Student spend £12k on renting

Published 23rd Aug 2010

The thousands of students heading off to university in September are unlikely to base their final decision of where to study on the cost of accommodation - but with student debt at an all-time high, maybe they should...

According to flat and house share website Spareroom.co.uk, by the time the latest intake of university students graduate, they will each have spent an average of £12,000 on rent alone.

Spareroom.co.uk compared the top 50 universities in the country, in terms of current monthly room rents, and found that the average cost of renting a room in private accommodation is £392 per month. This works out at an eye-watering £11,760 spent on rent over the duration of a three-year course.

The research also revealed that the difference between the most and least expensive universities to study at, in terms of the cost of accommodation, is almost £10,000 over the duration of a typical three-year degree course.

Not surprisingly, London students are likely to suffer the most in pursuit of academic achievement, with the average rent in the capital £598 per month. This means students on three-year degree courses at universities such as LSE, UCL, King's College or SOAS could spend as much as £17,940 on rent by the time they graduate.

For longer courses such as medicine and veterinary science, students studying in London could well have spent a staggering £30,000 on rent by the time they qualify.

While London universities are the most expensive places to study, where is the cheapest place to study of the UK's top 50 universities? That accolade goes to Queen's in Belfast, where the average room rent is £273 per month, or £8,190 over three years - a saving of almost £10,000 on accommodation costs when compared to studying in London.

Of the other universities that feature in the Top 50 list, for those students who prize prestige over the price of living, Oxbridge students can expect to pay the princely sum of £420 per month in rent, or £12,600 for the duration of a typical three-year course.

However, studying at one of the very best universities in the UK does not have to cost the earth. For example, St Andrews at £320 per month (£9,600 over three years), Durham at £329 per month (£9,870 over three years) and Lancaster at £351 per month (£10,530 over three years) are all very highly rated for academic excellence but are also some of the best value universities when it comes to accommodation costs.

Matt Hutchinson, director of Spareroom.co.uk, comments: "With the rising costs of studying for a degree, gone are the days when students can spend, spend, spend and worry about paying back their debts at a later date. With the average graduate debt now over £20,000, making an informed decision about where to study, which includes considering the cost of living, could avoid the prospect of graduating with the heavy burden of massive debts that could take up to 10 years to pay off.

"Although the cost of living is not necessarily a high priority when A-level students rip open their results, it is important they consider how they will finance their degrees, particularly as many won't have the bank of mum and dad to fall back on to cover tuition fees, rent and beer money!"

Source: ' TMC '

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