Is studying in London possible on basic loans?

[GoldfinchesInTheTree]

My daughter is really keen to apply to a London uni - probably KCL.

We don't have a great income and have had a patchwork of disability and jobs so no savings at all. There is an access scheme for lower incomes but it's at 42k which combined we are just over 😬.

We will struggle to top her loan up but we think we can do that.

Is it possible to survive in London on London loan??? She's autistic so working isn't a given although she's keen. She is very bright and capable but really needs down time so I'm wary of relying on her managing a job and study 😬.

Should we encourage her not to do this.

Is it even more expensive after the first year (presumably you find your own accommodation then). She would struggle I think with commuting a long way in and out each day.

She is so taken with London and with a graduate scheme she wants to do after but I'm worried we don't have the financial backing.

Yes she will be but I thought that was likely a grant for a computer rather than living but I haven't looked at that recently.

I was really hoping London wouldn't be more than 3k more expensive than other southern Russel group unis. Especially when accommodation in some of those are expensive.

I've now gone from "is London going to beors than 3k a year more expensive" to "how on earth will she go to uni at all 😭."

They're often 15-25 pound so yes as a treat cheaper than those that do drinking!

She had it actual day to day might be reasonably cheap given free museusm/exhibitions/attractions and then the odd cheap day ticket as above.

This is the thing OP, it’s not just London or the South, uni students all over the country either work or have parents sending them money to keep them afloat. The maintenance loan isn’t enough to live on no matter where you are, unless you stay living at home and therefore avoid rent costs.

But you can't afford drinking as a university student in London if you don't work/parents pay/have other money.

If students could choose without any money issue or only a difference as little as you mention they would all go to London. Or most of them. Most teenagers dream about a university in London.

Really?? Ive not studied in London and personally didn't want to! I genuinely didn't realise it was only rich kids now.

When she looked the cheapest London halls weren't more than 300 less than southampton and presumably halls are the biggest cost.

But yeah no idea what we do. We may need to add to our mortgage (crappy house currently due to be paid off when we're 60)

You said she doesn't want to be commuting lots every day though, but the reality is, after the first year in halls, she will only be able to afford a private rental that is quite a way away from Kings.

This isn't the case in Southampton where the affordable student areas are right next to the uni.

There are also plenty of good unis further north where living costs will be even lower.

Most students at Central London unis are either a) from wealthy families b) living at home and commuting in or c) both.

The good news is that Kings isn't going to give her a particularly different learning experience from many, many other great UK universities.

She could be looking at 30 mins plus even from halls to campus in Kings.

I said she doesn't want to do 2hours either way which I think is different.

But yes the thread was to see if 3k was enough extra to live in London as it seems to be looking at halls prices but obviously not.

That's fine. I've never said it wouldn't be!

Also why is she focused on Russell group? I know there's a Mumsnet obsession with this, but I'm not convinced it's borne out by actual student experiences or in ease of securing employment afterwards.

If you tell us where you are, people might be able to give you alternative suggestions.

You need to stop "thinking" and do some research - loan amounts are published on the government website. Halls of residence costs are on the uni websites. It's the time of year when students are looking for properties for next year so you'll find private rentals online too. Ditto public transport etc.
People from low income families do go to uni but they also have jobs (as do most from higher income families too).

The tube is pretty pricey so if you're relying on buses it could well be that.

All that commuting time could be better spent!

I think she really does need to think about the whole experience at KCL Vs going to a uni in a city where she could walk to everything very easy. Yes London has great transport but you won't be living in easy walking distance of a central uni, or likely lots of things she wants to do like theatre trips, unless you have a huge budget for accommodation. So how much of the London experience she's imagining will actually be possible?

I dont know about Kings halls of residence and the allocation process varies between unis but at some of them you express your preference but you may not get that halls you want. So you may or may not get the cheaper ones.

So she's home and we've had a chat. It's only Kings or Cardiff that offer the clinical science training so she's resigned a bit that Kings might be the post grad training (they have a salary for that) if she can get in.

I am still worried now how to make undergrad work.

To the pp asking about russell group - I know that's not the be all and end all but she is hoping for a competitive science degree to get onto a v competitive course and so as we are South Coast she will be looking at Southampton/Exeter/Bristol in all likelihood. She's mentioned Reading /Plymouth to look at too and possibly Cardiff from where we are.

You are correct in that DSA is things like laptop and accessible software & study skills mentoring (although it can cover things like taxi fayres for those unable to use public transport because of their disability).

