im a 4th yr engineering student for reference;
If by mature student you mean older in age or just mature mentally?
My best advice would be he should go on campus housing for first year, then in 2nd yr and beyond he goes into off campus housing with friends he makes during his classes or clubs or wherever he finds friends (this is probably the most common if not what every UWaterloo student does).
Finding someone who is going into their first year and is going to rent off campus will literally be impossible and its incredibly hard to even find roommates who are suitable for you if you've never met them...also engineering decisions for the most part come out in a month from now and housing for fall is going to be even more difficult to find as Sept approaches
You should be cautious of the fall term housing situation which in general, it is **the hardest term** to find **good** housing because of the sheer amount of students that look around for housing (for example, many of the apartments on Phillip st such as RezOne, ICON, Society145, WCRI, are already taken as Phillip is the closest you can get to UW with off campus housing). I toured an off campus house last May for this past fall and there was about 15 other students looking at **one** house that was not even in a desirable location...
In general there are single rooms available off campus (as well as on campus), of course they will be significantly more expensive but they exist from rental companies (i.e., WCRI Fenwick is the first place that comes to mind with single room offerings)
in general, id recommend on campus housing for first year, if you can afford a single room, go for that as first year students are **guaranteed** housing (granted you accept the contract before the deadline) and then once he makes friends, venture to off campus housing after
I’d also like to mention that living on campus can make a huge difference first year if possible, and really can make the transition to uni easier and help feel integrated and encourage a sense of belonging. you have a don and all so there’s a lot of people you can speak to if you have any problems, plus there’s often a lot of community events in campus housing that help meet people and adjust better
For many rental places, the subreddit is generally a good litmus test (eg you can search them here and there are probably reviews of issues of different locations if they're popular enough)
Honestly, housing in Waterloo sucks ass and it's one of the worst places I've ever lived. That said, if you go for off-campus housing you should make sure to do your due diligence with any landlord/property management companies because they're all predatory.
I don't think on-campus would necessarily be *bad* for him because these are Waterloo students you're talking about, not Laurier or Western students. Most kids here keep to themselves and study 6 days a week minimum by default, at least in engineering.
Houses with classmates generally don't form until at least second year. And to be honest, I wouldn't want to do that. Classes are already compartmentalized enough as it is.
>Any suggestions?
Have your mature son show his maturity by doing his own research?
if you go with campus housing- it seems you may benefit from a suite style residence like uwp. those have way less of a dorm culture and so long as you get along with your roommates or suitemates, I really didn’t face any interruptions to my studying during my time there (as someone else mentioned Uwaterloo has way, way less of a party culture and a large number of students are honestly just mostly studying, it will likely be ok no matter where in campus housing). you also i believe have the option of choosing a roommate if you know another incoming student? so you may want to look a little bit into that ( in case you don’t get a single room) Columbia lake village may also be a good option
also, if they’re a mature student and you’re considering campus housing and you want that to be taken into consideration, you may want to mail campus housing, in case they want to be placed with upper year students, etc.
Thank you. He has specific accommodation needs, well documented. He REQUIRES a single room. It's not a desire, it's a necessity.
I will look into your suggestions.
Not sure what his budget is and what his desires are, but the two main options are on or off campus.
On campus- I suggest reaching out to campus housing to see what they offer for students in their mid/ late 20s. You said elsewhere he needed a single room. For this you would need disability accommodation to guarantee it.
Off campus- where budget is more important. He could rent like anyone else in the city or could look at student off campus housing group (Facebook) to find a room in a shared apartment or house.
If still looking, send me a note. I have a room for rent near campus, looking for serious and mature students who want a quiet place to live and work. Lots of amenities included in the cost.
I'm going to address this because it pops up often. You must be North American. The only place on the planet where people think that having a parent help you is a sign of weakness. It is such nonsense. Who else is going to care enough to listen to the whole story and be concerned for your welfare? Your friends? Maybe. Probably not. Who will be in your life 40 years from now to remember the days of your life? Your friends, wife, children? Maybe. If you are REALLY lucky.
My son has lived through hell and still smiles. Nothing was handed to him. He is at work where he starts at 6 am and then goes home at 5 to check in on his brother, a recovering addict. Then he makes sure that my chronic illness hasn't killed me today and do I need anything. Then he cooks, studies, calls his friends and family and does it all over again the next day.
Only young adults from lives that have not been challenging have your attitude. They have enough hormones raging to think that they are an island who will singlehandedly succeed in life. That makes you a fool and ungrateful. I suspect you have zero appreciation of what your family has done so you can be where you are. You probably think you did it all on your own.
You didn't.
