Hey,
I'm a med student,
I currently stay at Lincoln College, a residential college.
While it is bit more pricey than staying outside, if you pack your lunch from college and eat most of your meals at college, it actually turns out to be quite worth it. Plus the convenience of it really takes the pressure off.
(Take a look at the scholarships offered to students applying for a place at the College. Eg. live in a smaller room, you are from a rural background, financial...)
Benefits of college are that you will really stick and gel with the other Med kids staying at the same college, plus you get the iconic living experience of living at a college (networking, socials, organised sports, music nights etc...)
Get to make friends with people who are NOT in your cohort. Very important, as the AHMS is away from the main campus, so it's already hard to make friends with non-crazy people.
Especially with the Med and Dent cohort, the College runs special tutes and mentoring sessions to help the students with resources and teachings. It's very useful to get tips and resources from older years.
I'm not too sure if other accommodation options offer the same benefits.
Most people plan to stay 2 years living at college to get the Fresher (1st year) and Oldie (2nd yr +) experience, but some plan to stay more if they can get a scholarship/ become employed by College.
Don't worry about it being 'pretty hard to get into', as Colleges really want Med/Dent kids. The interview is more of a formality, and I guess checking to see if there are any really obvious red flags (should be fine assuming you passed the med interview).
The two main Colleges for med kids is Lincoln College and St Marks. St Anns and Aquinas have a few Med kids.
Both Lincoln and Marks are good, but I chose Lincoln cause it's cheaper, got more diversity, and I got a pretty good room offer there.
If you do end up going to Lincoln College, or go to Adelaide Uni next year, hit me up in the DMs.