‘Bedgate’ horror continues as freshers forced to roomshare in Crombie

In yet another farcical blunder by the University, new students have been told they will be sharing rooms in Crombie-Johnston halls.

Freshers who didn’t even apply for the catered halls have been told they will be sharing single rooms with fellow freshers.

Students expecting rooms in Hillhead were notified by email less than a month before arriving that they were allocated a roomshare in Crombie.

This is despite the university’s “guaranteed” accommodation policy.

Freshers are going to have to get cosy

And the uni may be swapping people about all year: “If the person you are sharing with did move out to other accommodation, we would reserve the right to either move someone else in or increase the weekly rent to the standard rate of £149 for a single room.”

This means the freshers may not only have to double up in rooms built for one, but they have no information about how permanent this arrangement, or even how much they will be paying in rent.

And freshers are feeling the strain of having to share rooms for a year. Jasmine said: “Having a roommate does make me more apprehensive as the rooms are small and there is the issue of us not getting along.”

After originally applying for Hillhead, Jasmine was assigned a room in Crombie Johnston: “I applied on the first day of accommodation being opened, so to my surprise I was annoyed with being in catered halls.

From what I remember I think Catered was my fifth choice.”

She thought this was guaranteed before being contacted less than three weeks before move-in weekend: “I received the email on Wednesday the 20th of August. It is very daunting being forced to spend a year in close proximity with someone you have never met!

“I don’t see much point in transferring. Obviously they don’t have enough places so I don’t know where they would transfer me to. It seems the only other solution would be to go private.”

Rooms in Crombie are cramped enough as it is

Jacob, an incoming Geology student, also applied for Hillhead but received a similar email on the 18th August: “I didn’t apply for Crombie, it wasn’t one of my choices.

“I was really upset at first but now I appreciate I have some accommodation.

“Some people have no accommodation, or are being shoved into hotels or hostels. 

“I’m also not bothered with sharing as much, just hope I don’t have a rubbish roommate.”

Freshers are slamming Aberdeen for such levels of disorganisation. Jasmine said: “On their website it says something along the line of ‘apply for accommodation by the 27th of Aug for a guaranteed place’. It then said before August 27th that all of their places are full before their deadline.

“Also, from speaking to them it would seem that they still have not found places for some of the students they’ve accepted.

“It’s unfortunate that I have to share and that the university have not thought about the intake of students for accommodation.”