DS getting cold feet about studying in London.

[60schild]

I'd really appreciate some advice please. DS has always wanted to study in London - either UCL or Kings. He's now thinking he's far more likely to be skint and potentially lonely there, than if he went to Uni of Nottingham/Manchester/Leeds.
He's heard in London, because accommodation is so spread out and there aren't as many student areas it's more difficult to make friends. Also he feels the price of Uni accommodation if he got that in the first year would be prohibitive.
He's fine getting a job but also has heard in London there's not many student nights and offers. Has anyone any experience of London student life please?

I went to UCL (albeit a long time ago) and agree 100% with everything you've written. A smaller city or town where all the students live close by makes for a better experience, I'm sure.

I studied at a London University and didn't have a particularly fun time for all the reasons you mentioned (was fine for MSc though). Had load more fun in early 20s working in a smaller University city as rent was cheap could actually have a life. London as undergrad was: expensive rent then all friends spread out commuting in from different parts of London 2nd yr onwards, had to work to support myself so no time other than uni work + paid employment. Not thay friendly as high proportion local and therefore not as motivated to make friends or large international student population who tended to mix within their own groups.

Thanks for the comments. I suggested a Masters might be the best plan for living in London. It seems a shame for him to miss out on his 'dream' but I'm impressed he's being realistic about some of the disadvantages of studying in London.

I am from London but went to university elsewhere and then moved back to London. All I can say here is loneliness is dependent on a state of mind. You can be surrounded by people and feel lonely, or be fine alone. I live fairly close to a London university which is a campus with a student village, perhaps something like that would suit him if his preferred course is in London.

DS1 went to UCL.

Financially, it's fine. The loan for London Universities is significantly higher than the provinces. Everything is in walking distance, and Sainsbury's prices are no different.

DS lived in a student hall in his first year, and the Euston and Camden after that. He walked everywhere (very tight).

He took full advantage of getting to know London activities, so has become very cultured.

I can’t answer your explicit question but I thought I would drop a cautionary line about the self fulfilling prophecy. Do UCL/Kings have clear academic advantages? The other three unis you have listed are all fine ones. In the area I know (STEM) none of the five are super elite, all are generally good to excellent.

In STEM, he could not really go wrong between these. Don’t know about other fields

He’s right to have misgivings. There are also a lot of students who stay living at home and commute, so the feeling is very different.

I went to a London uni a long time ago. It was fab, I loved living in London, made great friends (mostly from my halls of residence) who are still my friends now and had a great time.
I think things have changed in that a lot more people live at home but my dc has two friends (at UCL and Imperial) who are both very happy and enjoying their experience so I don't think it's a given that it will be a more lonely time.

Currently have 2 dc studying in London. Both love it. Have made friends, enjoy the international culture/students from everywhere. Have part-time flexible jobs.

DS went to KCL and had a great time (COVID constraints aside.....). He made lots of good friends, both international and from the UK. Rent is expensive but part time jobs are easy to get, if needed.

@60schild
I think some of what your DS thinks is correct but not for everyone. Halls in first year give opportunities to make friends. You would be unlucky not to. Then there’s friends on your course.

Bigger issues might come with who can afford what rents in the second year. Some places are expensive. There’s no doubt about it. Cheaper areas are further away from the universities. This means they are not student areas. There are a zillion things students can go to in London snd get a discount but it can feel expensive if you have to travel in and out from your second year house all the time.

Some courses are too intensive for part time work. But if you can work, it’s available. Other universities are compact enough and for second year onwards there could be greater opportunities for living near the uni at cheaper rents than London. Some first year hall rents are high in London too. So location and facilities do make a difference.

Thanks very much for the comments. He will get a part time job wherever he goes and hopefully the higher London loan would help cover accommodation costs. He is hoping to study English with modern languages so not a STEM subject. I thought London would have a greater international feel and would be good for having friends around the world. However the number of students commuting is the flip side. He loves London but I do understand his misgivings about studying there. Thanks again.

