Meet the students who live at home

They love it


Here at Strathclyde, many believe that we’re all united as one species. But the truth is that among us is a different breed – those who still live with their parents. They claim their uni life is cheaper, cleaner, comfier and less filled with hunger. We asked a few of them to tell us the ups and downs of living with mum.

 

Bethany Marr, first year, Psychology

Bethany is just a fresher, but she’s certain staying at home was the right choice. She chose to stay at home this year because she wanted to keep the job she already had, and wasn’t ready to leave her family yet.“I’m just not ready to be completely independent.”

She mentioned that among other issues due to living at home, public transport is a big one, mainly because none of the trains run at a helpful time. “I end up being in town so long before my class starts, because if I get the later train I don’t have enough time to get to the buildings.”

Andrew Robertson, second year, Primary Teaching

Andrew is a teaching student, who chose to live at home because of convenience and because he didn’t enjoy living in halls in the past.

He enjoys being involved in his usual life in his home town, and doesn’t regret his decision because he is “totally relaxed when at home.”

However, there is a down side: “I have had little incentive to go outside my comfort zone and participate in extra curricular activities.” Overall, however, he wouldn’t change his decision to stay at home.

Emily McTear, fifth year, Chemical Engineering

Emily decided to stay at home because of how close she lives to Strathclyde. She enjoys living at home because it means she can still spend time with her family regularly during term time.

She also likes being able to “have somewhere quiet to go, away from the city after a long day of uni.”

However, she says that it can be quite hard to study at home when she doesn’t have classes. She said: “As an engineering student a lot of the work I need to do depends on having software available. If it was possible to have that at home without spending huge amounts of money that would make a big difference.”

Lauren McDougall, third year, History

History student Lauren decided to stay at home because it was “cheaper, easier and a lot less scary than the thought of staying in halls.”

She said: “I know I’ve made the right choice staying at home, as I find it less stressful than I would staying in halls or in a shared house.”

However, she mentioned how difficult it was getting to know people when she started uni. “I felt a bit isolated from everyone, because a lot of students in halls already seemed to be getting along as though they’d known each other for a life-time.”

Gregor McDowall, fifth year, Physics

Gregor is doing a masters in physics, and chose to live at home because he lives quite close to the university anyway. He considered moving into town, but found it difficult to do so as most of his course-mates also live at home.

“It saves a lot of money and I’m still able to join in most social things that I’d do otherwise.” he said.

He pointed out that public transport can be challenging, and that he wishes they would “run 24 hours so I wouldn’t have to leave things early to catch the dreaded ‘last train home’”.

Beth Robertson, third year, English with Journalism & Creative Writing

Beth chose to stay at home because she lived too close to Glasgow to move into halls.

She said: “I redid my room, made it study friendly and stayed at home. I would have happily moved out though, if the course I wanted to do was elsewhere.”

Even though Beth thinks she definitely made the right decision, when she was in first year she found it really difficult to make friends. “Talking in class is easy but finding the time to share things with other people in such a small space of time has been difficult.” she said.

Ruth Taylor, third year, Civil Engineering

Ruth came to uni fresh out of fifth year, choosing Strathclyde for it’s reputation as the best for engineering. She said that “it seemed pointless moving into town when I could just travel in.”
Ruth enjoys being able to save money by staying at home, as well as having her meals made for her.
However, she does find it hard living at home. She said: “Sometimes uni can be set up for people living on campus, which sometimes makes it difficult to be involved in things outside of classes at the university, especially because of the commute involved.”

Gregor Aitken, third year, Product Design and Innovation 

Gregor chose to stay at home because he thought it would give him more focus. He said: “the distractions such as flat parties and the social life would take me off course.”

He particularly enjoys being able to stay close to his family and friends and he also noted: “I also am fortunate enough to get a meal made for me every night.”

A problem Gregor has experienced is due to him still being surrounded by commitments from before uni. He said: “It can be distracting having so much to do, but I wouldn’t change the decision to stay at home.”

Becky Robertson, second year, Business Administration

Becky is doing a three year fast track course in business administration and chose to stay at home because it would be a lot cheaper for her than moving into town. She enjoys living at home because she gets on well with her parents and doesn’t have to worry too much about money.

One thing she does find difficult is a lack of privacy. She said: “This can span from having to say where you are going each time you leave the house, to being questioned as to why you are not studying when you decide to give yourself a day off.”

She says that this is understandable, as it is not her house and she needs to respect the rules her parents put forward. Despite this, she wouldn’t change her decision to stay at home.