I very much understand people who have less money than us. ALL of our friends and most of our acquaintances. I do know people who have lived in hostels in London. I come from a very poor background myself. It is possibly that which drives me on to want better for my children. I hated scrimping and saving and never going out, living in poverty, no inside bathroom or loo, no heating except one coal fire, not ever, once, having a holiday until I paid for it myself. Do NOT EVER tell me I do not know about poverty. Yes, now we have enough money. I feel truly blessed that we have been able to fund our DDs but that does make me unqualified to say what I believe to be true. We are not unique by any means because, even in London, plenty of flats are owned by parents or students.
A salary of £47,000, sadly, does not go far in London. As a joint family income with two people working it is not great either. It is, without doubt, perfectly adequate elsewhere where housing is cheaper. Even a bursary top up is not particularly generous for London prices where commuting is a way of life if parents have little to spare due to other siblings or large mortgate repayments. London families, therefore, have to look at staying at home. As far as other cities go, people are risk averse. I agree. You only have to read these threads to see that. People also cluster in the North or the South. As a northern girl, my DN cannot imagine herself studying anywhere else but the in the North because that is where she feels she belongs. It has nothing to do with money, although my DSis is permantly skint.
I actually think it would be very interesting to see why students live at home and why they choose certain universities. We make judgements on MN but until all universities publish how many students live at home and how many have only moved within their own area to go to university, it is difficult to know how much cost is a factor or whether the student prefers to study with people more like them. We already know what proportions of young people study at universities who come from private schools but social mobility can be measured in other ways. I think being with "people like you" is a selection criteria applied by young people and parents, whether it is in London or elsewhere. Therefore I doubt that it is just money that means some students do not apply to London. I also, really, really do not intend to put anyone off applying if London is right for them. However, serious thought is needed.
It is also pertinent to say that UCL is NOT the only university in London. Others may not have such generous bursaries. What are all the facts about bursaries for every London university, not just the one at the top of the tree? UCL is only one of a great many universities in London.
Some students do not like the idea of funding themselves and plenty of parents are not happy for this to happen because they would like their young people to concentrate on their courses. Some courses are not suitable for this either. It also causes big problems when the DC want an, unpaid, internship. They cannot afford to take it therefore making life very unfair. This has already been flagged up as a barrier to social mobility because so many firms choose employees from their internees.