Accommodation

Accommodation at Emma is provided for by the college for the entire period of your degree. It typically comprises of three 10 week blocks per academic year based around the 3 terms, but can be extended if necessary. There are a range of options available depending on your year. Every room is graded on the scale of 1-8, with one being the cheapest rooms. Grading obviously reflects size, but also encompasses facilities, views, location and potential noise (i.e. the bus station). Room rents correlate to the grading system, and information on the exact rents can be found at Rents and Charges.

1st Years

All first years are given accommodation in college. The year group is usually split roughly evenly between North Court and South Court. All rooms have access to shared bathroom and toilet facilities (no en suites are available for 1st years), as well as a 'gyp' room, which has basic cooking facilities, usually consisting of only a combi microwave at best.

• North Court

  North Court comprises of 7 individual staircases in older, more aesthetically pleasing buildings. Each staircase is quite unique and different, ranging from around 8 undergrad rooms to 35. Usually 4 staircases in North Court are for 1st years, with the others taken up by 2nd and 3rd years. Rooms here vary considerably more than South Court, with both the biggest and smallest 1st year rooms located here, ranging from huge 6s, to 'cosy' grade 1s. Gyp rooms also vary, and bathroom and toilet facilities are adequate, but a lot less modern than South Court. Location wise North Court is across the road from the main college buildings, connected via an underground subway. However it's worth stressing that although separated, it doesn't feel as isolated as this would perhaps imply, it's certainly only a minute away from the centre of college. Some staircases do however face the bus station, which can be problematic for the light sleepers amongst you. However, it is conveniently located for a row of shops outside the North Court gate, featuring a Subway, fantastically cheap wine shop, a Natwest and a great café which will always have someone you know in it.

Advantages: Architecturally pleasing, unique and interesting rooms, no bar noise, convenient for shops and chance to meet 2nd and 3rd years.
Disadvantages: Some small rooms, bathrooms and toilets aren't great and bus station noise in some rooms.

• South Court

  From the outside an ugly 60s building that looks slightly out of place. However inside the rooms are actually quite nice. Being a more modern building the rooms are heavily standardised, with effectively just 2 versions. One is the Grade 3 room which is a decent size, usually in a box shape. The other version is a Grade 4 room, which has the same as a Grade 3, but has a little extension which can be separated from the main bit of the room via a sliding door. Usually the desk or bed is positioned in this bit. Gyp room and toilet facilities are more modern than North Court, but toilets and showers have locked doors, meaning you have to take your key with you every time you want to access them. The bar is also in South Court, which is an advantage for those who frequent it often and like the convenience, but can be noisy, and your North Court friends tend to use your room as a free and lockable cloakroom/dumping ground when they're in the bar.

Advantages: 'Safe option' on rooms, you know what you're getting, nicer toilets, bathrooms and gyp rooms, convenient for the bar.
Disadvantages: Sometimes noise from the bar, ugly architecture, rooms can feel a bit standardised and not as interesting and locked toilets are inconvenient.

2nd Year

At the end of Lent term (Jan-March) in your 1st year, students select their accommodation for their second year. This is done via a ballot. You can ballot with up to 3 friends. Ballot groups are drawn randomly from the hat, so it's entirely down to luck where you end up. Those groups at the top get 1st choice of what's left after the 3rd years have chosen, as 3rd years have priority. The ballot system usually means you can choose who live with, where you live and what grade rent you want to pay, providing far more choice than in your 1st year. Although there's always someone disappointed, most people find somewhere they're happy with.

2nd year accommodation is in four main areas. Although as a prospective student you probably won't want to know the ins and outs of each, it's worth noting that 3 of the areas are outside college. Therefore some have separate self-catering and laundry facilities, while others are close enough to still use those in college. If greater independence isn't your thing however, and you would prefer to be within college, East Court is usually available to 2nd years and is situated in college.

3rd Year

In the third year the ballot order from the 2nd year is reversed. So those who got last choice last time get first choice this time. This compensates those who didn't do so well in their second year and evens things out. Third years also get 1st choice of college accommodation, meaning that even those at the bottom of the ballot order usually get a decent room. Most third year accommodation is within college, although Park Terrace is a row of impressive terraced houses situated just outside of college, opposite Parker's Piece.