New Hall - Ask Away 2007

[alastair05]

Hi there,

I'm going to be in New Hall next year. I've been there last the last two years and am going to be in 3rd year - so I thought I'd post here to see if any Freshers or JYAs/JSAs had any questions about the hall, or other uni stuff? I can tell you about 1st and 2nd year Maths and Comp Sci too

Alastair

[39weeks]

Not sure I can fit all my questions in. I'm a fresher, think I'll be on the 3rd floor. Didn't get a chance to see it during open day.

- What stuff do you most recommend I bring or buy to outfit my room? Do I need a better desk chair? Rug? How do I hang stuff on walls? Will I need to buy/bring shelves? mini-frig? What else?

- Is it basically just long halls with rooms on either side?

- WiFi good throughout?

- Should I get a bike or just walk everywhere?

- Do people get to know each other? What kinds of events are sponsored?

Thanks! Can't wait to get there!

[alastair05]

1.

You shouldn't really need to bring too much to outfit your room. Each room has a double bed (you might want to bring your own linen for it since the hall stuff isn't that good), a desk and some shelving as well as a wardrobe built into the wall, an office chair, and a couple of bed side cabinets. Two of each if you're in a shared room. There is also a TV so don't do what many Freshers do and lug a TV up then take up half their desk with it!! You will need your own TV license however. You will have access to a shared kitchen/diner which will have a fridge, cookers etc and if you're lucky a microwave. You will need your own cooking utensils, but beware, the cupboard you're given to store stuff is pretty small.

The hall is indeed very long corridors with rooms on either side, however there is a coffee shop and the dining area on the ground floor. There is a computer room on the 2nd floor and a study room on the 3rd.

There is no wifi in New Hall, however each room is equipped with a wired connection to the internet. This has the big advantage of being much more reliable, secure and easy to set up than wifi, but unfortunately you won't be able to use the internet in communal areas in hall.

St Andrews isn't too big so a bike isn't really necessary, though it may be helpful. If you're a Science student you won't have far to travel to class but if you want to get to the library or the Quad at the other end of town it can take over 20 min to walk.

It's pretty easy to get to know people in New Hall provided you make the effort. People often sit and chill in the coffee shop, and if you're a catered student you'll meet lots of people at meal times. The Hall Committee organises lots of social events during Freshers Week as well as other events during the year. The important thing is to make the effort to get out and meet people. You should also go along to the Freshers fayre and join some societies (especially the Forum for Democracy & Human Rights ) as these will give you lots of opportunity to meet like-minded people from all over the university and develop your interests.

Hope that covers your questions. Look forward to seeing you in a few weeks!!

Quoting 39weeks from 21:23, 11th Aug 2007
Not sure I can fit all my questions in. I'm a fresher, think I'll be on the 3rd floor. Didn't get a chance to see it during open day.

- What stuff do you most recommend I bring or buy to outfit my room? Do I need a better desk chair? Rug? How do I hang stuff on walls? Will I need to buy/bring shelves? mini-frig? What else?

- Is it basically just long halls with rooms on either side?

- WiFi good throughout?

- Should I get a bike or just walk everywhere?

- Do people get to know each other? What kinds of events are sponsored?

Thanks! Can't wait to get there!

[box_of_delights]

Re: the bike question, you really don't need one. To walk from New Hall to the science buildings is literally seconds as they are next door. To walk to the Buchanan Building or the Quad which is where most arts lectures take place will take you 15 mins at most - the union is 10 mins walk at the very most from the hall. If you need to get to the Gatty for marine biology however it would take you around 25 mins because it's on the opposite side of the town.

[hr]

[s]http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37101440&pwstdfy=c9c14f50e63e4951ba5a9abb7ffcdc6e

[Icecradle]

I was in Melville a couple of years ago which is right next to New Hall and I found the bike very helpful for getting over to south street for lectures if I was running late.

it's 15-20 mins to walk, 5-10 to bike and all the student areas have reasonable bike-parking areas outside.

as has been said though, if you're a science student then you probably won't need one unless they're mean and give you classes somewhere random.

[39weeks]

Great info! Thank you guys! Likely more questions to come as move-in gets closer.

[amore vincit omnia]

Hey guys! My name's Jenni and I'm going to be your Senior Student for the coming year. Alistair's given you loads of great information so far, but remember there's also a New Hall website set up by the Committee, which should hopefully answer most of your big questions. It also tells you how to get in touch with the Committee members, and is generally worth having a quick look at. The calendar of events for Orientation Week in New Hall will be going up as soon as the programme is finalised!

http://wired.st-and.ac.uk/~new_hall/ind ... e&Itemid=1

See you all in a few weeks!

