Accommodation Vs Commuting

Hi all,

I'm a new undergraduate and I'm just now thinking about how to get to university and also balancing finances. Any input or advice would be appreciated!!

In regards to going into accommodation:
At the moment I recieve ADP, which would cover my accommodation costs but leave me with only like £200 a month for food/other expenses. My disability restricts my diet a little, and I usually spend about £80 a week on food while I'm living at home. Worrying about how much money I can spend constantly in combination with studying may be too much stress and cause my condition to flare up. I do however really like the idea of having a little independence from my parents. Later in my course (year 3) I'm required to do a field trip abroad, and the flight/accommodation for this is born by the student, so I wanna save up for this.

In terms of commuting:
I don't currently have a driving license, and I have 5 months until my course start date. I personally do think I can learn by this date, however scheduling the test might be difficult. I'm also operating with the expectation I'll pass it, and not actually preparing for all scenarios, as my father has said 😅. It's a 40 mile / 1 hour drive from my parents house, and mostly on a motorway. I've been told that in the winter the conditions get quite rough on it though, and that ppl think I won't be able to manage.

Getting a bus there is also an option, however this takes the journey up to 2 hours, and I personally think waking up at 5am and getting home at like 6pm so often will make me miserable.. I live in a kinda rural area, and services are often delayed, cancelled, etc. I think I'd also get stressed by this option, I struggled a lot with it in college.

Reply 1

UEA Rep Grace

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

Hi all,
I'm a new undergraduate and I'm just now thinking about how to get to university and also balancing finances. Any input or advice would be appreciated!!
In regards to going into accommodation:
At the moment I recieve ADP, which would cover my accommodation costs but leave me with only like £200 a month for food/other expenses. My disability restricts my diet a little, and I usually spend about £80 a week on food while I'm living at home. Worrying about how much money I can spend constantly in combination with studying may be too much stress and cause my condition to flare up. I do however really like the idea of having a little independence from my parents. Later in my course (year 3) I'm required to do a field trip abroad, and the flight/accommodation for this is born by the student, so I wanna save up for this.
In terms of commuting:
I don't currently have a driving license, and I have 5 months until my course start date. I personally do think I can learn by this date, however scheduling the test might be difficult. I'm also operating with the expectation I'll pass it, and not actually preparing for all scenarios, as my father has said 😅. It's a 40 mile / 1 hour drive from my parents house, and mostly on a motorway. I've been told that in the winter the conditions get quite rough on it though, and that ppl think I won't be able to manage.
Getting a bus there is also an option, however this takes the journey up to 2 hours, and I personally think waking up at 5am and getting home at like 6pm so often will make me miserable.. I live in a kinda rural area, and services are often delayed, cancelled, etc. I think I'd also get stressed by this option, I struggled a lot with it in college.

Hi! I've experienced both living on campus, living off-campus but nearby, and commuting a 1 hour round trip to uni.

First off, you mention you have £200 a month left over, I just wanted to clarify if this is absolutely all you have left, or if it's just for the food category? I used to spend £50 a week going to Aldi for my shopping but I did have some money left over for the bus, a coffee etc., which was nice when my friends wanted to go out. For my sister, she got a Tesco delivery through my parent's account- spending a minimum of £50 got her free delivery. Our other savings gave us the ability to spend time with friends, explore the cities... and just generally be a student!

It definitely sucks that your worried about your condition flaring up with the stress but I do agree that having some independence is great! Doing things like budgeting etc., are so good for your independence and a vital skill for life in general. You also mention you'll need to fund a trip abroad- is there any chance you can get a job while at uni? This would help supplement your income and build up savings, for example I work a 0-hour contract through my University Ambassador's scheme, so I pick and choose the hours I want to do so I can lower my hours during exams. It might be worth looking into this if this is something that is available?

I don't think 5 months is enough time to get your license assuming you haven't had any lessons. Not only will booking tests and finding and instructor be difficult, but a 1 hour drive (I'm guessing each way) is rough! Motorways get busy at rush hour too, so there might be extra delays. Another thing to consider is if you're commuting you might miss out on social events or studying time, which is what I often find now I live at home. I'm also with you on the bus- that's four hours a day you could be studying, relaxing, going out with friends... you want to enjoy your first year!

I think ultimately your goal sounds like it is to be as least stressed-out as possible, and the campus options sounds like the best one for that. You haven't mentioned the student loan so I wondered if you've been thinking about that? It will definitely help you out in terms of living expenses.

I hope this helps and let me know what you think about this 🙂

Reply 2

jonathanemptage

I always say halls you can cut down on the food costs quite easily by a few ways like finding out when the local shops put out their reduced products and shopping then supermarket own brands are often much cheaper than brand names if we take milk chocolate digestives for example the brand name ones cost £1.72 whereas as the own brand is 85p (Asda. Have you ever tried shopping at Aldi or other shops like that it can also really cut down on costs. Also pasta is really versatile and cheap cook it with sauce or make a pasta bake (with pasta tuna cheese and the sauce its self is how I do it.)is a staple for students. £80 is a lot for one person. There are some recipe books that have cheap recipes in them as do a lot of websites. I don’t know what dietary restrictions your specific disability might have but as I say there are way to cut down on costs.

Reply 3

University of Bath

Official Rep

Hi there,

Great to hear you're thinking ahead and getting organised!

You've already had some great advice 🙂

Based on what you've said about your situation, although what you decide to do is entirely up to you, it sounds like you should consider moving into halls! Like you, I was a non-driver when I commuted in second year and had to rely on the bus which took my journey to 1.5 hours - it wasn't bad and it was doable, but it did make me tired and it was stressful when the buses were late.

Alongside the budgeting tips above, have you considered working part time whilst at uni? There may be opportunities available through your campus/SU website which are flexible, 0-hour contracts which fit around your timetable.

For example, you could become a student ambassador, where you can sign upto whichever shifts you want to fit around your schedule. You can end up getting some fab work experience doing such a variety of things (campus tours, school visits, online mentoring, helping at summer schools), meet other students from different courses and the work is a lot of fun. Its a good way to top up your monthly budget. I used to earn about an extra £50 a month by being a student ambassador which paid for my weekly grocery shop 🙂

I hope this helps and best of luck in the run-up to starting your course!

Holly
University of Bath