UNE On-campus Accommodation (1 Viewer)

[k8ie]

Im applying for une through the principals recommendation..it requires me to leave home to go to Armidale and ive been looking at all the colleges for accommadation...is there any info that anyone can tell me on the colleges...like the good and bad things from a students point of view not from the website..
any input would be appreciated, thanks

 

[machine169]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

I went to Austin college and found it great. You woudn't go to Austin for the room size which would be somewhat similar to most colleges but the atmosphere is good. The seniors are there to help you with academic questions and there is just about some event on every weekend e.g. this weekend in Austin Ball. Austin organised sporting teams in just about everything. If you are into rugby and from a 'country' upbringing then Robb or Albies might be your best bet. Mary White focuses more on the academic side of things. I think Early page, duval, drummond and Austin are fairly similar. If your into cooking for yourself then maybe Wright village is more your style. What made my mind up to go to Austin was that it had a bar but i never regretted going there.

 

[k8ie]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

Thanks machine169. from what ive seen on the pictures and info on the net i think i like the sound of earl page and possibly drummond and smith. i cant imagine myself cooking practically every night of the week that i am in armidale i think i might end up burning down the place! Cant really say that im rugby kinda gal either!

 

[lawgrad1]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

Well, I thoroughly recommend Earle Page College. I went there and had a great time. Earle Page tends to focus on the academic/cultural side of things (that's not to say that there isn't an opportunity to participate in sporting teams). Atmosphere is v.good and everyone is really friendly. Food is provided for you (you'll get used to it regardless of which college you end up at). Since Austin and Earle Page are next to each other, they share a kitchen (although both have their own dining halls) so the food is similar in both. Earle Page has heaps of formal dinners (ie: Introductory Dinner, Politics Dinner, Sports Dinner, Arts Dinner, Parents Weekend Dinner, End of Year Dinner). Then there's the annual musical, cab ball and ball weekend. Rooms are of an average size (they're not huge, but you can fit everything you need in there). Of course, there are large rooms for people with senior positions in college (ie: resident fellows/tutors). Each floor tends to have about 25 people on it and each alcove has 4 rooms. Oh yeah, there's a kitchenette and common room on each floor. The individual floors generally put what they want in there. For example, my floor had a TV, VCR and DVD player in the common room although I know some others also had video games in there. Kitchenettes will have a fridge, microwave, hot water dispenser (and mine had a toaster & popcorn maker). That's about all I can think of at the moment, but if you have anymore questions, feel free to ask .

 

[machine169]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

If you want to know some of the people that go to some of these colleges, then check out.

For Austin http://groups.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=groups.groupProfile&groupid=102667581&Mytoken=FC5B1EB1-E778-12D9-6650B720B754547811004321

For Drummond http://groups.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=groups.groupProfile&groupid=101293871&Mytoken=FC5B1EB1-E778-12D9-6650B720B754547811004321

and for UNE students in general go to
http://schools.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=schools&schoolID=126791&showalum=0&MyToken=918f703c-ac0c-4e7d-96bf-221ee1c345fa

 

[k8ie]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

thanks guys for all your help...uve been great! Lawgrad1 how often are those formal dinners and how formal are they? like for girls is really formal or can u get away with cocktail dresses?? and whats the food like there??

 

[lawgrad1]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

Hi! Glad to help.

There's generally 2 formal dinners a term (ie: 8 a year). You'll have to wear your college academic gown to most of them (a lovely green colour that's standard across all UNE colleges). The only really formal dinner is ball which takes place in term 3. Other than that, cocktail dresses are fine. Arts dinner and cab ball are fancy dress depending on the theme thought of. 1st years generally pick the theme for cab ball - in my first year, we chose a masquerade ball. Food is fine - I survived 5 yrs at college. Of course, the food isn't for everyone (that's when the kitchenette gets used to make 2 min noodles or there is a maccas/KFC/pizza/chinese run) and it varies. There's a vegetarian/low fat option as well along with all the usual cereals etc. Some foods that I remember are lasanga, pasta, rice, chicken, pizza & chips, fish, chinese, mexican and steak.

 

[machine169]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

Some pictures of colleges, UNE students, events, last years open day etc can be found here

http://photodatabase.une.edu.au/index.php?cat=69

 

[k8ie]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

You guys are heaven sent! All this info is great! ive got a couple more questions though if you dont mind...whats the room like? when i say that i know its small and everything and i know whats in it but how much room do you actually have and how comfortable is the room?? thanks again you guys are great!!

 

[BlackDragon]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

i know this is a sort of vague question, but what usually happens day to day in the colleges? what do people do? what kind of things go on when people aren't at lectures?

