Otago Halls of Residence

[Cereal Killer]

I just received an offer from my first choice college. However, I was placed into one of the houses, and I was wondering about what the experience would be like there? There's not a lot of information about the ins and outs of living in a house and not living on a floor. I'm just worrying myself over what it'll be like. Comparatively, there are less people that you will have to get to know, but it seems isolating to be placed in a house where there are normally 2-9 people, as opposed to a floor of around 20 people which you can network with and get a real sense of community from?

Any thoughts or insight are much appreciated!
(Doing HSFY next year btw)

 

[humerus]

I just received an offer from my first choice college. However, I was placed into one of the houses, and I was wondering about what the experience would be like there? There's not a lot of information about the ins and outs of living in a house and not living on a floor. I'm just worrying myself over what it'll be like. Comparatively, there are less people that you will have to get to know, but it seems isolating to be placed in a house where there are normally 2-9 people, as opposed to a floor of around 20 people which you can network with and get a real sense of community from?

Any thoughts or insight are much appreciated!
(Doing HSFY next year btw)

I was at Carrington and had a really good experience. You still get plenty of opportunities to know other people well because you dine together, have events, classes etc but you get to make some really close mates as well. You'll find nine people is bigger than you think! As for isolation, people who didn't like their groups would just hang out in other areas most of the time and it wasn't a big deal

 

[FreeElf]

Congrats on offers everyone!
Any advice on how likely you are to get a second offer on GWL?
My sis didn't get first three choices (Carrington, Arana, Studholme, questionable rankings in hindsight ) and has been offered Toroa. She's really worried about the flatting style, eating at Union and lack of tutoring. Don't really know what happened, she's got better grades (Excellence in L2 and sciences) and co-curriculars than me and my older sis who both went to Carrington. Not trying to be fussy, she'll accept any other hall but we're not sure about the risk of ending up with no offer is!

 

[Cereal Killer]

I was at Carrington and had a really good experience. You still get plenty of opportunities to know other people well because you dine together, have events, classes etc but you get to make some really close mates as well. You'll find nine people is bigger than you think! As for isolation, people who didn't like their groups would just hang out in other areas most of the time and it wasn't a big deal

Thanks! That's quite reassuring since no one really seems to talk about the house experience. Hahaha, I didn't even know Carrington was a collection of houses. I'm not at Carrington but I can only hope it's the same case at Arana. Good luck for next year Everyone

 

[flooghost7255]

Congrats on offers everyone!
Any advice on how likely you are to get a second offer on GWL?
My sis didn't get first three choices (Carrington, Arana, Studholme, questionable rankings in hindsight ) and has been offered Toroa. She's really worried about the flatting style, eating at Union and lack of tutoring. Don't really know what happened, she's got better grades (Excellence in L2 and sciences) and co-curriculars than me and my older sis who both went to Carrington. Not trying to be fussy, she'll accept any other hall but we're not sure about the risk of ending up with no offer is!

Not sure about the chance of getting in off the GWL, any of my friends that did end up on it were also in a similar position of not knowing what the chances of getting another offer were and preferred not to take the gamble.

I do have a couple of friends in Toroa though, and they seem to really enjoy it despite the flatting and eating at Union being a bit different from other colleges. And I'm pretty sure they do have tutors at the hall? Because I know one of the tutors that tutored there last sem and if it came down to it you can always find a private tutor

 

[Amalie]

Hi there,

Have been accepted into my first preference, St Margaret's but now regret the decision to have put it as my first preference. I'm probably being very prejudiced, but from what I hear I don't think the social aspect of it is very...social.

I'm very close to declining it, but perhaps it's not as bad as it sounds (social wise). It's not the party life but just even getting to know people. Will it be so bad?

I know I'm probably being really ungrateful, but then again if I do choose to decline it then maybe someone else who wants St Mags more will get my place.

For the record I'm not actually doing health sci, just here for hall advice.