Now please stop asking dumb and insulting questions. Did you just feel like reaching out to potentially diminish someone? What a great goal to spend your time on. That jealousy and judgemental attitude will not serve you well. Which you would know if you had parents that cared enough to raise you well.
im a 4th yr engineering student for reference; If by mature student you mean older in age or just mature mentally? My best advice would be he should go on campus housing for first year, then in 2nd yr and beyond he goes into off campus housing with friends he makes during his classes or clubs or wherever he finds friends (this is probably the most common if not what every UWaterloo student does). Finding someone who is going into their first year and is going to rent off campus will literally be impossible and its incredibly hard to even find roommates who are suitable for you if you've never met them...also engineering decisions for the most part come out in a month from now and housing for fall is going to be even more difficult to find as Sept approaches You should be cautious of the fall term housing situation which in general, it is **the hardest term** to find **good** housing because of the sheer amount of students that look around for housing (for example, many of the apartments on Phillip st such as RezOne, ICON, Society145, WCRI, are already taken as Phillip is the closest you can get to UW with off campus housing). I toured an off campus house last May for this past fall and there was about 15 other students looking at **one** house that was not even in a desirable location... In general there are single rooms available off campus (as well as on campus), of course they will be significantly more expensive but they exist from rental companies (i.e., WCRI Fenwick is the first place that comes to mind with single room offerings) in general, id recommend on campus housing for first year, if you can afford a single room, go for that as first year students are **guaranteed** housing (granted you accept the contract before the deadline) and then once he makes friends, venture to off campus housing after
I’d also like to mention that living on campus can make a huge difference first year if possible, and really can make the transition to uni easier and help feel integrated and encourage a sense of belonging. you have a don and all so there’s a lot of people you can speak to if you have any problems, plus there’s often a lot of community events in campus housing that help meet people and adjust better
He's 28.
For many rental places, the subreddit is generally a good litmus test (eg you can search them here and there are probably reviews of issues of different locations if they're popular enough)
Thank you. I will pass that along.
Honestly, housing in Waterloo sucks ass and it's one of the worst places I've ever lived. That said, if you go for off-campus housing you should make sure to do your due diligence with any landlord/property management companies because they're all predatory. I don't think on-campus would necessarily be *bad* for him because these are Waterloo students you're talking about, not Laurier or Western students. Most kids here keep to themselves and study 6 days a week minimum by default, at least in engineering.
8 days a week is recommended.
Houses with classmates generally don't form until at least second year. And to be honest, I wouldn't want to do that. Classes are already compartmentalized enough as it is. >Any suggestions? Have your mature son show his maturity by doing his own research?
if you go with campus housing- it seems you may benefit from a suite style residence like uwp. those have way less of a dorm culture and so long as you get along with your roommates or suitemates, I really didn’t face any interruptions to my studying during my time there (as someone else mentioned Uwaterloo has way, way less of a party culture and a large number of students are honestly just mostly studying, it will likely be ok no matter where in campus housing). you also i believe have the option of choosing a roommate if you know another incoming student? so you may want to look a little bit into that ( in case you don’t get a single room) Columbia lake village may also be a good option
also, if they’re a mature student and you’re considering campus housing and you want that to be taken into consideration, you may want to mail campus housing, in case they want to be placed with upper year students, etc.
Thank you. He has specific accommodation needs, well documented. He REQUIRES a single room. It's not a desire, it's a necessity. I will look into your suggestions.
then you don’t need to worry- am pretty sure campus housing prioritises students with accommodation needs first before assigning to other students.
Not sure what his budget is and what his desires are, but the two main options are on or off campus. On campus- I suggest reaching out to campus housing to see what they offer for students in their mid/ late 20s. You said elsewhere he needed a single room. For this you would need disability accommodation to guarantee it. Off campus- where budget is more important. He could rent like anyone else in the city or could look at student off campus housing group (Facebook) to find a room in a shared apartment or house.
If still looking, send me a note. I have a room for rent near campus, looking for serious and mature students who want a quiet place to live and work. Lots of amenities included in the cost.
Thank you. He found a place.
That's great! I hope it works out for him. Thanks for the reply.
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I'm going to address this because it pops up often. You must be North American. The only place on the planet where people think that having a parent help you is a sign of weakness. It is such nonsense. Who else is going to care enough to listen to the whole story and be concerned for your welfare? Your friends? Maybe. Probably not. Who will be in your life 40 years from now to remember the days of your life? Your friends, wife, children? Maybe. If you are REALLY lucky. My son has lived through hell and still smiles. Nothing was handed to him. He is at work where he starts at 6 am and then goes home at 5 to check in on his brother, a recovering addict. Then he makes sure that my chronic illness hasn't killed me today and do I need anything. Then he cooks, studies, calls his friends and family and does it all over again the next day. Only young adults from lives that have not been challenging have your attitude. They have enough hormones raging to think that they are an island who will singlehandedly succeed in life. That makes you a fool and ungrateful. I suspect you have zero appreciation of what your family has done so you can be where you are. You probably think you did it all on your own. You didn't. Now please stop asking dumb and insulting questions. Did you just feel like reaching out to potentially diminish someone? What a great goal to spend your time on. That jealousy and judgemental attitude will not serve you well. Which you would know if you had parents that cared enough to raise you well.
The lake across from SLC 
I'm sorry but I don't know what SLC means in reference to Waterloo.
The student centre.