 

[lawgrad1]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

Oki doki, let's answer some questions!

Answers to k8ie's questions: The standard rooms at Earle Page are rectangle in shape. There's a desk running alongside one of the walls and a bed on the other. For an indication of how wide across the room is, you could probably fit 2 single beds next to each other along with the desk. There's a heater next to the desk and next to your door is a cupboard. The cupboard is 2 doors (one side has a hanging rod and the other is shelving). Above the cupboard is a lockable cupboard that you use to store some stuff in over the holidays. There's a window between your bed and the desk. Colour of the carpet on the floor varies depending on which floor you are on. The room that I was in (for 5 years), had a mixed blue/green coloured carpet. I found my room comfortable. You can decorate it however you want so it makes you feel more at home. The only pet you can have there is a fish (although I did see a bird and hermit crabs there as well).

Answer to BlackDragon's questions: Well, there's no real 'typical' day at college. Generally, I would get up etc, go and have breakfast, go to lectures, have lunch, go to lectures, have dinner, study, bed. Of course, if I didn't have something to do, I would chat with other college members, go outside and play some games on the front lawn, play sport for college on the weekend, play computer games, go into town with friends. Basically, you do whatever you want to do. Of course though, when exam time comes about, everyone gets into study mode. At Earle Page, there is a curfew set a couple of weeks out from exams. During curfew, no noise is to be made on college grounds or you could get fined.

Feel free to ask anymore questions. I'm always glad to help out prospective UNE and Earle Page students.

 

[ObjectsInSpace]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

Hey, Page can't take all the glory!

OK, so they might be similar, but Duval's room are generally built along the same lines. Freshers - that's you (and me) - generally get smaller rooms. There's usually enough room for two single beds and the desk, and Returner rooms are the same, the only difference being that Returner wardrobes are built into the wall whereas Fresher wardrobes stick out. This isn't alwys the case; sometimes Freshers get Returner rooms and one of them even scored a highly-prized balcony room, which is larger than normal and has access to a balcony as the name implies. Generally getting involved around the college gets you a better room; academic mentors get the phone rooms off a stairwell which are the size of two standard Returner rooms, and Resident Fellows get a three-room flat at the bottom of the block under their charge.

For the record, I have the smallest inhabited Fresher room.

As for day-to-day running of the college, it really depends. If people aren't at lectures, they'll generally be found doing work, at the gym or Up Top at the campus proper. It's on the weekends that we get sporting events and cultural shindigs, but it's the nightlife that's really active. Right now, it's 'Stro night - a lot of people go up to the Bistro Up Top - but I have an assignment to be working on for the moment and you have to be fairly drunk to actually want to go there. Colleges also usually have a sponsor pub and pre-arranged pub nights, and functions are always pretty good. Duval also gets curfew during exams (I think most of the colleges do, even Austin).

And wow, lawgrad, 8 formal shindigs a year and you have to wear academic gown ... we've only had 3 so far (Commencement, Guest Speaker - which I skipped, assessment due next day - and Ball) with another in about 3 weeks. Ball was bloody awkward for me; considerably less hitting people over the head with pool cues (not that I do that) and considerably more dancing than I'm used to. I was also pretty much the only single on my table, so that made it hard, too.

 

[machine169]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

Yes, Austin has a curfew, Duval, the other colleges often call Hogwarts for obvious reasons. At Austin some of us actually do and did do work there. There are a great amount of people who are on golden key from Austin and i guess if i didn't study at Austin i would no doubt have lost my 25,000 scholarship for my commerce/law degree. My law friends at Austin know that to do well you should at least put 40 hours a week into school work-same as an average working week. In fact, the Vice Chancellor was down a couple of weeks ago to award the numerous HD students at Austin. Austins rooms are similar, freshers and returners generally get the same size rooms unless you're an academic senior or RF and there is one of each of these on each block. There is a desk, single bed, wardrobe. RF rooms have there own bathroom double bed etc. Austin is one of the biggest if not the biggest college and it is always full so if you want to go to Austin get in early as there is a massive waiting list every year.

Day-to-day routine, would invovle getting up going to breakfast, we share the same kitchen as Earl Page, going off to class, lunch, and dinner. A lot of people go to the gym. Austin would have 1,2 formal dinners a term. The last one was parents weekend. Ball is this weekend and is being held at the racecourse, somewhere different each year, town hall, ex-servies club upstairs etc.
If you're into sport some colleges are more into different sports than others. Rugby - Robb and Albies. Soccer- Austin, Earl-Page, Duval, drummond and Mary White. At the recent northern university games we got gold in girls hockey, some of the girls coming from Austin. We also got a silver in Rugby with a mixture of people from the different colleges-mainly from Robb and Albies.