 

[Verdigris]

Hello!! I am living at St Margaret's this year and I assure you, any rumours you hear about us are false. It's really, really easy to make friends here, we have lots of little clubs and things, and especially in O week our student executive makes sure everyone gets to know each other. We get a rep for being a quiet place, but everyone has lots of friends and we all mingle and chat and socialise still. I'm a social person and I love chatting to people, and I am really really happy here

 

[Amalie]

Thanks Verdigris, that sounds reassuring. What are some of the in college extra curricular activities you have?

 

[Verdigris]

If you're a fan of any TV show, there'll be a group of people who watch it (quite a few gather in the foyer to watch the bachelor lmao), we have cultural/language groups, we have theme dinner nights, choir, jazz band, there are plans for a debating club (for fun rather than for the intercollege competitions) and a book club next year, we have sports clubs (badminton and volleyball especially), we had a Shakespeare club this year, and everyone's open to new options if someone takes the initiative. Plus we have like our mystery bus trip, a beach trip, etc etc, magazine committee, ball committee. Beyond that, once the first year reps are elected we have tea and toast nights twice a week when people just hang out in the atrium and chat (always good for talking to people you don't interact with too much). This wasn't an exhaustive list, but I hope that gives you some insight?

 

[Amalie]

Yeah that's really helpful thanks

 

[Kevin L]

Hi Otago HSFYers,

How crucial is it to get into a hall next year? I've never really considered it until now and it seems like applications have already closed, although the waitlist is still a possibility. I'm 19 at the moment, so I do feel a bit older and more mature than others who just came out of high school. The full-catering and distance to campus seems tempting, as well as the guarantee that I won't freeze over the winter. Up until now I've always just thought of flatting when I head down, but I haven't had more than a month's experience flatting by myself.

I'm not too worried about not being exposed to student activities since Otago seems very close-knitted, and I know I won't have trouble forming study groups. The only real deciding factors of choosing to stay in a hall would be convenience and re-assurance that you are staying with like-minded people. Would you think I should be actively seeking to get into a hall, or will I be okay finding a flat?

 

[flooghost7255]

Hi Otago HSFYers,

How crucial is it to get into a hall next year? I've never really considered it until now and it seems like applications have already closed, although the waitlist is still a possibility. I'm 19 at the moment, so I do feel a bit older and more mature than others who just came out of high school. The full-catering and distance to campus seems tempting, as well as the guarantee that I won't freeze over the winter. Up until now I've always just thought of flatting when I head down, but I haven't had more than a month's experience flatting by myself.

I'm not too worried about not being exposed to student activities since Otago seems very close-knitted, and I know I won't have trouble forming study groups. The only real deciding factors of choosing to stay in a hall would be convenience and re-assurance that you are staying with like-minded people. Would you think I should be actively seeking to get into a hall, or will I be okay finding a flat?

Hi there! I'm a current HSFYer staying in St Margs and I honestly couldn't imagine not staying in a hall for my first year. All the points you bring up are indeed true, full catering as well as warmth in winter have been a great time. It's also right on campus (convenient when you accidentally wake up at 7:30 before an 8am lecture) and I've met some amazing people here with similar goals and aspirations. Also being in margs, the number of returners they have there have really helped me to decide what I want to do in the future and why I want to do it.

That being said, the factors stated above are not necessarily things you'd miss out on by flatting. Indeed, you won't have trouble forming study groups and you'll definitely make some like-minded friends. People who flat still do well without the added convenience provided by a hall - sometimes people don't stay in halls because people claim the atmosphere can become somewhat tense around exam times (personally I haven't experienced this though, but I guess it's a possibility).

So ask around and see what others have to say, but that's been my personal experience in a hall

 

[Kevin L]

Hi there! I'm a current HSFYer staying in St Margs and I honestly couldn't imagine not staying in a hall for my first year. All the points you bring up are indeed true, full catering as well as warmth in winter have been a great time. It's also right on campus (convenient when you accidentally wake up at 7:30 before an 8am lecture) and I've met some amazing people here with similar goals and aspirations. Also being in margs, the number of returners they have there have really helped me to decide what I want to do in the future and why I want to do it.

