Thanks for all the advice, its good to get some inside knowledge from people who have lived in halls, i think i can make a more informed decision now. Im definately going for halls for the first year, i'll meet more people and i wont have to cook! Finding private accommodation seems a bit of a daunting task for my first year, but i'll probably do this for my second and third years once i know Sheffield a bit better, and as for self catering, although the rent's cheaper, im not sure i could keep my food bill down sufficiently to make it more economical than halls.