[mariogintili]

Hi, im a EU citizen and im gonna study in the UK in 2013, I´ve never been there and I´ve kinda browsing the classifieds but I lack the knowledge to know which room has a good price, etc etc, what is better? self-catered? living with a roomate?, im interested in Cambridge or London, perhaps manchester and I´m gonna have to pay for my own stuff since I plan to have a part time job in order to pay my studies, like what are the characteristics I should look for in a room, taking in notice it has to be the cheapest as possible

[welshmun]

Hey I'm an EU citizen too! I guess it depends on what you can afford and what kind of room you'd like to live for an entire year. In most university halls you'll be sharing with a few other people, sometimes you'll have an ensuite bathroom and other times you won't. An ensuite is great but I guess the plus with a shared bathroom is that you won't have to clean it that often!

I'm currently paying £104 a week for a good sized double bed room with an ensuite, all bills included (+internet) and sharing with 4 other people. This is in Wales though and it might be more expensive in London etc.

What sort of things are you looking for exactly?

[mariogintili]

(Original post by welshmun)
Hey I'm an EU citizen too! I guess it depends on what you can afford and what kind of room you'd like to live for an entire year. In most university halls you'll be sharing with a few other people, sometimes you'll have an ensuite bathroom and other times you won't. An ensuite is great but I guess the plus with a shared bathroom is that you won't have to clean it that often!

I'm currently paying £104 a week for a good sized double bed room with an ensuite, all bills included (+internet) and sharing with 4 other people. This is in Wales though and it might be more expensive in London etc.

What sort of things are you looking for exactly?

does that include food, or is it self-catered and every one of your roomates has like their own section in the fridge? well im not too sure of what im looking for ( flat, or student hall for example) but it needs to be cheap, can you afford 80-120 per week for accommodation making minimun wage?

[welshmun]

(Original post by mariogintili)
does that include food, or is it self-catered and every one of your roomates has like their own section in the fridge? well im not too sure of what im looking for ( flat, or student hall for example) but it needs to be cheap, can you afford 80-120 per week for accommodation making minimun wage?

There's 5 of us and we each share a section in the fridge and freezer, although in halls you're not allowed a fridge in your room. I believe it can be done although you would be juggling university and a job. There can be much cheaper accommodation in a house for example but it would be a joint-tenancy which can be more risky.

[Origami Bullets]

Living in halls is a good option, but unfortunately all housing in London is horrifically expensive, to the point that it is unaffordable.

You will want to opt for self-catered shared bathroom accommodation, which is the cheapest.

However, you will need to think very carefully about whether the number of hours that you will be required to work in the uk, if your parents are not supporting you at all and you are ineligible for student loans, is so high that you will not have enough time and energy to do well in your degree. It may be better to either study in your home country, or to work and save up for a couple of years before coming.

[mariogintili]

(Original post by Origami Bullets)
Living in halls is a good option, but unfortunately all housing in London is horrifically expensive, to the point that it is unaffordable.

You will want to opt for self-catered shared bathroom accommodation, which is the cheapest.

However, you will need to think very carefully about whether the number of hours that you will be required to work in the uk, if your parents are not supporting you at all and you are ineligible for student loans, is so high that you will not have enough time and energy to do well in your degree. It may be better to either study in your home country, or to work and save up for a couple of years before coming.

well I have to be there in the UK for at least 2 years in order to apply for any sort of economical aid right? my family can only afford me to live there for 9 months ( all costs covered), I was thinking I could do those 9 months ( in which I´ll do the foundation course) and in the remaining 15 have a full time job in order to save for college ( but I´d still apply for scholarships, bursaries, etc ) is that what people who are "moving in" usually do right?

[mariogintili]

BUMP

[desdemonata]

(Original post by mariogintili)
well I have to be there in the UK for at least 2 years in order to apply for any sort of economical aid right? my family can only afford me to live there for 9 months ( all costs covered), I was thinking I could do those 9 months ( in which I´ll do the foundation course) and in the remaining 15 have a full time job in order to save for college ( but I´d still apply for scholarships, bursaries, etc ) is that what people who are "moving in" usually do right?

