Can I afford London?

I'm currently in the process of choosing what universities to apply for and I am certain I want to attend one in central London.

I live in Manchester with my mum who's a single parent, on a £30,000 a year wage.

I've been looking at prices of student halls and it's scared me off! Will I be able to afford accommodation in London or shall I look elsewhere?

Reply 1

Mutmit287

22

Original post by Isabellaglass

I'm currently in the process of choosing what universities to apply for and I am certain I want to attend one in central London.

I live in Manchester with my mum who's a single parent, on a £30,000 a year wage.

I've been looking at prices of student halls and it's scared me off! Will I be able to afford accommodation in London or shall I look elsewhere?

I know many people in a similar situation to you who go to universities in London and manage, many of them have part time jobs at uni in london and also work a heck of a lot when they come home but they get by. If you want it that badly then its got to be worth that extra struggle and budgeting right?

Can I ask why you are really wanting to attend a london Uni over other options in the country?

Reply 2

Tiger Rag

22

Impossible to answer. In part, it depends on you. Halls rent is usually 42 weeks.

Reply 3

Isabellaglass

OP

Hi. Yeah I completely have understood I'll have to put in my own money on top of what student loan I'll be receiving.

I just love London, academically speaking I am capable of getting into some really good uni's and I would hate to miss out because of money.

Reply 4

Isabellaglass

OP

I've just been on student finance calculator and I'd get £9,000 for my tuition fees and £10,702 for matianence. It's just the price of halls that is gonna be a struggle for me.

Reply 5

Tiger Rag

22

£10702 is the maximum you can get in London if your household income is less than £25k per year.

Reply 6

Firefly13

13

Original post by Isabellaglass

I've just been on student finance calculator and I'd get £9,000 for my tuition fees and £10,702 for matianence. It's just the price of halls that is gonna be a struggle for me.

I go to university in London and it is hard, but it's not impossible. My uni doesn't really let us have part time jobs because the courses are too intense so they offer really good bursaries to all students who come from a household with an income of under £60,000 (obviously the less your parents earn the more you can get). Does the uni you want to apply to offer anything like that? It gets easier after the first year because you can either find a lot of people to live with (so the cost goes down because it's split more ways) or live outside London and commute it (like I do).

I think you'll be alright though. There are thousands of students in your position every year and they're all fine - don't not go just because you're worried about the cost! If I were you I'd try and get a job over the summer and save up a bit of money and definitely get a student account with an interest free overdraft. I have a student account with Santander and they gave me a £1,500 interest free overdraft, so you can spend £1,500 you don't actually have without them charging interest on it and you can pay that back when your student loan comes in. It's not good to spend what you don't have, but it's very helpful to have incase you need it!

Reply 7

Isabellaglass

OP

I didn't even think about bursaries! As my father passed away I only have one income in my house which isn't a lot anyway so I do think id qualify for some type of bursary.

I was thinking maybe of getting an extra student loan? I think it was a website called future finance who's sole purpose is to lend you more money when your student grant isn't enough. I do need to look into that a little more.

I didn't know they wouldn't let you get part time jobs! I will be doing a law degree so would expect my course will be very intense anyway.

Well thank you very much, you have made me realise there are more options available to me than I thought!

Thanks again, Isabella x

Reply 8

Isabellaglass

OP

Yeah I asked my mum and she is £23 k a year so I would be getting the maximum

Reply 9

Firefly13

13

Original post by Isabellaglass

I didn't even think about bursaries! As my father passed away I only have one income in my house which isn't a lot anyway so I do think id qualify for some type of bursary.
I was thinking maybe of getting an extra student loan? I think it was a website called future finance who's sole purpose is to lend you more money when your student grant isn't enough. I do need to look into that a little more.
I didn't know they wouldn't let you get part time jobs! I will be doing a law degree so would expect my course will be very intense anyway.
Well thank you very much, you have made me realise there are more options available to me than I thought!
Thanks again, Isabella x

I'm so sorry to hear about your father. Hugs! :frown:

It depends on the uni you want to go to really about if you can get a bursary. Where did you want to go? Most unis don't mind students having part-time jobs, if you search the name of the uni you want to go to and part-time job you may be able to find something that lets you know how they feel about it.

