St Catherine’s College is one of the six on-campus accommodations at Curtin University, and is a part of Curtin’s Exchange Precinct.
The complex offers four residential options: a premium single room, a premium single ensuite, a standard studio room and a premium studio room.
Rental and service fees (such as meal plans and cleaning services) vary depending on the type of room selected.
St Catherine’s also provides students with common rooms, study rooms, an innovation hub, music rooms, a mini theatre, a sky lounge, a games room, a roof garden and a dining hall.
Curtin residents are additionally permitted to join in on events hosted by St Catherine’s second campus at UWA.
In order to get a better idea of what it is like to live at St Catherine’s, Grok Magazine interviews residents Will Cook, Haylie Ventouras and Esther Kurniawan to gain some insight on life on campus.
Image Credit: Cheyenne Valero
Will Cook is a second-year Bachelor of Arts student majoring in Animation and Game Design and first moved into St Catherine’s in July 2022, after previously living at Twin Dolphin Hall.
“I chose to move into St Catherine’s because of the services they provide. I found that if food was already taken care of, then self-care would be much easier.” Will says.
Will currently lives in a premium single room, paying roughly $500 a week. He describes the application process to have been relatively straightforward since he only had to pay a room-move fee.
Will also describes the benefits of living on campus.
“If I forget something, I can always just walk home and grab it. My friends are nearby, I’m next to a public transit hub, and there are a lot of community events.”
However, he still believes that improvements could be made to St Catherine’s in terms of hygiene.
“It’s not the fault of the cleaners, as the staff are doing the best they can,” he assures. “But it takes a while to find a toilet that doesn’t have piss all over it, has already been flushed, or isn’t stuffed with toilet paper for whatever reason.”
Besides the downsides, Will still recommends students to live at St Catherine’s.
“I would absolutely recommend living at St Catherine’s, especially if it’s your first time out of home. It’s a welcoming and friendly community,” he describes.
Image Credit: Haylie Ventouras
Haylie Ventouras is also a second-year Bachelor of Arts student majoring in Creative Writing and first moved into St Catherine’s in March 2023.
“I chose to move into St Cat’s because it appeared to have the best possible options for on-campus living at Curtin. Their single room options gave me the chance to be more independent,” Haylie says.
Haylie currently lives in a premium single room, and chose an option which provides her with her own bathroom. She pays approximately $517 a week. Although she also describes the application process to have been simple, Haylie admits that it was still pretty nerve-wracking to go through interviews and evaluations.
When asked about what she enjoys the most about St Catherine’s, Haylie expresses her love for the accommodation’s weekly events.
“I really love the weekly events, even though I do have a lot of difficulty attending most due to my studies. There’s a lot of variety when it comes to them, you’ll never see the same thing twice, and honestly, it’s such an exciting part of St Cat’s!” She claims.
Haylie adds that being closer to classes and having a supportive group to live with contributes to the benefits of living on campus. But she also believes that some improvements could be made in terms of St Catherine’s laundry fees.
“The only thing that could be improved would be the price of the laundry loads,” she laughs.
Image Credit: Esther Kurniawan
Esther Kurniawan is a third-year Bachelor of Arts student majoring in Digital and Social Media and first moved into St Catherine’s in February 2023.
“I chose to move into St Catherine’s because there were no more accommodation options available, as Perth’s accommodation fees have been rising.” Esther says.
Esther currently lives in a premium single room, paying $468 a week. Much like Will and Haylie, she also describes the application process to have been quite easy.
When asked about what she enjoys most about living at St Catherine’s, Esther believes that the food makes up for the overall experience.
“The food definitely makes the price worth paying,” she remarks.
Esther also states that the 24/7 security contributes to the safety of students and overall benefits of living on campus.
However, she also believes that financial improvements could be made to the accommodation.
“I think they should work on funding the accommodation better,” she admits. “I am actually planning on leaving this month, as it’s [St Catherine’s] honestly not worth the price.”
Image Credit: Esther Kurniawan
With differing opinions, it is safe to say factors such as rental and service fees and overall living situations can contribute heavily to the overall experience of living at St Catherine’s.