Questions 15

READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 15-24, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

Student Accommodation At Northside University

Situated about 20km from the city centre, Northside University is not easy to get to by public transport. However, students have several different alternatives for accommodation on or near the University campus.

Firstly, the University has several residential colleges; Burnside College, Boronia College and Helen Turner College. [Crack IELTS with Rob] Each of these colleges provides a single fully furnished room with shared bathroom facilities, and meals. Burnside College is the most expensive, with 1996 fees ranging from $154 – $165 per week. However, each student room is equipped with private telephone and voice-mailing facilities, and within the next few months college students will have access to EMAIL, On-Line library, INTERNET and AARNET via a network with the University. Boronia College has similar room facilities but does not offer the same computer access. It also offers only 17 meals per week, compared to Burnside’s 21. Fees vary from $147 – $157 per week. Helen Turner College is a college exclusively for women, with similar fees to Boronia College. To attend classes, students have a short walk from the residential Colleges to the main University campus.

The University also provides 23 self-contained furnished townhouses. These townhouses have either 3, 4 or 6 bedrooms each and student residents are expected to be studying full-time. Rents in 1996 ranged from $54 per week for a room in a six bedroom flat to $68.50 per week for a room in a three-bedroom house. [Crack IELTS with Rob] Students wanting to live in university housing should apply to the university housing office in August of the previous year, as it is in high demand. Smoking is banned in University housing.

Off campus, there are many flats, townhouses and houses for rent in the local area. These can be found by looking in the local newspaper under ACCOMMODATION, or by checking notices pinned up on the boards around the university. There are always students advertising for housemates and you can even add a notice of your own to the board. [Crack IELTS with Rob] However, even sharing accommodation with others can be expensive; tenants are usually required to pay a rental bond, rent in advance, and telephone/electricity/gas bills in addition to food bills. Be sure that you know what you will be required to pay before you enter into any written agreement.