 

[lawgrad1]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

It's great to hear what the other colleges are up to and how much UNE is growing (Page alone holds about 290 students). From what I gathered in my time at UNE, most rooms across the colleges are structured the same (just the 'fillings' that are different). At Page, the bigger rooms (generally double/triple the size of standard rooms and some with a kitchenette, bathroom etc) are reserved for college position holders. Since I've graduated and moved away from Armidale, I always recommend prospective UNE students go up there on open day and have a look around the various colleges. It's always great to read about them to get a general overview, but the best view will always come from yourself having a look around.

Yeah, Page has quite a few formal dinners every year. I understand politics dinner has just come and gone - always a good night that one. When Phillip Ruddock came to talk one year, the amount of Federal Police there was extraordinary! I know that Julia Gilliard gave the talk this year. You only have to wear your academic gown to about 4 or 5 of them. It's good to see the 'stro becoming popular again. In my first year at UNE (way back in 01), the 'stro wasn't really that popular.

Anyway, it seems that we've got quite a few people on this board willing to answer questions about UNE and the colleges so we should be able to answer most questions asked .

 

[machine169]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

[SIZE=+1]Residential fees[/SIZE]

There are two types of accommodation offered at UNE - catered which is the colleges and self catered at Wright Village When you're staying in a college, you only pay for when the University is in session. Unlike a rental property, you won't pay for vacation periods.
Forget about the cost of setting up a household - there are no utilities connection fees or furniture purchases to worry about. In a college you won't even need to worry about supermarket bills, or bickering with housemates over the cleaning.
In college one cost covers everything from a fully furnished study-bedroom (average size about 3.6 by 3.0 metres); through to weekly cleaning, heating, fresh linen (except towels), shared bathroom and your own telephone with voice-mail and academic support. Plus, you do not pay during the UNE holidays if you do not stay on campus.
Wright Village offers self catered accommodation where students pay for the duration of the accommodation agreement (incl holiday period). In addition students are also charged a weekly fee of $10 for electricity.
Residential Fees for 2006 (based on a semester-long contract, accommodation is paid up-front each semester)
For more details go to

http://study.une.edu.au/pagesection.php3?sectionID=5&p=WHYONCAMPUS
Accommodation
Weekly Fee - 2006


Just remember for the below costs of college you don't pay for the weeks that you're on holidays so maybe something like 38 weeks a year you have to pay for. Catered Accommodation

• Austin College

$230.65

• Drummond and Smith College

$234.50

• Duval College

$234.50

• Earle Page College

$235.90

• Mary White College

$243.95

• Robb College

$247.10

• St Alberts College

$245.00Self-Catered Accommodation</STRONG>

• Wright Village

$85.00 to $112.00​

 

[ObjectsInSpace]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

Yes, Austin has a curfew, Duval, the other colleges often call Hogwarts for obvious reasons.

The Vice-Chancellor did that, too. It was pretty much the first thing he said when he gave a speech at Commencement ... "My first impressions were that the college is a lot like Hogwarts" (paraphrased) ...

 

[k8ie]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

seen as we have to share bathroom how many people do we have to share it with and how big are they?

 

[still waiting]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

Im not sure about the other colleges but im from albies and i love it, we have the biggest rooms and each room has a sink in it (comes in very handy at sometimes) for the bathroom issue, for us there is one on every floor and you just share it with how ever many people you have on the floor max is 21 so yeah,
Ive been to some of the other colleges and out of the ones ive seen id have to say i definitely wouldnt go anywhere else, but it all depends on what type of person you are although here at albies even though the perception is that we are really country we have heaps of people fom all over the place not just rural areas,

 

[machine169]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

I have heard Albies have the best rooms. From when i went to Earl page on a visit i was impressed with their common rooms. Mary white has pretty big common rooms from what i have seen also. As far as bathrooms go. Each block at Austin has 20-30 people on it and there are 3-4 toilets and 3-4 showers and a bath for each block (on average some have more showers) , if i remember rightly. I tended to find that waiting for a shower was not a big issue as people tended to get up at random hours, depending on class, if they wanted breakfast etc. I guess as a prospective student you weight up better facilities with cost. If you manage to get to open day, you will be able to get a gist of how the different colleges differ.

 

[lawgrad1]

Re: Whats accommadation like?

Although it can vary, at Earle Page you are looking at approx 25 people on each floor. There are 5 showers (named Monday through to Friday) and 5 toilets on each floor. With the toilets, the girls will generally have the first 2, the boys the last 2 and the middle one is for both. There are generally no problems with getting a shower (other than just before a formal dinner when everyone's rushing around getting ready).