Unlucky freshers in last minute scramble for halls

Hundreds of incoming undergrads found themselves still house hunting just days before freshers.

Almost 200 more home/EU students were accepted to Exeter than last year, after the lifting of the student intake cap.

The rent here ranges from £149 – £218 p/w. Bargain

As a result, 120 freshers who did not make the July deadline for applying for university accommodation have been left without halls.

These include students for whom Exeter was their second choice or they were offered a place through clearing.

Many of them have only just finalised their living arrangements in private housing, usually occupied by students in their second years and above, with just a mere few days to go until Freshers week.

It must be bad if  even Lafrowda is oversubscribed

Giulia Carpiceci was one such student.

She said: “I got into Exeter in late August through clearing. I was told to apply for accommodation even though the deadline had passed.

“They linked me to websites and were helpful. I can’t help but feel like they’re victims of their own success – but they were really nice about it.”

Giulia Carpiceci, a first-year from Milan who struggled to find housing

“I found other people through the freshers Facebook group who got the email saying it was unlikely we’d get into their halls. I had to go down for three crazy days of househunting.

“Eventually I found a place online. It’s in a block of flats where all the residents seem to be students.”

Slightly bleak looking private halls on offer

“Exeter has been getting very popular, especially internationally,” the first-year said.

“I think it’s fair enough to accept loads of people. It seems like the accommodation office are being as helpful as they can, considering how popular the uni is.”

Some lucky freshers get to live literally right next to Arena

Another fresher in a similar situation was Domantas Smolskas.

He said: “Exeter was my insurance – I applied late because I was unsure of what grades I’d get.

“The uni sent me an email saying I should look for private accommodation.

“Getting accommodation in Exeter is very difficult in general. I had to find other people in the same situation through Facebook and then find a house. It was all a bit messy.

“I feel like the uni’s bitten off more than it can chew – there are clearly more students than spaces.”

A fresher on Vic Street used to be a rare sight

When contacted, Exeter stated that all undergraduate students who applied for university managed halls by the July deadline were offered places, and of those who applied after the deadline, two-thirds were made offers. They also stated that of the students they were unable to accommodate, they advised them on finding private housing and their understanding is that all of these students have since managed to make living arrangements.