How much does it cost to go to University?
The expense of university can be split into three categories; the principle outlays include Course Costs and Living Cost , whilst the final cost is Living Expenses . Of course the costs displayed on Clear Student Debt.co.uk are given as an estimate only. Users are reminded to consider a number of factors including the course and living costs as well as the student's lifestyle choices and about the degree of debt that he or she is comfortable with.

Course costs :
Through annual grant to universities the Government pay the bulk of the course costs for all UK students, which is around £5000 per student per year. Students or their families must then pay the remainder of the tuition fee at the start of each academic, which for courses started before September 2006 are between £1,124 - £1,300. These can depending of course on the subject studied, full details of tuition fees can be found here.

Students starting courses after September 2006 will be charged up to £3,000 per year. However no student (or their family) will have to pay anything whilst they study.   Payments will be deferred until after the student graduates and will then be repayable through the tax system.

Living costs
Your living costs comprise of basic costs of living such as rent and household bills as well as course related costs the Student Income and Expenditure Survey (SIES) (2002/03) estimates the average basic costs of living at £3,665. In order to reduce living costs consider sharing a student let with a number of friends or course mates. Larger properties tend to be cheaper to rent, and you can also split the bills, which might include:

•  Rent
•  Television License
•  Internet Connection
•  Water Bill
•  Gas Bill and
•  Electricity Bill

Living expenses
The Student Income and Expenditure Survey (SIES)(2002/03) estimates the average total expenditure, including entertainment and non-study-related travel was significantly higher than the averaged basic living costs at £6,897 highlighting the very idea of debt from the offset. The SIES (2002/03) also found that total average expenditure had risen by 15% in real terms since 1998/99 indicating a substantial rise in students' standard of living. In support of this research With city centre development programs, investment from foreign students through tuition fees and a “property developer” culture, fueled no doubt by the wide range of television programmes It is clear that the standard is shifting. Living expenses made up the majority of student expenditure and had risen by 20% with large expenditure increases related to non study related travel, including holidays, and personal expenditure including clothes and contract mobile phones.

One can only ask the question “What next?” as students die to live the effortless dream of expensive nights out, taxis to Uni and plush professional lets with en-suite facilities who will be there to remind then that this dream costs and might take years to repay?

At ClearStudentDebt, we estimated that the average student will have somewhere in the region of £15,000 debt upon graduation. It is also important to remember that how students finance their time at university varies, as many might choose to work part time while studying or work in the holidays whilst others might rely solely on a combination of loans and parental contributions.

If you are worried about living expenses spiralling out of control? Then why not check out our Budgeting advice, located here.

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