The commuter’s guide to King’s: how to make it work (and actually enjoy it)

There’s a particular moment during Welcome to King’s when someone asks where you're living. When you say you’re in a private flat, the conversation shifts in a slightly different direction. Not unfriendly. But there’s a version of university life that organises itself around halls. With the corridor friendships and two-minute walks to a seminar, you’ve landed somewhere that already knows what to do with you. It can take a moment to work out how you fit into it from the outside.

I’m Lily, a postgraduate student studying Contemporary Literature, Culture and Theory at King’s. I live in private accommodation, about twenty minutes from campus. The commute itself is manageable on most days; that wasn’t the hard part. What took more adjustment was learning to be intentional about my time on campus in a way that students in halls perhaps don’t need to think about as consciously.

If you’re arriving at King’s as a commuter student, whether you’re living in private accommodation or simply outside the halls ecosystem, this is what I wish someone had told me at the start.

Even a short commute adds a layer of planning. Knowing your journey well makes the week run more smoothly than you might expect: which lines run reliably, when it’s worth staying later rather than making two separate trips onto campus.

Planning my on-campus days in advance made it easier to protect time for coursework at home and be productive, as I wasn’t making up my plans as I went.

My advice? Treat your commute as focus time, not dead time. Twenty minutes on a train or bus is a reasonable reading window, a chance to look over notes before a seminar, or simply the quietest thinking space you’ll get all day. Make the most of it.

Commuting is harder if you treat campus as somewhere you just pass through. Start treating your campus as your base. King’s has study spaces across campus: the Maughan Library and Bush House both have bookable spots worth getting to know early. There are also lockers you can reserve, so you’re not carrying everything around all day, and a laptop loan scheme if you’d rather travel light. These aren’t backup options; build them into your routine from the start.

Social spaces are just as important. Common rooms, cafes and faculty social spaces exist precisely for the daily in-between moments. If you default to heading straight home the moment your timetabled commitments are done, you’ll miss a lot of what makes campus feel like somewhere you belong rather than somewhere you visit.

The concern I heard most often from other commuter students was about making friends. That the people in halls will form bonds you can’t quite reach. I understand why that worry exists, but I also think it’s wrong, or at least more within your control than it feels.

Quality of time on campus matters more than quantity. The friendships I made came from being fully present whilst I was on-campus, rather than already half-thinking about heading home. Joining a society, showing up to departmental events, and suggesting getting food before heading home: it adds up.

The commuter student mixer during Welcome to King’s is worth prioritising. It’s a dedicated event for students outside halls, so no explaining why you’re not in halls. It’s the easiest way to meet people who already understand the experience.

In my first term, I found it genuinely difficult to get the balance right: too many days working from home felt isolating, but coming in without a clear plan felt like wasted time.
I spent more time than I should have assuming that uncertainty was mine to resolve alone. It wasn’t. King’s has a range of services offering support for academic, practical and personal concerns — including the Student Advice and Guidance team and Counselling and Mental Health Services — and your Faculty Wellbeing Advisor is a more accessible first point of contact than most people realise.

Whether it’s balancing your workload or just finding your feet, it’s worth saying so sooner rather than waiting until you’re stretched too far. I spoke to my Faculty Wellbeing Advisor partway through my first term, and it was a more straightforward conversation than I’d built it up to be.

Being a commuter student takes a bit more intention and effort, but it finds its shape before you know it. By the time you’re a few weeks in, the logistics feel less like an obstacle and more like a rhythm you’ve made your own. The commuter experience is a different one, but different doesn’t mean lesser, and with a bit of intention, it becomes something you stop managing and start enjoying.