My DD did MFL at university. Not London. I’m not sure the international students make any difference. They won’t be on his course. What makes a difference to MFL skills is the year abroad. But London is fun. You cannot assume you will get international friends.

DS is at uni in London. He loves it. The only thing your DS is worried about that he's found true is the cost of rented accommodation - it's very high! But a surprising number of students live centrally. All his mates are walking distance from central London campus, as is he. There are loads of student discounts everywhere. BFI films are £3, student club nights, cocktail happy hours, and loads of very cheap restaurants, cafes and supermarkets. (He shops in Chinatown a lot.)

He did find it in credibly hard to make friends at first but his first year was lockdown hell with all teaching online and all clubs closed. He now has close knit friendship groups and lovely flatmates too.

I think anyone living centrally and within walking distance of Kings/UCL/LSE will find it expensive. People with more modest budgets have to live further out.

@TizerorFizz

I think anyone living centrally and within walking distance of Kings/UCL/LSE will find it expensive. People with more modest budgets have to live further out.

This is true but DS's theory is that he'd rather pay £200pw for a room in central London and do a couple of bar shifts but be able to walk everywhere than to live further out and pay £120 put endlessly have to pay for tube fares and cabs at night. He reckons it averages out.

That said, he's looking at East London next year because there's so much going on there and it's cheaper.

@gingerhills
Lots of parents on these threads would be totally aghast at £200 a week. Some students do intensive courses where working is difficult to fit in. So it’s very difficult to judge what’s best. East End is thriving and lively but some areas there are expensive and desirable.

DC started part-time job when 16, so had already saved a lot before starting uni.
But although London was first (and second) choice for 2 DC, youngest not keen on big cities

DD is a 2nd yr student at UCL & has had a very vibrant social life. She lives with someone who came from same college, + someone they met in Halls, near a lot of mutual friends in flats in same area (Islington). She'd say the student life is fantastic.

Helps that we have coughed up for expense of relatively central location digs.

DS is looking at Nottingham Uni... I'd say £200+/week is easily possible in their accommodation blocks -- go to Leicester if you want cheap halls, btw. I'd check the threads & Youtube videos on NottUni accommodation. NottUni ships some of the 1st years to halls all the way out in Derby! Ruddy heck to that one...

Beer is probably cheapest in Leeds out of OP's options.

I am Studying at kings now. Even though we were mainly online last year year all of the younger students who lived in student accommodation seem to be well integrated and having a great time. The uni has protected time for extra curricular activities and does quite a lot to encourage students to get to know each other.

Ds has just booked his student accommodation for sept. He opted to leave London so he’ll be paying £157 a week in Cambridge which seems fair. I think he plans to get a job but he doesn’t have to.

[quote TizerorFizz]@gingerhills
Lots of parents on these threads would be totally aghast at £200 a week. Some students do intensive courses where working is difficult to fit in. So it’s very difficult to judge what’s best. East End is thriving and lively but some areas there are expensive and desirable.[/quote]
I'm with them at being aghast at £200 per week. It is a lot. But DS's course does allow for him to do a bit of PT work. Not possible if you are a medic, I bet.
Parts of the East End are a lot cheaper. I was suggesting flats there until his mates persuaded him to live right in the centre. He's had such a good time. And it's just for a year. HoR weren't much cheaper and were grim during lockdown in his first year.

Yes. Halls can be expensive in London. I know most universities have cheaper options but the newer halls have high charges. Many are new!

It sometimes depends what you want to work for. Some DC want to earn for personal items like clothes and more expensive nights out. They don’t necessarily want it going to a landlord.

Of course, not just students who make choices of how to spend their earned money on. But that's different from not been able to afford London.

I think there is quite a lot of evidence that northern students tend to swerve London due to living costs..They might want to work but not to use the money for what they believe to be very high rents.