The hall also provides students with a constant supply of toilet rolls. A bedding set (which includes a really flat pillow - bring your own unless you do not mind, pillowcase, bed sheet, duvet and duvet case) that is yours to keep is also provided. There is also a heater which is relatively warm for winter. The wifi is strong, and there is a nice big desk for everything. Closet was a bit small in my case but it is because of my corner room. Lived on the 6th floor so very quiet. Distance from UCL Main Campus: It takes less than 5 min to reach the main quad. It is 1 minute away from the nearest UCL entrance at Malet Place where the engineering building is at. Simply put “Jump down in campus alr”. Closest UCL Faculties: The closest faculties would be the Department of Engineering and Science Library, both of which are within a 1-minute walking radius from the hall. The University of London Union (ULU), where the union gym and pubs are found is located right opposite the hall. The UCLU gym (Bloomsbury fitness) is a 5-10 minutes walk away. Transport Network: Goodge Street station and Euston Square station are a 5 min walk away while Euston, Warren Street, Tottenham Court Road and Russell Square station are all about a 10 min walk from the hall. Other information: The residents and senior members are friendly and approachable, and there are plenty of events organised throughout the year. This ranges from board game nights to fun outings. These are very helpful for making friends at the start of the year but you will find that they become less frequent as the year goes on. If you are interested in partying/drinking, there is plenty of that in the common room (but it will also depend on who the residents are next year). If you have no interest in that at all, it is still a great place to live. It is by far the cleanest hall with a pretty friendly, chill and relatively quiet atmosphere. Being a catered hall, you will get to know other residents easily and it is small enough to be quite homely. The British Museum, the world's first national public

museum in the world and is home today to some of the largest collections of historical treasures, is merely a 5 min walk away. The School of Dramatic Arts, which screens art house films, operas and ballets among a calendar of other artistic offerings, is located right next door. Soho (and Chinatown) is also a 20-minute walk way and trust us, you will go there often. Waterstones and Rymans, the source of all your school books and stationery needs is merely a 20 seconds stroll away. There is also a Barclays bike hire stand right in front of the hall which provides bikes for hire at cheap rates. The University College Hospital and other medical practices, such as Gower Street Practice (where we will all be registered under) are all within a 5-10 minutes walking radius of the hall.

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5.2 Connaught Hall 2021/2022 Hall Fees (per week): Single, non-ensuite, (£235.13); Catered food: Breakfast provided every weekday, brunch provided every weekend and dinner provided every day. Residents can get seconds for dinner if there are leftovers after dinner time (i.e. from 7pm onwards.) Residents can also opt to have breakfast or dinner packed (usually a sandwich, fruit, juice and a bag of crisps) if you are unable to have your meals during the stipulated meal times (option unavailable on Sundays). Hall food is hall food, it’s not gourmet cuisine but you’ll have a hot meal after every long day. Hall Size: Connaught Hall has 6 floors — the basement, ground floor and floors 1 to 4 (the lift doesn’t go to the 4th floor, so residents can either walk up or take the lift to the third floor and walk up to the fourth floor). Each floor other than the basement and ground floor has about 50 residents each which the basement and ground floor can accommodate about 15 residents, making the total resident number around 230. The floors other than the basement and ground floor are all mixed floors with male and female residents living on the same floor. Cleaning Services: The corridors, pantries and restrooms are cleaned on weekdays. Individual rooms (i.e. single non en-suite rooms) are vacuumed and all visible surfaces (tables, ledges) are wiped down once every 2 weeks. The sinks are also cleaned during this biweekly cleaning service. The trash bin in the room is emptied once every morning, but not consistently. Vacuum cleaners can be borrowed from the hall reception. Hall Security: The hall has security guards on shift 24/7. Connaught allows 3 guests per resident but there are ways around this. It also allows a 1 overnight guest at a time and a single resident can sign in an overnight guest for a maximum of 10 nights per month. There is also no additional surcharge for hall guests staying overnight in your rooms, which saves a lot of hassle when your friends come visiting you past midnight. However, do note that the guards may refuse entry to your guests if they arrive at the reception past midnight. Hall Facilities: The hall has 2 common rooms in the basement, 1 of which comes equipped with a TV, a foosball table, game consoles and a table tennis table while the other is more for lounging with many sofas and a TV with a DVD player. The hall’s basement also has its dining hall, a study library, a computer room and a music room (with a grand piano). All washing machines and

