A Review of Student Accommodation at Concordia University 

By Katharine O’Hearn, Concordia University, Canada 

Having finished my semester exchange at Concordia University living in on-campus student accommodation, I thought that a review of the accommodation would be useful for future students considering living in on-campus accommodation. 

Overview: 

At Concordia, there are only two on-campus student accommodation halls- one at the downtown campus (the Grey Nuns Residence), and one at the Loyola campus (Hingston Halls A and B). I found on-campus accommodation at Concordia to largely be very similar to at Manchester, but the most noticeable difference is that they were not divided into flats, and all on-campus accommodation is catered. There are both single rooms and shared rooms, and most rooms have shared (rather than en-suite) bathrooms. The most important consideration when choosing which accommodation hall to live in if you choose to go with on-campus accommodation is which campus most of your classes are on, since Concordia has two campuses, which are about 20-40 minutes apart by bus. There is a free quicker shuttle bus between the two campuses, but it only runs on weekdays between 9:15 and 18:30, but there are classes which start before 9:15 and finish after 18:30. I lived on the opposite campus to where all of my classes were, which was somewhat inconvenient, but not unmanageable. 

Facilities:  

I was in a large room in Hingston Hall B, which had a shared bathroom with the other rooms on the same floor, and a common room with a toaster, kettle, and microwave. Each room also had a minifridge, as well as a desk, chair, set of drawers, double bed (which, warning; double beds in Canada are larger than in the UK- getting your double sheets from home to fit would be a challenge).  

The bathrooms were shared, with three toilet stalls and four shower stalls for about 20 people. I found that this wasn’t really a problem for me, as they were generally clean, and there wasn’t usually a wait for the showers. 

Hingston Hall B had three washers and three dryers for laundry between about 120 people- sometimes finding a free machine could be challenging, but no more than shared laundry rooms tend to be. 

Meal plan/price: 

The biggest drawback of student accommodation at Concordia for me was the price of the meal plan (I can’t remember the exact amount, but it was somewhere in the thousands of Canadian dollars), but the convenience of not having to make my own food was definitely appreciated. The dining hall at Grey Nuns is in the same building as the rooms, while the dining hall for the Hingston Halls is a short walk away. It isn’t that far, but if you are particularly averse to the cold, you may prefer the Grey Nuns accommodation- going outside for three meals a day can be a lot on the coldest days in Montreal. The meal plan gives you access to both dining halls. 

Overall, apart from the food, the price was approximately the same as accommodation and bills would have been in Manchester, and food is known to be expensive in Canada, so it would be more expensive whether or not you are living in halls. 

Other (pests, reslife, RAs): 

I encountered one mouse on my first night in halls, but the problem was resolved quickly- I called the RA phone, who brought me some anti-mouse noise machines and got maintenance to come by and plug the hole the mouse came through within the week, and I didn’t see any other mice or other pests while I was there. There were also no mold problems, and the accommodation was generally clean, in good condition, and well heated (potentially too well-heated- bring comfortable shorts, even if you are just going to be there in winter!). 

The RAs and reslife team also organised regular events for residents, such as a history evening at Grey Nuns and games and craft nights at Hingston Halls, which I enjoyed. 

Grey Nuns:  

I have heard that Grey Nuns is a bit more of a noisy accommodation to be in and has more mice, while Hingston Hall was in my experience very quiet, but less interesting historically and architecturally- Grey Nuns is definitely one of the most unique student accommodation buildings out there. It is in the middle of downtown Montreal, and used to be the motherhouse of the Grey Nuns of Montreal, with its main study room being the old chapel, and there is a crypt in the basement where some of the nuns are buried.  

Conclusion:

Overall, I found my experience in on-campus accommodation to be positive, and definitely different to the student accommodation experience in Manchester.