A University of Lincoln student had to live in a tent whilst finishing her degree

A recent postgraduate student at the University of Lincoln had been forced to move to a campsite while she completed her degree.

Sarah*, 23, had one month of her microbiology Master’s degree when her housing contract for her Lincoln city-centre flat ran out, rendering her homeless.

As with most postgraduate courses, the length and nature of Sarah’s study required her to remain in Lincoln over the summer months – the third semester of postgraduate study can run from June and end as late as September. This meant that moving home wasn’t a viable option for her.

Sarah and her flatmates at the time sought for short-term living arrangements as their tenancy began to end. They contacted the agency they had been renting their flat from to request an extended contract but were denied any further stay. She also asked friends if spare rooms were available, but many of their tenancies were also coming to an end and wouldn’t last long enough to see her finish her course in Lincoln.

Contacting the Student Advice Centre at the University of Lincoln, Sarah was given two options: either look for an Air BnB or was offered a room in university-owned accommodation.

However, Sarah was unable to take up the offer of a room from the university due to an overlap between the contract of her previous tenancy and the start date for the university accommodation. The price of the accommodation was also a factor she had to consider.

This led to the events Sarah said she had only ever joked about. The 23-year-old asked her father to use the family campervan and she moved into it at Hartsholme Campsite, which is just over two miles from the university campus.

“Living in the campervan started off as a joke so realising that it was going to have to happen was definitely a shock,” Sarah said.

Sarah’s campervan had a small kitchenette, which contained a gas stove but no fridge, meaning she was very limited in what she could eat at the campsite. She said: “I tended to just buy things that I could just add hot water to, like pasta or noodle pots then I could use the hot water available at uni.”

While she didn’t have shower facilities in her campervan, there were facilities available on the campsite which she could use. The top of the campervan popped up, and she slept in there over night so she could lock up the van for safety reasons.

There was a small period of time in which Sarah moved between her flat, a friend’s house and the campervan where she remained for the rest of her studies. She said: “Not knowing where I was going to live each week was a huge distraction when I should have been concentrating on my research project.

“It was much more difficult to stay in the university working mindset whilst in the campervan compared to normal housing.”

As there was no WiFi on the campsite, Sarah often stayed on campus until she had felt she’d done enough work for that day. She said the change was difficult: “I had got used to working from home after coming back from doing lab work.”

Thankfully, the people who ran the campsite were accommodating and understanding towards her situation. Despite the trials and tribulations, Sarah said she had a pleasant time at the campsite and luckily had one of her friends stay there with her.

She said: “I found the actual camping quite comfortable. I would have been much more worried camping the whole time on my own, but my housemate stayed with me for some of the time which made it feel more like a camping holiday.”

A spokesperson for University of Lincoln said: “Whilst we understand in this instance the student chose to make their own temporary living arrangements, it is important all our students know that if they have any issues with accommodation or finance during any stage of their studies there is a range of support available both from the university and Students’ Union.”

*Sarah asked for her real name to be changed to preserve her anonymity

Related articles recommended by this author:

• All the ways to spot a Lincoln Uni first year student

• A new restaurant in Lincoln is offering its first 500 customers a completely free pizza

• In pictures: Lincoln’s newest freshers brave their first night out…at Quack