dryers have a card where you can put credit in and top up when the credit runs out. Also, the price for washing machines are £2, £1 and for the dryers. 1 iron with ironing board are also provided (free but often dirty). Connaught Hall is the only hall with a licensed residents bar where drinks and snacks are sold. It is also the cheapest place to get a beer (£1 for a bottle) and the social spaces are generally quite chill. Events are organized every week and a hall committee will be elected to ensure that residents’ wellbeing are met. There is lift access to all flows except the fourth floor so if you are assigned a room on the fourth floor, you will have to take the stairs from the third floor (which is quite annoying when you first move in with your luggage). There is also a garden area which is the only smoking zone in the hall. It is a fineable offence to smoke anywhere else in the hall. Pantry/Kitchen: There is 1 small pantry per floor which makes for a 1 to 50 resident ratio (1 to 15 for the basement and ground floor residents, but in the basement, the pantry is in the laundry room). Each pantry comes equipped with a refrigerator (no freezer other than the basement refrigerator which is communal for the whole hall), a microwave oven and a washing sink which provides drinking water (it is still advisable to filter the drinking water with a filter jug, which can be bought in the UK, before consumption). There are no cooking stoves in any pantries. Restrooms: Each floor other than the basement and ground floor has 1 male a 1 female restroom with 3 toilet and 3 shower cubicles each. Assuming that each floor has an equal number of males and females, that is a 1 to 8 toilet and shower ratio. The basement and ground floor have 1 male and 1 female restroom with 2 toilet cubicles each and 2 shared showers. Female toilets have full-length mirrors. Room Facilities: Connaught rooms come in different sizes and it is really based on luck which you are assigned to as you pay hall fees based on room type and not room size. Each room comes equipped with a bed, wardrobe, washing sink (does not provide drinking water), dressing table, study desk, chair and storage shelves. Depending on room size, most rooms also come equipped with a bookshelf and lounge chair. Additional items include a table lamp, water kettle (normally quite dirty so not advisable to use – bring you own or buy in the UK), LAN cable, and a radiator. The radiators are often unreliable. You can purchase a bedding set before moving in which you can collect from reception on the first day (includes a really flat pillow, pillowcase, bed sheet, duvet and

duvet case). It is probably more worth it to get a duvet from a senior or from Primark, which has the same quality things for cheaper. Some rooms may also have a cork board while other rooms get a cork wall (a particular wall that can be used as a cork board). Distance from UCL Main Campus: Connaught is the closest hall to the UCL main campus, being only 5 minutes away. Closest UCL Faculties: The closest faculties are the Department of Geography and Department of Psychology, being just across the road. Transport Network: The hall is a short 5 min walk away from the following tube stations: Russell Square, Euston and Euston Square. Other Information: Connaught Hall is one of the older intercollegiate halls and hence, has slightly more run-down furnishing than the rest of its intercollegiate counterparts. However, it more than makes up for it with its prime location and low fees, which is why it remains as one of the most popular halls during application. It also has a very communal and lively residential atmosphere and there are often events for things such as mental health week or cultural holidays like Chinese New Year or Diwali. Residents are encouraged to be sociable and hall parties are held for almost every occasion such as Halloween and Christmas at the hall bar. Sound isolation between rooms and the corridors are not the greatest though. First floor residents would get access to a balcony instead of a regular window but some of them are locked by cables such that they can only be opened partially. Connaught adopts a simple mailing system where letters are sorted in alphabetical order based on your surnames and parcels can be collected from the reception with the notification letter they put in your letter box. However, do note that if you name is Peter Tan Ah Kow, you may need to check the mailboxes labelled P, T, A and K as the reception is often confused with identifying the recipient’s last name. In general, Connaught’s amazing location, low fees and friendly staff make it one of the most sought-after choices for UCL students looking to stay in an intercollegiate hall year after year. Also, you’ll meet many other Singaporeans and Malaysians who study at other London universities such as LSE, Kings, SOAS, and Birkbeck as it is an intercollegiate hall. It is also one of the more sociable halls and has an inviting, friendly atmosphere.

