Filling up the car with suitcases and boxes to move across the country is a rite of passage for teenagers heading to university for freshers’ week. For many students it is the first time they will live alone, dealing with rent, bills and a weekly food shop – not forgetting the annual £9,250 tuition fees. To fund this, But even for those borrowing large sums, between what the Government will pay and what student life actually costs.
Following an analysis of 49,161 rooms across the UK, Generation Rent has revealed that only one in six on-campus university rooms are affordable for students (“affordable”, in this context, meaning 55pc or less of the total maximum student loan). Here, Telegraph Money takes a look at which of Britain’s top universities are the most costly to attend – and where students, and parents, can save a few pennies. It shows accommodation at the University of Sheffield can come in at roughly half the cost of digs in Cambridge, while Bath can cost £1,000 more a year compared to nearby rival Bristol.
The capital has long been the most expensive place to be a student in the country and this is reflected in the maintenance loan rates. The London School of Economics advertises its cheapest room at £4,205.10, but students will have to share with two others.
If a student wants an individual room, it will set them back at least £7,490. The maximum rate at the university, which was founded in 1895, is £14,229 for a double studio and £16,193.16 for a.