[hr]

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle

[Guest]

I would also add that if you are self-catering, then the kitchens are very well equipped, you'll have 2 toasters, 2 cookers (with ovens and grills), 2 kettles, 2 very nice and quite big fridges, 2 sinks with drying racks and everything you need regarding crockery, cutlery, pots and pans. And each kitchen is shared by 12 people (max) but it never gets really crowded in there

[unr]

- What stuff do you most recommend I bring or buy to outfit my room? Do I need a better desk chair? Rug? How do I hang stuff on walls? Will I need to buy/bring shelves? mini-frig? What else?


Bring cups (you can get them from tesco for 44p) and perhaps a radio. Bring minimal stuff.


- Is it basically just long halls with rooms on either side?

yes and no new hall has a weird structure of zig zag corridors. lots of fire doors seperate the corridors into segments

- WiFi good throughout?

People want it, but at the moment only in the study room

- Should I get a bike or just walk everywhere?

Walk, only 10 15 mins away from everything compared to 30 40 mins from dra(david russell). and you don't need to carry shopping


- Do people get to know each other? What kinds of events are sponsored?

two years ago they had a get together on the first two days. my tactic was to sit in the front and shake hands with everybody i come accross

Thanks! Can't wait to get there!

[Elisabeth]

Hi! I have a question about layout and room numbers. Is New Hall just one large building or are there separate buildings? The room number on my contract is in the 1000s, does that mean I'm on the ground floor? Thanks!

[Icarus]

It's pretty much one big building, yes. It seems rather huge when you get there (I managed to get lost on my first day, but that was mostly due to trying to navigate while balancing half my earthly possessions on one trolley at the same time), but that just means you have more space (unlike certain other halls *cough* Melville). If your room number is in the 1000s you will indeed be on the ground floor.

[Malcolm]

The problem with New Hall I had was that the whole building was identical and mirrored itself. It was too easy to get lost but keep following the signs and you'll cope.

I lived there for a whole year and never 100% knew my way around it.

[Bizarre Atheist]

New Hall. Aah the happy days.

Almost as happy as the days after I moved out.

Hi Jenni!

[hr]

http://www.charities-campaign.org.uk

[Al]

Quoting unr from 17:57, 12th Aug 2007
- Should I get a bike or just walk everywhere?

Walk, only 10 15 mins away from everything compared to 30 40 mins from dra(david russell). and you don't need to carry shopping

New Hall is only a 20-25 minutes walk from DRA if you walk in the opposite direction for a while...

[harmless loony]

I lived in New Hall for all 4 of my Undergraduate years and as sad as I am this summer I went back to stay in the hotel version of it.

I enjoyed my time there (even if I did meet the frankly very weird Bizarre Atheist - but hey the bad comes with the good)......

My advice to all those moving into New Hall is leave your rooms and make the effort to socialise. There are over 500 people in there - you cannot fail to meet someone!

[Bizarre Atheist]

Quoting harmless loony from 13:23, 14th Aug 2007
I lived in New Hall for all 4 of my Undergraduate years and as sad as I am this summer I went back to stay in the hotel version of it.

I enjoyed my time there (even if I did meet the frankly very weird Bizarre Atheist - but hey the bad comes with the good)......

My advice to all those moving into New Hall is leave your rooms and make the effort to socialise. There are over 500 people in there - you cannot fail to meet someone!

And this thread goes exactly the way of last year's, ey loony? :p

[hr]

http://www.charities-campaign.org.uk

[Icarus]

Quoting harmless loony from 13:23, 14th Aug 2007
I lived in New Hall for all 4 of my Undergraduate years and as sad as I am this summer I went back to stay in the hotel version of it.

I enjoyed my time there (even if I did meet the frankly very weird Bizarre Atheist - but hey the bad comes with the good)......

My advice to all those moving into New Hall is leave your rooms and make the effort to socialise. There are over 500 people in there - you cannot fail to meet someone!

Indeed I'd entirely agree with Loony's advice. The only downside of New Hall being so big and spacious is it is possible to hide in your room and hardly get to meet anyone, whereas some of the other more cramped halls literally force you together. If you're new make the effort to go out; meet as many random people in the first week as you can; talk to which ever random person is standing behind you in the dinner que. You never know who you'll randomly meet. I ended up making my closest and most valued friends by wandering up to a random group of people in the foyer one day and asking if they knew the number for a good pizza place. Now we all live in the same flat. You'll love the place.

[amore vincit omnia]

Quoting Bizarre Atheist from 00:00, 14th Aug 2007
New Hall. Aah the happy days.

Almost as happy as the days after I moved out.

Hi Jenni!

[hr]

http://www.charities-campaign.org.uk

Dave, if you're not careful you might start giving the impression that the year we spent as neighbours wasn't an intensely happy and fulfilling one...

[hr]

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle

[baron]

hey. I'm in New Hall for the coming year, and I was wondering what times the dorms open and close for the weekend before fresher's week.

[Al]

Halls open at 10am on the Saturday.