heya Mark. I started a PhD (biology) here at Reading in October and im in halls. im in Childs Hall, which is somewhat of a dump (tiny kitchen between 12 people, everything stinks, very institutional, not very homely) but pretty damn cheap and convenient being on campus - im in the self-catering extension, which is where they tend to put final year undergrads, postgrads and international students. They put the first year undergrads in the catered main block, so i dont see them much, although i can hear the screams! If you are going to go for halls, i would not recommend Childs. i am really looking forward to moving into either a nice hall (ive heard good things about Sherfield) or a shared house.