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5.3 International Hall 2021/2022 Hall Fees (per week): Single, non-ensuite (£235.13); Single studio en-suite (£265.93); Large Single studio en-suite (£271.18); Double studio en-suite (£290.08) Catering Options: Breakfast (7.50am – 9.00am) provided every weekday. Brunch (11.00am – 12.30pm) provided on weekends. Dinner (6-7.30pm) provided every day. You are allowed 6 items of food (1 item = 1 egg/ 1 sausage etc..) and a drink for breakfast on weekday breakfasts, while on weekend brunch entitlement is 8 items and a drink. Dinner entitlement for all days is 1 soup, a bread roll, 1 main, 2 sides (hot/cold), 1 dessert and a drink. Students are entitled to meal rebates, if you are not around during Christmas holidays, be it for travel or heading back home, for a minimum of 4 nights. Cleaning Services: No cleaning services for individual rooms. Corridors, pantries and toilets, and common areas are cleaned every day. Vacuum cleaners can be borrowed from the reception. Hall Size: International Hall spans 5 levels above ground and has a lower ground floor. Hence, effectively it has 7 levels. There are also several wings, but as it is most likely that you will be in the single study rooms, you will most probably be either in the North Wing or the West Wing. It is the largest single hall of the University of London, housing around 860 residents from various forms of accommodation. There are both mixed and single sex levels which alternate between the levels. Hall Security: There are at least 2 security guards on shift at the reception at any point of time for 24/7. Entry into the hall is via your resident hall card which you swipe at the gantry. Each resident is able to sign in a maximum of 3 guests at any time and a maximum of one overnight guest. There is no charge for overnight guests but a supposed limit of 10 guests per month. The general neighbourhood is relatively peaceful and the security is good. Hall Facilities: On the ground floor near the reception, there is a quiet study room with a shelf of books made available to the residents. Beside it is a computer room where residents can use the Internet. There are some vending machines outside the rooms selling drinks and snacks. On the lower ground floor there is a common area under the main stairs leading to the cafeteria. There is a TV room, which residents can gather to watch TV programs or play video games. The hall also organizes movie nights two days per week in the cinema room. The common room is open to residents till 12am every night and most social events organized by the hall are held there. There is a

pool table and table soccer in the room. A table tennis table is also available - paddles and ping pong balls can be loaned from the reception. The hall arranges for live sports matches to be screened on the projector in the common room. There are also various classes, like yoga or meditation. A grand piano located outside the common room is also available for residents to use during certain hours. Behind the common room you will find the laundry room, music rooms and squash court. There are washing machines (£2.20 per wash cycle), dryers (£1.20 per 50-minute cycle), ironing boards and irons in the laundry room. Washing powder is available from the vending machine in the laundry room. The music room is available for residents to use during restricted timings from 8am-11pm. Access to the squash court and squash rackets can be obtained from the reception for a fee. Pantry/Kitchen: There is at least one pantry available on every floor, equipped with a fridge (keep things inside at your own risk- items can get stolen), a microwave, a kettle and a sink. There is no cooking stove in all pantries. Restrooms: Restrooms have about 4-6 toilet cubicles and 5-6 shower cubicles. There is definitely no instance where you would have to queue to use the toilet. Room Facilities: Rooms come with a bed, cupboard, storage shelves, study desk, chair, sink, kettle, LAN cable, table lamp and heater. On the walls beside the bed and above the study table there are corkboards that you can make use of. Upon arrival bedding pack is issued to residents, which include a (really flat) pillow, pillow cover, duvet, duvet cover and a bed sheet (only if you ordered it upon acceptance of your place at the hall). Wifi connection is strong generally. Some ground floor rooms also have a double bed. Distance from UCL Main Campus: It takes about 15 min to reach the UCL main campus. Closest UCL Faculties: The School of Pharmacy is literally 2 minutes away. The Institute of Neurology is just around the corner. Hospitals and certain medical institutes that the medics will have courses in are 10 min away. Otherwise, the nearest faculty would be the Faculties of Psychology and Geography in Bedford Way, a 10 min walk. Transport Network: Russell Square tube station is only a 2 min walk away, and is on a direct line (Piccadilly Line) from Heathrow Airport, taking about 50 minutes. Euston and Holborn tube stations can be reached within a 15 min walk. International Hall is also close to St Pancras and King’s Cross railway stations, about 10-15 min walk, making it convenient for rail travel when travelling out of London.

Other information: International Hall has a very strong hall club which plans regular social events. The bigger ones would be the parties such as Welcome Party, Halloween, Christmas, Valentines, Boat party. Besides that, there are regular fitness sessions, namely yoga and capoeira every week. The actual exercises might change from year to year, depending on popular demand. There are also weekly football and basketball matches. There are weekly movie screenings, occasional musical outings and sometimes just random get-togethers in the common room. One is guaranteed a good social life here in International Hall, unless of course you are a total recluse. One of the best things about staying here would be the proximity to The Brunswick shopping centre which is just diagonally across from International Hall, less than a minute's walk. There are many food outlets, as well as a Waitrose (supermarket), Robert Dyas (for household items), Superdrug (drugstore for toiletries), Boots (pharmacy), NHS Brunswick (local GP). There is also a cinema offering good rates and discounts, good Asian food (Hare and Tortoise), and itsu – a very handy Japanese takeaway place that you will grow to love as everything is half price half an hour before closing (which is 8.30pm). There is also a 24- hour Tesco Express opposite Russell Square tube station if you’re looking for a late-night snack.

