What's it like sharing a home with lots of other students?
University of Sheffield
Danny Mulley, 19Aerospace engineering (BEng) Home town: Sale, Greater Manchester
We're based right in the heart of the student village. There are around 4,500 students living here, so there's a real buzz about the place. It's like being on holiday every day of the week. At £100 a week, ours is one of the most expensive halls, but I wanted to live comfortably. You only go to university once, after all. There are eight of us in the flat, although we don't see much of two of them, who seem to go home a lot.
Hannah is very neat and tidy and is always telling us off for not doing the washing-up. Becky is ridiculously messy. We nicknamed her room the floordrobe because she never hangs any of her clothes up. She's a notoriously bad cook and once tried to cook an omelette without any eggs.
Tom Cain, 19
Physics (BSc) Home town: Nottingham
I started off in a catered hall, but transferred here after about six weeks because my lectures and hockey practice clashed with mealtimes. I don't think I made a great impression on my new flatmates. The first time they saw me, I was about to go out on a big night out with the hockey lads and was wearing a leotard and fluorescent Spandex leggings. I got carried back to the flat by a mate in the early hours and woke everyone up, which didn't go down too well.
Danny is quite a good sport. He went away one weekend and made the mistake of leaving his door open. We covered everything in his room in newspaper. We even made him some paper bedsheets. He didn't even get angry.
Hannah Tomkins, 18
Dentistry (BDS) Home town: Bristol
I'm probably the most uptight one in the flat. I do like to have a moan about the washing-up and when people wake me up when they come in drunk, but I've only snapped a couple of times. Now I usually wear earplugs.
Becky is the party animal of the flat. One night I woke up to hear meowing in the hall. A cat had followed her home from a club, so she brought it up to the flat and sent it back down in the lift.
We weren't sure what to make of Tom, especially after he woke us all up on his first night in the flat. We thought he was upsetting the balance. But after a few weeks, we all decided we loved him.
Becky Frost, 19
Psychology (BSc) Home town: York
Hannah is the mum of the flat. She leaves the rest of us notes asking us to clear up the kitchen, but we usually ignore them. She does dentistry and has a lot of work to do, so she can't come out with us that much during the week.
Danny is quite sensible, too. He's like a nice uncle keeping you in check. He keeps his dirty plates and pans in his room for ages because he's scared of getting a telling-off from Hannah.
Jesus College, University of Cambridge
Beth Jones, 19 BA (Hons) biological natural sciences Home town: Brighton
At about £900 a term, including a catering subsidy, this is the cheapest hall in the college. The rooms are all big, so although it's not exactly luxurious it's good value for money.
There are 11 of us on each "staircase" and the accommodation is arranged over three floors. We share a kitchen, and there are two showers and three toilets. I've learned not to shower in the morning because there's so little hot water. By about 8.30am, it's stone-cold.
The kitchens are very basic and fridge space is limited. I think it's to encourage us to eat in Caff [the college cafeteria]. You can get a decent meal for around £3.
I guess I'm the hardest working on the staircase. During the exam period, I avoided the library, which can be a real point of stress. Everyone appears to be working so hard, it can really make you feel pressured.
Nicole Bryan-Quanima, 19
LLB (Hons) law Home town: London
I stopped using the shared kitchen in the first few weeks. The worktops were piled with dirty plates and the washing-up never got done. The final straw was when I left some spaghetti bolognese in the fridge in a container with my name on it and someone ate it. Now I cook in another part of the college with a friend who has her own kitchen.
I tend to socialise with friends from my course, so I don't feel I know anyone that well on the stairway. Beth is really caring, though. She looked after me when I was homesick in the first term. Chris is a rower and quite sociable. He always seems to have a beer on the go and has had some rowdy parties.
Lowell Bellfield, 19
BA (Hons) English Home town: London
Fliss is multi-talented. She's into folk music and plays the accordion, piano and tin whistle. I play the guitar, but we don't play together – she would put me to shame. Her room is the messiest. She lives out of a suitcase and doesn't use her wardrobe at all. Most of the time, it's difficult to see the floor.
Dan and Chris are probably the most sociable. They go out drinking a lot and Dan seems to have a lot of female friends over. He sings in a choir, too, so you often hear him practising.
Finlay is studying Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic and he's really intelligent. He's read a lot more books than me and he's not even doing English.
Fliss Davies, 19
BA (Hons) philosophy Home town: Stratford Upon Avon
Lowell is funny and well-liked. He plays the guitar really well, but is very modest. He's just started doing stand-up and went down a storm at the college's comedy night, Smokers.
Dan keeps himself busy with badminton, ballroom dancing and singing in the choir.
Chris is very sociable and a bit of a lad, although he did have a cocktail party in his room the other night, which was a bit more civilised. He likes drinking with his rowing mates, and on one memorable occasion tried to traverse the kitchen after a night out.
Finlay O'Duffin, 18
BA (Hons) Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic Home town: Glasgow
I was only 17 when I started university, so it was a bit strange being younger than everyone. I was at a social event in the first few weeks when someone from the student union came over and said I couldn't have any beer.
There is a big tradition of night climbing at Cambridge. Over the festive period a few Christmas hats made it on to steeples and chimneys around the college.
Lowell is a really nice guy. I had bad flu in the first term and he brought food to my room and generally kept an eye on me.
Chris Hannaby, 18
BA (Hons) natural sciences Home town: Cowbridge, near Cardiff
I chose this accommodation because it was the cheapest at the college, but I've got a really big room and a great view of the sports fields. The kitchen facilities aren't ideal, though, so I tend to eat lunch and dinner in Caff. There isn't enough room in the freezer and the sink is always full of washing-up.
Lowell is probably the coolest. He is always well-dressed and has a good haircut. Fliss is a typical philosophy student and pretty wild. She talks in a stream of consciousness and has lots of strange hobbies like juggling fire clubs. Dan is pretty sociable and always seems to have loads of vet girls in his room.
Dan Burnard, 19
VetMB Home town: Bicester, Devon
Beth has a very strong work ethic. She doesn't drink and keeps herself busy with ice hockey. I went ballroom dancing with her in the first term. I guess there may have been a bit of chemistry there at first, but I'm not sure now.
Chris is the party animal of the stairway. On the last day of Christmas term, he did a wizard stick, a drinking game that involves taping together all your empty cans to make a "stick". He was sick afterwards.
Lowell is a great guy and modest. He's a really good guitarist and singer, but if he hears anyone outside his door, he'll stop right away.
Bani Kahai, 19
MBChB, visiting from Manchester University Home town: Brighton
The student accommodation here is so much nicer than where I'm studying. The traditional buildings are beautiful and the rooms are really big. I have a very small room in an ugly 1970s block in Manchester. It's much quieter here. I was actually able to sleep last night.