I thought it was 3 years. You can check that sort of thing on direct.gov.uk, but I'm fairly sure it's three years. If you're an EU student you're eligible for a Tuition Fees Loan, but not a Maintenance Loan and I doubt you'd be able to get any grants or bursaries as they are all basically for UK or England students ):

And Maintenance Loans are increased (by about 2000 pounds if I'm not mistaken) for people living in London, it's that horribly expensive. Honestly, though, I would decide which university and which course is the best for you, because it is a lot of money and a lot of debt right now. After you've made the best choice, you can research the accommodation options specific to that university. But generally, universities offer different sorts of accommodation and try to offer some cheaper options, like self-catered shared accommodation.

[mariogintili]

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Educatio...ries/DG_065322

You are right! it is 3 years but for "additional help", but according to the website the minute I land there I´m eligible for a student loan right? uhm I was thinking on applying for a scholarship too, havent applied yet since I dont know any organization that gives them out for a foundation course, but afterwards when I get the IB diploma I´ll definately apply.

I´m not too sure of what university to get, I´d be glad to study in any of the oxbridge league, I want to study economics and maybe computer science afterwards, I am not afraid to be a student in debt, I mean for me the system seems pretty friendly, if you check the gov.uk website you can see that the repayment rates are very low, but perhaps that´s just my perception on the matter since I´m from Venezuela and here asking for a loan is almost impossible to get AND to pay, for example what costed 1 bolivar in 1999 today costs 14.34 bolivares, the world average time of work you must do to buy a big mac is 36 minutes, in Venezuela is 134 minutes I mean thats just to give you a little perspective, with a minimun wage job you live in the worst conditions.

[Origami Bullets]

If you're an EU student then you will be eligible for tuition fee loans and nothing else. If you are a non-EU student, then you will not be eligible for any financial support, and will have to pay higher fees than UK/EU students.

As you appear to live in Venezuela, it might be prudent to find out if you count as an EU student or not. They can be a bit funny about residence - even uk citizens who move abroad can find themselves classed as non-EU students.

As it would appear that working in Venezuela won't earn you much, your best option may be to come to the UK now, work until you have enough money, live as cheaply as possible, and then go to uni. I believe that if you are here for three years then you will be eligible for student finance, including for living costs.

[Shelly_x]

I thought it was 3 years living in the UK but not as a student. So if you lived here for 3 years and were a student all that time you still wouldn't be eligable?

[Origami Bullets]

(Original post by Shelly_x)
I thought it was 3 years living in the UK but not as a student. So if you lived here for 3 years and were a student all that time you still wouldn't be eligable?

As far as I'm aware, yes. That said, I'm not entirely au fait with the student finance system, especially post-2012.

If you were saying that in response to my post, then the idea was that OP would live in the UK for three years, work and save up, and then be eligible for UK student finance (and have some money saved up too!)

[mariogintili]

(Original post by Origami Bullets)
As far as I'm aware, yes. That said, I'm not entirely au fait with the student finance system, especially post-2012.

If you were saying that in response to my post, then the idea was that OP would live in the UK for three years, work and save up, and then be eligible for UK student finance (and have some money saved up too!)

Could it be less time-consuming if I had the student loan, and became a part time student with a part time job? have you heard of any cases like mine?

[desdemonata]

(Original post by mariogintili)
Could it be less time-consuming if I had the student loan, and became a part time student with a part time job? have you heard of any cases like mine?

If you meet the conditions, you would, as an EU student, be eligible for a Tuition Fees Loan for a part-time course, which I believe is up to 6000 pounds. I wouldn't budget for being able to get a part-time job to support your maintenance from the beginning though, as getting a job isn't that easy nowadays. But it probably would be less time-consuming if you managed to find something to study part-time that would be worth the money.

[mariogintili]

(Original post by desdemonata)
If you meet the conditions, you would, as an EU student, be eligible for a Tuition Fees Loan for a part-time course, which I believe is up to 6000 pounds. I wouldn't budget for being able to get a part-time job to support your maintenance from the beginning though, as getting a job isn't that easy nowadays. But it probably would be less time-consuming if you managed to find something to study part-time that would be worth the money.

Well I have fully covered my first 9 months in England ( time I´ll spent doing the foundation course), plus I've seen some websites for getting jobs in UK, and they look well paid, etc

[mariogintili]

bump