Written by Concillier
14 Jan 2019
First off, Happy new year! This is my first post of 2019 and I am hoping to share some positive vibes with you as you plan to send your application or just off to start off a new semester. Also, have you read how you could score a scholarship that opens next month for your study in Sweden? I realised that I had never shared my apartment with you and thought that this would be a great way to start. So let’s talk about accommodation in Sweden.
I stay by myself in a studio apartment at Klostergarden, in a 24 square meter space. The room comes with its own kitchen and bathroom and costs about 4800 Kr a month inclusive of all bills. The rooms within this accommodation outlet can be shared or rented as 1 bedroom apartments (2 rooms). This is the most expensive option for students so if you would wish to save a few bucks you could get a room in a student house with a shared kitchen for about 3500 Kr – which also provides a great way of making friends.
My room came fully furnished. All I purchased was shower curtains, bedding, rags and my couch. The cheapest way I found to furnish your apartment on a student budget was through buying stuff at 2nd hand stores (There are several of these at Botusplatsen), camping on the facebook page “Sell and Buy at Lund” and being on the lookout for any disposables.
Different universities will have different rules when it comes to getting housing guarantees for incoming students. While some universities will offer a housing guarantee for all international students, others may only offer a housing guarantee for international students who do not come from the EU. Lastly, some universities may not offer a housing guarantee at all. It is important that you look up the rules of your university before sending in your applications because if you are worried about accommodation, you would be better placed at a university where your housing is guaranteed.
All is not lost if you fail to get accommodation. There are several other channels that you can use to find accommodation in Sweden (Lund). These include:
- Apply through AF Bostader,
- Apply for accommodation through a Student Nation. Famous student nations that offer accommodation in Sweden for students at Lund University include Lund Nation and Helsingkrona Nation. The catch is that as a student, you have to join and be a member of the Nation.
- Look through Facebook, there is a group called “Sell buy stuff in Lund” where people post about available accommodation plus things to buy and sell around Lund
You have to be comfortable with staying by yourself 🙂 because YES, it can get lonely at times. The downside of this student accommodation is that it lacks social spaces to meet other students. However, we got creative and somehow formed a Facebook group where people post about house issues, queries, parties and laundry room drama :). In my view, making friends in a shared apartment or corridor room is easier than in a studio apartment. However, I do not regret choosing it because I love to stay by myself and enjoy my space. I would be happy to host guests from time to time but am more comfortable on my own. Of course, this is different for different people so my advice would be to choose what rocks your boat. If we had a common space like a T.V room or sauna, it would have been perfect. The apartment is surrounded by the best running paths, is close to Stadsparken park and Centrala IP where I play rugby.
The process I share with you is the one I experienced at Lund University, however, other universities may have a different approach.
1. The University will send me a notice when the application period opened.
2. I was given the option to select 4 choices of accommodation.
3. I was notified by Lund Accommodation about the accommodation they had selected for me. You are not guaranteed to get your first choice of accommodation or any of the other choices in your list.
4. I accepted the offer. You have the option to accept or reject the offer.
5. After accepting the offer, I had to do additional steps such as making a deposit, doing an online induction and confirming contractual terms
6. After this, I picked the keys to my room on the arrival day.
Hope this helps to give you insight into your accommodation options in Sweden!