That being said, the factors stated above are not necessarily things you'd miss out on by flatting. Indeed, you won't have trouble forming study groups and you'll definitely make some like-minded friends. People who flat still do well without the added convenience provided by a hall - sometimes people don't stay in halls because people claim the atmosphere can become somewhat tense around exam times (personally I haven't experienced this though, but I guess it's a possibility).

So ask around and see what others have to say, but that's been my personal experience in a hall

Thanks for the detailed response flooghost! Having spoken to a few others, I'm now seriously considering getting into a hall, at least for the first semester. I've applied online, but being as late as I am now, I'll most likely get waitlisted behind many others. I was thinking of calling up some of the lower in-demand halls on Monday, and asking if they've got any spots left? Any further advice you could give me on doing this?

 

[flooghost7255]

Thanks for the detailed response flooghost! Having spoken to a few others, I'm now seriously considering getting into a hall, at least for the first semester. I've applied online, but being as late as I am now, I'll most likely get waitlisted behind many others. I was thinking of calling up some of the lower in-demand halls on Monday, and asking if they've got any spots left? Any further advice you could give me on doing this?

Yup that's definitely a good idea! Let them know that you're keen to be in that hall, I don't see any problem with calling them (if anything, it shows that you're being proactive)! Good luck dude

 

[Kevin L]

Yup that's definitely a good idea! Let them know that you're keen to be in that hall, I don't see any problem with calling them (if anything, it shows that you're being proactive)! Good luck dude

Just one more thing I would like to know - can you simultaneously get offers from more than one hall? When filling in the general application form, I just chucked three of the high-demand halls on the preferences section. Ones which were recommended by friends, but which I now have slim chances of getting into. Should I ask to have my preferences changed, so my application gets sent to halls outside of my current preferences, rather than get rejected 3 times?

 

[flooghost7255]

Just one more thing I would like to know - can you simultaneously get offers from more than one hall? When filling in the general application form, I just chucked three of the high-demand halls on the preferences section. Ones which were recommended by friends, but which I now have slim chances of getting into. Should I ask to have my preferences changed, so my application gets sent to halls outside of my current preferences, rather than get rejected 3 times?

As far as I'm aware, the way the system works is that they send your application to your first preference hall and it's only if your first preference doesn't accept you that they then send it to the second preference and then the third, so you only get one offer from one of your preferences. If you don't get any offers then you get an offer from any hall that has a spare space. In terms of your preferences, it kinda depends on what halls you put down, like there's not too much point putting down three "first choice colleges", the ones that generally fill up in the first round of applications (St. Margs, Carrington, Arana, Knox, Selwyn) but that being said, I believe that Knox still had spare beds at the start of the year.

The way I went about it (and the approach that many others had) was to put the college that I really wanted to get into as my first preference (St. Margs) and then most people had lower-demand halls for the second and third choices (but I actually put Carrington second which in hindsight was somewhat pointless). So definitely put the college you really want first whether it's high demand or not, and then perhaps put slightly less popular (but still awesome halls) for your third or maybe second choice as well

 

[DoctorAlexander]

I just got an offer from city College which is not on my preference list.

Should I just accept it or Should I wait for another offer?

how is city college?

 

[flooghost7255]

I just got an offer from city College which is not on my preference list.

Should I just accept it or Should I wait for another offer?

how is city college?

Unless you have a burning reason to not accept City College, most people tend to take the College that they're offered when they don't get any of their preferences. There's not that high of a chance that you're gonna get an offer off your preference list later on and at the end of the day, most people enjoy the hall they end up in!

 

[FreeElf]

Not sure about the chance of getting in off the GWL, any of my friends that did end up on it were also in a similar position of not knowing what the chances of getting another offer were and preferred not to take the gamble.

I do have a couple of friends in Toroa though, and they seem to really enjoy it despite the flatting and eating at Union being a bit different from other colleges. And I'm pretty sure they do have tutors at the hall? Because I know one of the tutors that tutored there last sem and if it came down to it you can always find a private tutor

Thanks for the reply! GWL always seems a bit taboo. She had already rejected it by the time I saw the reply. She just got a call from Knox so pretty sure it wasn't a problem with her application

 

[DoctorAlexander]

When does the residential colleges open each year? When can students start living there?