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5.5 The Garden Halls 2021/2022 Fees (per week): Single, ensuite catered (£302.06), Accessible Catered, ensuite (£302.06); Standard Superior (£224.98), Townhouse Single (£246.96) General Information: The Gardens consisted of three main buildings. The main building houses most of the residents, mainly single ensuite catered rooms as well as most of the common facilities e.g. movie room, games room, common room, meeting rooms and the dining hall. The townhouse building, which is accessible via the main entrance, houses the standard single room non-ensuite and shared kitchens. The last building is Hughes Parry Tower (HPT), which is situated beside the main building and it houses the non- catered, non-ensuite, single rooms and shared kitchens. Catering Options: Breakfast is provided from 8-9.30am on weekdays and brunch from 11 – 12.30pm on weekends. For weekday breakfast, you are allowed to choose 6 items of food e.g. 1 hard-boiled egg = 1 item and a drink. For weekend brunch, you get 8 items and a drink. Dinner entitlement for all days is 1 soup, a bread roll, 1 main, 2 sides (hot/cold), 1 dessert and a drink. During breakfast, there are small variations weekly (i.e. fried egg/hard-boiled egg, different pastries) and for brunch, there are generally more different variations as well (i.e. pasta, pasties). Dinner is served on all days from 6 – 7:30pm. Dinner has many variations and the food served in The Gardens is the best among all the UOL Halls. Food is included in the hall fees, so take that into consideration when planning meals out with friends. Hall Security: There is a 24-hour reception and the staff are very strict for the main building. All guests have to be signed in. Up to 3 day-guests are allowed per resident (until 11pm). Any guest signed up after 11pm will be considered as an overnight guest and this is limited to 1 overnight guest per resident (not so great for drinking till the morning), up to 10 nights per month (though they don’t really bother checking). Entrance to the hall and rooms requires an electronic pass. The townhouses have a separate door that only students living inside can access. HPT is regulated where each floor can only be accessed by its residents. There is also overnight security from 8.30pm to 6.30am every night. Guests must be signed in and subjected to the same regulations as the main building. Hall Facilities: There are 4 tennis courts that can be booked at the reception. Racquets and balls can be borrowed from them too. In the main building, there is a TV room which has PS4 with games like FIFA 18, and comfortable sofas and bean bags. There is also a cinema room which screens movies once every week. A game room is also present with plenty of space to chill. There are games

like Dixit, and a mini pool table. 2 music rooms are available for those who want to practise their instruments, with one room having a piano that is currently missing a few keys. There are meeting rooms which can be used for studying when they are not used, and a study/common room in the basement for even more studying. The dining hall is also huge and is often used for late night partying or studying depending on whether one has deadlines approaching. The laundry room is located at the basement and it costs £2.20 for washing and £1.20 for drying your clothes. Alternatively, wash on your own and work those arm muscles. Room facilities: For the main building, the bed is huge, enough for two people to sleep. As for why there will be two people on the bed, that’s a question we do not ask. The wardrobe has adequate space for your clothes but if you are a shopaholic, you will want to consider buying a clothes rack. There is enough storage for most of your things and the space underneath the bed is big enough to store a small luggage, boxes, and a dead body, not that I have tried before. The shower facilities (for ensuite) are great. There’s a hairdryer holder and coat hanger installed onto the wall. Perhaps the only gripe is the small walkway between the bed and the table because the bed is bloody huge. Which means you will roll around your bed more than necessary and that means lesser time for studying. Great. Restrooms: For the townhouses, 2 students share one toilet for every floor. For HPT, 15 to 17 students share up to 7 showers. Toilets are found in the bedroom for the HPT rooms. Pantry/Kitchen: There is one pantry per corridor of rooms for the main building. A small fridge, cupboard, kettle, toaster, microwave oven, and sink can be found in it. Space for the fridge is often not enough and food thieves are common. The fridge also gets dirty and no one bothers to clean – tragedy of the commons. But this is like every other shared facility in other halls. There are no stoves and cooking is not allowed in your rooms. Of course, you can still do so but like everything else, don’t get caught. For the townhouses, the basement contains a communal area with a big kitchen with 4 electric stovetops with stove vents, 4 sinks, 2 conventional ovens, 2 convectional ovens, 2 microwaves and 4 refrigerators/freezers and a TV. Each student has their own storage area for kitchen tools/groceries but cooking equipment isn’t provided. For HPT, there’s a big kitchen that comes with 4 electric stovetops with stove vents, 4 sinks, 2 conventional ovens, 2 convectional ovens, 2 microwaves and 4 refrigerators/freezers. Each student has their own storage area for kitchen tools/groceries but cooking equipment isn’t provided. There is also a TV area on each floor where students can chill.

