So you’ve just received your A Level results and are now weighing your university options… And you’ve somehow found your way onto our blog.
First of all, congratulations on finishing the dreaded pressure test (read: A Level exams) and on your results! 🙂 But now comes the time for decisions. Many important decisions. As if choosing a school and a course is not difficult enough, your life is further complicated by the need to choose an accommodation. Should you stay on campus? If so, where? We’re here to help.
Since you’re reading this, NUS is probably one of your choices (we hope). NUS has a variety of campus accommodations available. This is great because you have a lot of options to suit your preferences, but it can also give you a headache researching and deciding on only one place to stay in for at least one semester. Well, fret not because this post will help you get acquainted with NUS Halls of Residence and Student Residences in just a minute!
Starting from the upcoming academic year (AY16/17), there would only be two Student Residences: Prince George Park Residences (PGPR) and UTown Residence (UTR). UTown Residence is, however, catered primarily for graduate students. And there are of course the six Halls of Residence, namely Eusoff, Kent Ridge, King Edward VII, Raffles, Sheares and Temasek Halls.
So how are they different? We break down the various areas you may want to consider when selecting your choice residence.
The six halls of residence. Image courtesy of OSA.
Prince George Park Residences (PGPR). Photo courtesy of OHS.
- Type of Lifestyle
Generally, the Halls of Residence have an overwhelming number of opportunities and activities to keep their residents occupied with. Life in the Hall is generally very intense and jam-packed! You may have heard some of your seniors taking five C0-Curricular Activities (CCAs) in their halls and wonder how they survive. Indeed, active involvement in CCAs is part of the requirement to stay in halls – but that’s how you push the boundaries and redefine your own limits! The activities and CCAs available differ for each hall, but they generally include three classifications – committees, culture and sports. For instance, under cultural CCAs, Sheares Hall has SHBeats, which is a DJ-ing and live electronic music production CCA, while Raffles Hall has RH Rebels, an instrumental ensemble CCA. The Hall committees include block committees, community service committes, such as Kent Ridge Volunteers, and others like King Edward VII’s KE Vision, which is a Photo Committee. If you envision a lifestyle full of new, exciting and varied activities, the Hall may be for you!
Some of the Halls’ CCAs. Upper left: Raffles Hall’s RH Rebels. Upper right: Kent Ridge Hall’s Tennis. Bottom left: Raffles Hall’s RVC Elderly Project. Bottom right: Temasek Hall’s Dance. Photos courtesy of the Halls’ websites.
Check out the halls’ websites for more information on the existing activities:
- Kent Ridge: https://kentridge.nus.edu.sg/hl_interest_all.php
- King Edward VII: http://www.kevii.nus.edu.sg/cca.html
- Raffles: http://raffles.nus.edu.sg/activities/all/
- Sheares: http://www.sheares.nus.edu.sg/index.php/
- Temasek: http://temasek.nus.edu.sg/temasek-hall/
- Eusoff: http://www.eusoff.nus.edu.sg/ https://www.facebook.com/EusoffHall/
Student Residences like PGPR and UTR, on the other hand, do not have CCAs within the residence. But this doesn’t mean the residents have less vibrant campus lives! Various facilities such as a music room, barbeque pits, basketball courts and a gym can be enjoyed in PGPR. The music room, for instance, is located at Residence 3 and is free for use with prior booking by the residents. The Resident Assistants (RAs), who are appointed student leaders in PGPR and UTR, continually organise social events and programmes for the residents to take part in. For example, there is a signature programme range called the 100MIN Enrichment Series, that offers a plethora of sports, handicrafts and excursions – all for free! You can check out past activities at https://100min,tumblr.com. If you enjoy a more independent and flexible lifestyle, the Student Residences may be the way to go.
- Location
Location may not seem that important now, as they are all still within the same campus, but don’t underestimate the size of NUS! Of course the Internal Shuttle Bus can transport you easily around the school compound, but we all know how just five minutes can make a significant difference in the morning. So, you may want to take the distance between your faculty and your Hall or Residence into account. For example, if you’re in Business, Kent Ridge Hall is the nearest – it is just across the Mochtar Riady Building (also known as Biz 1)! Meanwhile, Raffles Hall is very close to Faculty of Engineering and Eusoff Hall is the nearest to the Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FASS).
Take a look at the NUS campus map to see the locations of all the Halls and Residences here: http://www.nus.edu.sg/campusmap/pdf/nus_kent_ridge_coloured.pdf
- Costs and meal plans
When we talk about accommodation, cost must be one of the factors that come to mind. Luckily for us, hostel rates do not vary too much across all the Halls and Residences. The full list of hostel rates can be seen here:
Hostel rates for halls and residences. Courtesy of OSA. Click on this link for a complete information on the rates: http://nus.edu.sg/osa/has/non-graduating/hostel-rates
Even though the rates for the room are generally the same, the Halls require their residents to subscribe to meal plans, which is an additional cost on top of the hostel fees. Under meal plans, residents in the same Hall all eat in a common dining hall during a certain timeframe. Dining menus are fixed by the Hall. In contrast, residents in PGPR and UTR are responsible for their own meals. Instead of common dining halls, there are canteens/foodcourts in PGPR and all around UTR, for you to have your meals at any time you wish.
Meal plan rates for halls
We hope this post give you a helpful introduction to NUS Halls and Residences and make it easier for you to decide on your accommodation choice! J Don’t miss the application period, from 14 June to 22 June 2016!
If you’re here looking for information on the Residential Colleges, do visit the respective colleges’ websites for more information. The Office of Student Affairs oversees the Halls of Residence and the Student Residences. The Residential Colleges do not fall under our purview. Here are some helpful links:
Tembusu College: https://tembusu.nus.edu.sg/
Cinnamon College: http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/community-college/college/index.html
College of Alice and Peter Tan: http://capt.nus.edu.sg/
Ridge View Residential College: http://www.rvrc.nus.edu.sg/
Residential College 4: http://rc4.nus.edu.sg/
