What kind of student housing can I choose between?
Are you wondering about the differences between the dorms and the apartments you can choose from and what actually suits you? Read on!
Three types of dorms and two types of apartment
In our housing selector, there are five different housing types you can choose from, but you must decide early in the process whether you want to apply for an apartment or a dorm (in the housing selector dorms are named "single unit" or "room"). You cannot mix apartments and dorms in the application.
These housing types are available in SSN's student housing:
We also have housing that are adapted for residents with disabilities, let us know in the comments field in the application what adaptations/facilitation you need. Read more about facilitation for disabilities here.
For students at session-based studies short-term rent might be applicable.
Dorm = for you who live alone
If you are going to live by yourself, you should probably apply to live in one of our dorms. There are three options here, and it might be a good idea to think about whether you think you would be most comfortable sharing a kitchen with others or whether you would prefer to have a private kitchen.
Dorm with private bathroom and shared kitchen
The variant called room w/bathroom, shared kitchen, is the one we have by far the most of in the large new buildings. Here you will typically share a kitchen with 7-19 other students. This is a social way of living, where you get to know the people you share the kitchen with well and where you can potentially make friends for life. Many shared kitchens are good at coming up with social things together, such as joint dinners, game nights, etc.
Mina and Truls answer whether life with a shared kitchen is really that noisy and messy:
Mina and Truls live in dorms at Fagerlund Student Housing, where they share a kitchen with 12 others, and talk honestly about what it's like to live in a shared student accommodation.
You should probably be able to tolerate both a bit of noise and crumbs, but with a proper cleaning list and preferably a kitchen chat, you will have control over both the cleaning and being able to tell if the neighbor is making noise when you are trying to study for an exam. If you anyway prefer to read in the library, it's a perfect match!
Read more about keeping order in shared kitchens here.
The shared kitchen at Vestsiden in Kongsberg has a dining table with room for all 19 who share the kitchen.
A desk, chair, bookshelf, shades, bed, wardrobe, shoe rack/pegs for outerwear and pegs in the bathroom are common fixtures in dorms with private bathrooms and shared kitchens. This is from Campus Bø Student Housing.
All residents of a shared kitchen each have their own fridge, kitchen cupboard and cutlery drawer.
Dorm with private kitchen and bathroom
If you think that you would be most comfortable with a private kitchen, you can put a single unit with private kitchen and bathroom at the top of your application. You can be your own boss and don't have to share a kitchen towel with anyone.
Here you might have to make an extra effort to get to know your neighbors - something we strongly recommend! The welfare host in your residential area can also be of help to get in touch with or come up with things together with the neighbors in the hall or your building.
Read more about the welfare hosts here.
This is how a kitchen can look in a dorm with a private bathroom and kitchen.
Here you have everything you need! The dorms with private bathroom and kitchen vary from 15 to 29 square meters.
There is a focus on good storage solutions when space is limited, such as here at Øvre Sund in Drammen, where the bed has a drawer below and a cupboard above.
Dorm with shared kitchen and bathroom
This type of dorm, also known as a "doublet", is often the most affordable option. Here you have your own bedroom with typically a bed, wardrobe and a desk, and share a bathroom and kitchen with the neighbour. You never share a bathroom with more than one person, but in some places up to four people can share a kitchen.
If you are friends who want to live together, you can let us know, either already in the comments field on the application, or by contacting us via chat or e-mail, and we will make arrangements as far as possible.
Wondering where to do your laundry?
There are slightly different solutions in the different residential areas, but communal laundry or laundry rooms are the most common. You can see which solution applies under Our housing and Shared laundry room in the selected residential area.
This kitchen is shared by four residents who live in dorms with a shared kitchen and bathroom at Sætre in Notodden. Each resident has their own refrigerator.
In dorms with a shared kitchen and bathroom, you have your own private room, such as this one with space for a bed, desk, bookshelf, an armchair and wardrobe at Sætre in Notodden.
Apartments = for couples and families
What we at SSN categorize as apartments are units that are best suited for couples or families - in other words, where you will move in together with one or more people. The apartments tend to be expensive for a person who lives alone.
Couples and families applying for apartments will be given priority in the allocation of these, but if you are going to live alone you can also apply for an apartment. If you want to keep all options open, you can use the comment field in the application form to say that you want to receive offers for both available apartments and dorms.
Couples apartment
As the name suggests, the couple apartments are suitable for couples and couples are given priority in the allocation of these. Most of the couples apartments have a combined kitchen and living room, private bathroom and bedroom.
Our dorms and apartments are equipped with some furniture and equipment, but you have to bring some things with you.
In the couples apartments, there is a separate bedroom with a double bed and plenty of storage space, and in most cases there is a combined fridge/freezer AND a dishwasher in the kitchen.
This example of a couples apartment is from Fagerlund Student Housing in Borre/Campus Vestfold.
Family apartment
The largest apartments are intended for families (which are also prioritized in the allocation), and there are only a few of this housing type. We have family apartments in Porsgrunn, Horten/Borre and Åsgårdstrand. A family apartment usually has two bedrooms in addition to a living room/kitchen and bathroom.
This family apartment is located on Campus Kjølnes Student Housing in Porsgrunn. Here there are two bedrooms, one of which has a desk, a combined kitchen and living room and a large bathroom.
Ready to apply for student accommodation?
In SSN, we do not operate with a deadline for applying for student housing, but we recommend that you apply for housing as soon as possible after you have applied for higher education. If you have applied for studies at several different campuses, we recommend that you apply for housing at the location of your first choice.
How to apply for student accommodation.
You can put hearts on as many dormitories or apartments as you want on the various properties (within the same campus) in an application, and then change the priority order of these by dragging them up and down in the application.
You will find all our dormitories and apartments in the housing selector, where you can easily filter by campus, location and type. You submit the application itself on My page.