Cleaning Services: In the main building, the trash in the pantry is taken out once per week. Most people are lazy and so they just throw their rubbish in the pantry instead of going down to the refuse; this causes the rubbish to pile up often way before the cleaning day. There is no room cleaning service. Common areas such as the TV and common rooms are cleaned every day, while common toilets are cleaned daily. Common cleaning equipment (e.g. brooms, common vacuum cleaners) is available at the reception. For the townhouses and Hughes Parry Tower, kitchen and showers are cleaned once every week. Distance from UCL Main Campus: The nearest UCL building is the Pharmacy building which is just 5 minutes away. The Faculty of Laws building is also just 5 minutes away. The next nearest UCL building is the one at Bedford Way which houses the Psychology and Geography departments. The main campus is just at most 15 minutes away (if you jalan jalan) or 10 minutes if you realise that you are late for lecture, which is often the case. Transport Network: Great location. Situated in walking distance from Kings Cross St Pancras International Station, Euston station and Russell Square Station. If you are coming from the Heathrow, you can get to The Gardens via the direct tube line, Piccadilly line to Russell Square Station which is a 5-minute walk to The Gardens. The whole of London and Europe and the world is at your doorstep thanks to the plentiful tube stations. Of course, you will need more than that Oyster Card for the latter. Other information: Gardens Hall is the best intercollegiate hall right now in London as it is the newest and the biggest hall. The location is very central and close to many different tube stations. In terms of the facilities and the furnishing, it is probably the best hall as it has just begun operation in 2016. The rooms are new and the furnishing in the rooms are very modern. The rooms are of a good-size and they are comfortable and cosy as well. The Gardens is the biggest hall in London and you will be able to meet many new friends, especially from Singapore (the hall with the strongest Singaporean base) and of course, all over the world. It is a great place to host your friends for drinks and games. There are plenty of food options nearby, especially Brunswick centre which you will frequent often. Singapore food option include Roti King (where 2 prata cost £5 but you will soon bear to part with that money when you realise you need that dough-fix). Asian food options include Chinahouse (decent with adequate wok hei), Chillcool (Mala hotpot which is quite worth the money – for end of term celebration perhaps), Hare and Tortoise (serves a hodgepodge of Asian cuisines that has a slight element of fusion which is strange; the prawn mee is sedap though).

Photos for Main Building

Photos for Townhouses

Photos for Hughes Parry Tower

6 Application Process

Online Application Portal: https://residences.ucl.ac.uk/StarRezPortal/Default.aspx?Params=L9ezxPcQnQsDuaBX%2bLFbaS7g8dqK9e0T Deadline: 31st May 2021 (It is essential that you do not miss the deadline, as late entries may not be entertained) UCL has a clever system of only allowing you to choose your desired type of residence (UCL Hall of Residences, UCL Student Halls or Intercollegiate Halls) but not specify your desired hall of residence. However, you will be asked to choose the characteristics of the hall that you prefer. You will need to consider what is most important to you about where you will live: proximity to UCL, cost, catering etc. Choose carefully, as the quality of halls does vary. Putting a higher price range would usually mean you would be assigned to the more expensive halls. We would recommend putting proximity to UCL as a priority – most halls have Internet connection so it shouldn’t be too big a worry. Another major consideration is whether to have catered or non-catered accommodation. Catered accommodation would obviously give the lazy or the undomesticated a peace of mind, but severely limits one’s choice and time of meals, while non- catered accommodation may be a hassle, but you can eat whatever you like (if you can cook it!), whenever you like. For the more money-minded people, buying and cooking your own meals is definitely a cheaper option. Keep in mind that some halls like Ramsay do not provide food on weekends, public and school holidays. Also, it is wrong to assume that the allocation is first come first serve, so there is no hurry for you to submit your application as long as it is before the deadline of 31st May 2021. After your application is done, be prepared to not hear from them until late August or early September. They might take some time when it comes to updating you on your accommodation allocation and most of your seniors had to wait a really long time

before they got their notification last year. Don't panic when your friends have gotten their accommodation and you haven't. It should come too, hopefully soon enough.