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Travel costs – this is clearly going to vary from person to person, but you should check out www.nationalrail.co.uk for train prices, and if you will have to take a bus include that too. Base your calculations on having to be in uni five days a week, by 9am. Even if you are on a course that only has 8 contact hours a week, you can be in for five days a week. If you plan to drive, be aware that most universities have no free parking unless you have a blue badge, so you will probably have to pay for parking too.
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The time taken for you to travel in to / home from uni. Ensure that you calculate the door-to-door time, not just the time spent on the train. Now, what else could you do with that time? If you (say) had a one hour commute each day, that's 10 hours a week. If you were to spend 10 hours a week in a part time job, you would earn at least £61.90 (i.e. most of the cost of a place in halls), and you would have the work experience that graduate employers want to see.
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Taxis – when you do go on nights out with friends from uni, consider how you will get back home again. You can't count on being able to sleep on someone's floor – especially in the early days as you won't know them well enough, and public transport will have stopped running.
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Your parents may charge you rent
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Student Finance – if you live at home, you will receive around £1,100 less per year in the form of maintenance loans
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Bursaries – many universities include money off accommodation as part of their bursary package.
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You have significant family responsibilities e.g. you are a carer for a family member, or you have a child of your own. In the latter instance, some universities do offer family accommodation, but you may find that the support you get at home (e.g. childcare) is worth staying at home for
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You have significant mental / physical health problems that mean you can't live independently, even with support from the university. Universities do have excellent disability support services, and can provide you with adapted accommodation, a non-medical helper, equipment and various other means of support, so I would urge anyone in that situation to talk to their university before making any decisions, but for some people living at home will turn out to be the only realistic option.
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If you live next door to the university, then it probably will work out cheaper, but there are still all the other factors (e.g. social life and independence) to consider, though as mentioned above not all unis will give you accommodation if you live nearby.
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Mum will (probably) still do your washing and cooking for you (though some will say that this is a point where you should be gaining independence and learning to do these things for yourself)
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If you have many friends who are not going to uni / living at home for uni, then it can be easier to stay friends with them. However, be prepared for people to drift as they get jobs elsewhere, go to uni elsewhere and make new friends. It's unlikely that things will remain how they were at school / college. In addition, it will make it harder to make new friends at uni.
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You get to see your family every day (though you may, or may not, see this as a benefit!)
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Finance (possibly - see above)
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try and find out how likely it is that a place will become available in uni halls in the first few weeks of the year
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opt for private halls
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find a room in a house share
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