From recent reviews, students say the following about whether to be catered, or self catered in their first year:

"Self catered and I think this is the best way to have it as you learn how to cook and you can choose when you eat instead of having set meal times."
Dominic, doing Music Production at Leeds College of Music. Read more

"Didn't live in halls, however self-catered is better in my opinion in order to prepare you to learn how to do the groceries cheaply for cooking in the years to come!"
Ron, doing Mechanical Engineering at University of Southampton. Read more

"All colleges provide catering, some provide self catering facilities as well, so you can choose how much you make use of the catered 'hall'. Some colleges have great food, others not so good. One note: if you plan to do lots of extracurriculars, find a college which provides kitchens, since hall hours tend to be limited and you don't want to miss dinner if you're out playing sport!"
Beth, doing Physiology at Oxford University. Read more

"Both halls were self catering. I would recommend self catering as you're going to have to learn how to fend for yourself at some point!"
Alice, doing Civil Engineering at The University of Strathclyde. Read more

"No"
Jenny, doing Politics at The University of Birmingham. Read more

"My hall is a catered hall which I would recommend as first you don't have to learn to cook, (my friends in self catered live off ready meals and toast) and is secondly a great way to make friends. We have a huge dining hall so you can sit with different people every night and make good friends in different blocks. Friends in self catered seem to stick more with the people in their flat. The main advantage of catered halls for your first year is that you don't have to spend time cooking and cleaning. You will have to do it for the rest of your life so it's nice to have a year off, plus it gives you more time to make friends, complete your work or spend more time playing sports. "
Archie, doing Economics at Loughborough University. Read more

"Mine was self catered, as there was no other option. Although I enjoyed cooking,I think that it was quite overwhelming to have to do it if you're not used to it. I think catered is probably better, if you have the option, as it takes away a lot of the worries of being away from home and needing to know how to cook!!"
Tara, doing Modern Languages at Leeds Metropolitan University. Read more

"I would suggest self catered as it gets you used to cooking for yourself in preparation for the second year."
Jamie, doing Business Management at Cardiff University. Read more

"Catered. This is a good idea for a post grad as it's very social and gives you time to focus more on work and socialising rather than making meals. Cheap too."
Gordon, doing Engineering at Oxford University. Read more

"See above."
Louisa, doing Scottish Literature at The University of Edinburgh. Read more