Brookfield

It depends really I guess - 8 people can be a lot in one house but if you're easy going and looking to meet lots of new people then it can be great

I (male) spent my first 3 yrs in mixed 8-bed houses and loved it. Socially it was great in that it gives you lots of options in terms of meeting people/going out.

What I will say though is that with 8 students in a house it often gets pretty noisy so if you are going into that situation, studying at home might be difficult. I just got my work done in the labs/library and then 'home was home' and I didn't associate it with course work as such. Moreso just having the craic

CB___ wrote: »

I was thinking of getting a 4 bedroomed all female, or an 8 bedroomed mixed as I think it'll be important to make good girl-friends in the first year? I'm leaning more towards the 4 bedroomed. Not a big fan of noise/socialising/big parties...

Just to note, Brookfield doesn't tend to allow big parties anyway, but it didn't stop my ex-room mates tried to fit about 15 people in our three-bedroomed (absolutely tiny) apartment for a huge party and the security were down within ten minutes. Security are super strict on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the place is on lock-down during RAG week. (It was just my luck that I managed to be lumped with two of the most ignorant, horrible people in Brookfield but thankfully, the management were nice and moved me the another apartment.)
If you're not into socialising, I'd recommend a smaller apartment. With 8 people - who mostly tend to enjoy going out to parties or hosting pre-drinking and whatnot - it can get pretty loud and, I found, really irritating. If you're doing the same course with at least one of them, it's a great way to be friends with them. If not, like it was in my case, 90% of your college friends will be from your class/clubs/socs anyway, so it's no biggie really.
As for male/female, it's hard to decided. Girls can occasionally to be a bit catty, but lads are often messy/loud. Like I said, it's all luck.
Finally, just to keep your options open, Brookfield isn't the nicest place as far as value for money. On one hand, the security is excellent, but I found it pretty cold, and some apartments were dark and you could literally hear everything from everyone's rooms. The internet was sh*te too. My bf lived in Castlewhite, it was more expensive, but he was nearer campus and the WGB, and the apartments were nicer - warmer, more noise insulation, and bigger rooms. (Faster internet too )
Good luck finding your accommodation!