Dd went to London in 2021 Her rent in a shared house was £530pcm plus bills. The same room would now be around £700-750 per month. To get cheaper rents you often have to live further away so need to factor in travel.

As a comparison her rent in Liverpool is approx £560 pcm. She spends around £30 per week on food and budgets for one night out per week (usually just 1 drink at a student bar) plus a takeaway coffee per week as a treat. When she was in London a drink at a local pub was a lot more expensive.

Rude.

We've looked at loans and Hall prices as you can see from this thread. As the cheapest London halls weren't coming out much different to Southampton she was hoping London would be possible.

Hence starting this thread to hear real world experiences from people managing on just the loan/summer work.

I'm afraid we told DS from the start London was just not a financially viable option. I think you need to be equally blunt with your daughter. Adding to your mortgage to fund this would be madness as you don't know what your own health/finances will be like (you mention disability and a patchwork of jobs).

There are plenty of other southern universities that offer medicine or biomed. Some of them may also offer bursaries. DS is at Durham (yes I know northern!) and they offer bursaries up to income of about £65k.

Many disabled students cant work alongside full days of lectures. I think some posters are a bit blinkered to think otherwise.

Yes I can understand ruling out London I just couldn't see if it truly was more than 3k more expensive than other southern unis as if not it would be a viable choice.

I wasn't just going to say no without looking into it...

A friend's child went to KCL. She was a very low income single parent family and was on max loan but she was entitled to bursaries and was also allowed to stay in halls all 3 years. She did get a bit of grandparental help on top and got a paid summer internship.

So I’m autistic and went to a top London university (VERY close to KCL). It was back in 2011 but I only had the basic loan (think it was £6k) due to parental income, yet my parents refused to top up.

I did move in to halls, 30 min walk from uni, expensive and no kitchens meaning food costs were huge. It gave me a real shock and due to also struggling socially, I moved home after the first term.

I was able to live with my parents rent free and did a 5 hour round trip commute 4 days a week. The loan covered my train fare and I had a waitressing job at home that I worked at 10-15 hours a week term time to put fuel in my car (rural area), keep it on the road and pay for food/socialising. What made this doable was a humanities degree where I only had 2 x 10 week terms and 1 x 4 week one per year. Therefore the trainfaRe for 24 weeks was far more economical than paying rent for 40 weeks. I was also able to increase hours at my job in the holidays and earn more cash.

It was tough, really really tough. I found London noisy, confusing and overwhelming. I loved stepping off the train in the fresh air and quiet when I got home again each night. But I also didn’t have a formal diagnosis therefore couldn’t access DSA/ any other kind of support. Pastoral care from my university was also poor. I didn’t do any kind of travelling or unpaid internships, I worked as a waitress to keep the cash coming in. I massively felt the socio economic differences with my university peers and didn’t make any friends (autism not helping here!).

However, I stuck at it. I made strong friendships with the girls I worked with waitressing and went on nights out with them in the holidays. They were bridesmaids at my wedding- geographic proximity has supported these friendships. I was so burnt out post degree that I simply continued waitressing for a few years whilst I tried to decide what I wanted to do.

Eventually I chose an industry that would allow me to grow a career in my local area and not go back to London. The name of my university still gets comments, a decade later due to it’s incredible reputation in my field. The university careers service helped me get a CV together. I got a job at the top firm in my industry and have progressed rapidly. I outearn basically all my peers and outearn the projected earnings for my degree subject even at my university, despite being outside of London. My firm are currently paying for me to do a Masters. The firm’s private healthcare covered my autism diagnosis and they provided support for me. I met my husband and lots of friends in my workplace. We own a beautiful house, in a lovely quiet town, close to my parents and friends.

My degree is still the hardest thing I’ve ever done and I didn’t get a typical student experience. However, my degree and the top London university name on my CV is absolutely the reason for every good thing in my life and I absolutely think it was worth all the sacrifices I made to complete it.

DD is expected to go to a London university this autumn. Her dad and I live in London (though I plan to move out of the city as soon as I can) and to cut costs she will be living with her Dad, although she'll be expected to find part time work and contribute to rent & household bills.

She will probably be on a loan somewhere in the middle. We have saved up for her but it will not be anywhere near enough to support the entire three years of study.

A lot of London working class young people live with family during the university years to cut costs.

It's not just rent and food that's expensive, it's the cost of travel, and going for a night out is silly money. Then there's the costs relating to your course like equipment, books, field trips etc.