I wouldn't recommend the extra student loan unless you really need it. I haven't looked at that one, but the ones I have heard of are like normal loans. Which means that you'll have to start paying it back straight away, unlike student loans where you only pay it back when you earn over around £21,000 so you can pretty much ignore it while you're at uni (and it gets written off after awhile). Again at my uni they have an emergency finance loan of £2,000 they give to us if we really need it and they're much nicer about paying it back than normal loan companies (so if you miss a repayment they won't be mad!).

I think most London unis know how hard it is to afford so they'll have something in place for you :smile:

Reply 10

mliela

14

Original post by Isabellaglass

I didn't even think about bursaries! As my father passed away I only have one income in my house which isn't a lot anyway so I do think id qualify for some type of bursary.

I was thinking maybe of getting an extra student loan? I think it was a website called future finance who's sole purpose is to lend you more money when your student grant isn't enough. I do need to look into that a little more.

I didn't know they wouldn't let you get part time jobs! I will be doing a law degree so would expect my course will be very intense anyway.

Well thank you very much, you have made me realise there are more options available to me than I thought!

Thanks again, Isabella x

I'm sorry to hear that. But why London specifically?

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Reply 11

Isabellaglass

OP

Aw thank you! ❤️

I'm definitely going to do some research on what's available to me then! I'm hoping to go to city university London, so I'm going to have a look on their website now.

Yeah that extra student loan was a small monthly repayment whilst your at uni then a larger one when you're finished.

Thank you so much you've been so helpful!

Isabella x

Reply 12

niteninja1

22

Original post by Isabellaglass

I'm currently in the process of choosing what universities to apply for and I am certain I want to attend one in central London.

I live in Manchester with my mum who's a single parent, on a £30,000 a year wage.

I've been looking at prices of student halls and it's scared me off! Will I be able to afford accommodation in London or shall I look elsewhere?

I am going Brunel university London

I get £10702 for the year
A Uni year is 38weeks at Brunel.
So 10702 - rent for year in halls (includes all bills) is 5240.20
leaves me with 5461.80 /38143.73 per week -35 for food/drinks (soft drinks not alcohol plus toiletries)
-20 for travel on the tube (don't think I will spend this much but just in case)
-7 for my iPhone 6s contract
Leaves me with 81 a week

Oh and on average the hall prices are very similar to uni's outside London but you get an extra £2,000 in London as a higher London rate loan

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 13

Isabellaglass

OP

Halls for city university London were around £175 a week. Although I was looking at private accommodation and I could get some for the same price in zone 2 for a much nicer studio!

Do you think me going into private accomadtion is making things more difficult?

Reply 14

Mutmit287

22

Original post by niteninja1

I am going Brunel university London

I get £10702 for the year
A Uni year is 38weeks at Brunel.
So 10702 - rent for year in halls (includes all bills) is 5240.20
leaves me with 5461.80 /38143.73 per week -35 for food/drinks (soft drinks not alcohol plus toiletries)
-20 for travel on the tube (don't think I will spend this much but just in case)
-7 for my iPhone 6s contract
Leaves me with 81 a week

Oh and on average the hall prices are very similar to uni's outside London but you get an extra £2,000 in London as a higher London rate loan

Not every London uni has cheap rent though, I was interested in UCL and kings and both had ridiculous prices for weekly rent in the most run down accommodation I had ever seen. It put me totally off London.

Reply 15

mliela

14

Original post by Natalierm2707

Not every London uni has cheap rent though, I was interested in UCL and kings and both had ridiculous prices for weekly rent in the most run down accommodation I had ever seen. It put me totally off London.

Exactly. Student finance won't give an extra £2500 for nothing. Most accommodation in London is a lot more expensive. The example given is quite cheap. Average rent in London has been seen to be around £2000 more than the rest of the country.

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Reply 16

natninja

21

Original post by Isabellaglass

I've just been on student finance calculator and I'd get £9,000 for my tuition fees and £10,702 for matianence. It's just the price of halls that is gonna be a struggle for me.

Worst case: dont live in halls, you can fibd house shares in the East end at £500pcm including bills - though you'd have to pay the full year or at least the christmas and easter breaks

Reply 17

Isabellaglass

OP

Yeah that's why I was looking at private accommodation. It was an extra £20 a week to have a gorgeous studio apose to the run down flats that city university were offering

Reply 18

niteninja1

22

Original post by Isabellaglass

Yeah that's why I was looking at private accommodation. It was an extra £20 a week to have a gorgeous studio apose to the run down flats that city university were offering

Did that include all bills

Reply 19

Isabellaglass

OP

Yeah it did, but was a little outside London, in Portobello

Can I afford London?

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