Pros and Cons of going to uni in London

pros: for art its very prestigious and there are lots of galleries, uniqlo is amazing! brick lane on sundays and a couple of good (ie cheaper) nights out.
cons: it is very impersonal, its more expensive than i can afford (i have full loan and grant and still have hardly anything left over once ive payed my rent), nothing is is one area (i.e. is not like other cities where you have a city centre to go for everything you need in one trip) there is not much of a student community, qliquey and reserved.

not sure why im here really!

but if none of those cons bother you then i guess it would be great!
(i must warn all people thinking of coming here be careful as london has a great way of romanticising itself if youre only coming to visit, it is a totally different experience living here. be willing to see the grimy side of london a LOT more once youre here)

Reply 44

Javindo

12

lovemeccano

pros: for art its very prestigious and there are lots of galleries, uniqlo is amazing! brick lane on sundays and a couple of good (ie cheaper) nights out.
cons: it is very impersonal, its more expensive than i can afford (i have full loan and grant and still have hardly anything left over once ive payed my rent), nothing is is one area (i.e. is not like other cities where you have a city centre to go for everything you need in one trip) there is not much of a student community, qliquey and reserved.

not sure why im here really!

but if none of those cons bother you then i guess it would be great!
(i must warn all people thinking of coming here be careful as london has a great way of romanticising itself if youre only coming to visit, it is a totally different experience living here. be willing to see the grimy side of london a LOT more once youre here)

3 year bump much??

Reply 45

Javindo

3 year bump much??

i've only been here 5 months!

Reply 46

lovemeccano

i've only been here 5 months!

The last post on the thread was 3 years ago!

Reply 47

MulderMan

The last post on the thread was 3 years ago!

oh i see!! hehe

Reply 48

Beckettrose

1

well now that you have bought this post slightly more upto date... anyone else got stuff to add about being a student in london. I am thinking of going to UCL to do philosophy and economics... i come from a very small village and what something bigger, vibrant and more exciting with a good nightlife etc....so london seems great. i just dont know how i will find it compared to what im used and and the expensive side of it. i do have some experience of living in london as am currently working for a bank in the city and am living on my own so i know how it can be isolating etc... but if anybody has any other comments that could help... that would be great!

Reply 49

unknownpleasures

10

I'm also interested. I haven't got an offer for my London uni yet, and I'm not expecting one, but I'm keeping an eye on this thread just in case...

Is it possible to live in London beyond your first year on the minimum loan? And is it difficult to get jobs that fit in with uni work (ie you're not working every hour god sends and having no time left to do uni work...)

Reply 50

unknownpleasures

I'm also interested. I haven't got an offer for my London uni yet, and I'm not expecting one, but I'm keeping an eye on this thread just in case...

Is it possible to live in London beyond your first year on the minimum loan? And is it difficult to get jobs that fit in with uni work (ie you're not working every hour god sends and having no time left to do uni work...)

There is more than 20,000 student at UCL, of course it is possible!

Reply 51

unknown demon

15

MulderMan

There is more than 20,000 student at UCL, of course it is possible!

Far more affluent students will be at UCL though, how many will be living off a loan/having life underwritten by Bank of Mum and Dad?

On the topic of thread

Pros: So much to do, so little time

Cons: Its a lonely city, very impersonal and expensive. Weather is ***** as well.

Saying that I love it!

Reply 52

unknown demon

Far more affluent students will be at UCL though, how many will be living off a loan/having life underwritten by Bank of Mum and Dad?

On the topic of thread

Pros: So much to do, so little time

Cons: Its a lonely city, very impersonal and expensive. Weather is ***** as well.

Saying that I love it!

I would have to agree with you. Most of my friends parents are loaded, but I come from what I consider a normal background.

My parents earn just over the limit, so I get no free money. My accommodation is £500 more than my loan, with a £500 deposit. So I got the short straw! I get about £70 a week to spend off my parents, and work in the holidays.

But if you got full loans/grants then that seems pretty easy to survive on!

And I indeed love it as well!

Reply 53

Eric Arthur

8

MulderMan

I would have to agree with you. Most of my friends parents are loaded, but I come from what I consider a normal background.

My parents earn just over the limit, so I get no free money. My accommodation is £500 more than my loan, with a £500 deposit. So I got the short straw! I get about £70 a week to spend off my parents, and work in the holidays.

But if you got full loans/grants then that seems pretty easy to survive on!

And I indeed love it as well!

£70 a week off your parents is 'normal'?

I think that silver spoon is blocking your view of reality.

Reply 54

unknown demon

15

MulderMan

I would have to agree with you. Most of my friends parents are loaded, but I come from what I consider a normal background.

My parents earn just over the limit, so I get no free money. My accommodation is £500 more than my loan, with a £500 deposit. So I got the short straw! I get about £70 a week to spend off my parents, and work in the holidays.

But if you got full loans/grants then that seems pretty easy to survive on!

And I indeed love it as well!

Still think its quite tough esp if you go to a zone 1 london uni ie. LSE, KCL, Imperial, UCL et al since prices are inflated for everything from a cheese sandwich to renting in 'modest' accomodation.

Anyways, I think uni is way more fun if you can enjoy it spending less.

Reply 55

Eric Arthur

£70 a week off your parents is 'normal'?

I think that silver spoon is blocking your view of reality.

May I ask how much you spend each week out of curiosity?

Reply 56

Eric Arthur

8

MulderMan

May I ask how much you spend each week out of curiosity?

I'm not talking about how much you spend, I'm talking about how much your parents can afford to give you. £70 a week isn't normal.

Reply 57

unknownpleasures

I'm also interested. I haven't got an offer for my London uni yet, and I'm not expecting one, but I'm keeping an eye on this thread just in case...

Is it possible to live in London beyond your first year on the minimum loan? And is it difficult to get jobs that fit in with uni work (ie you're not working every hour god sends and having no time left to do uni work...)

if youre talking about living for a year ONLY on the minimum loan then quite simply theres no way in hell! the only way you could afford it would be to get a job and/or rack up multiple student overdrafts.

im in first year second term, have maximum loan and grant and already am £700 overdrawn to give you an idea (and i ended up spending all my christmas money on essentials to tide me over till next loan installment) i pretty much never shop for unneccesasry items ie. clothes (unless its primark and ive just extended my overdraft :s-smilie:

) but i do go out about once or twice a week.
HOWEVER i dont have a permanent job and im still relatively new to london so havent found the supposed 'cheap' places to go out.

take into account if youre going to be living in central london halls you could be paying around £135 a week, (which is what i am paying) that kind of money rapes even my loan!

Reply 58