The "London is impossible" theme is a regular feature of this board.
It seems a pity, as we are very lucky to have a number of first class Universities in London. Somehow EU students, international students, and even ethnic minority students from elsewhere in the UK seem to find ways of coping. However not, it seems MN DC.
I think it is worth thinking constructively. Yes DS would have taken a Cambridge place, had it been offered, but it was not. For economics LSE is almost certainly considered the next best option, in the same way that Imperial will be for many STEM courses. Our DC are very lucky to have so many world class options.
London is not for everyone, but if your subject is the first, second and third reason for wanting to go to University, then you really should be considering Imperial.
It would be nice if the discussion could be more constructive, as in how you can make London work, because lots of students do.
- PT work. I used to live in Asia and students would opt for London over Oxbridge because it was easier to find well-paid part time work. The hours you will have available on a heavily weighted course will be limited but something like tutoring (especially something like maths or physics GCSE) could be an option. Another popular one is agency hospitality. So waitering or bar tendering for events, so lots of well paid work in the run up to Christmas or after summer exams but the ability to drop it during term time. Or take a gap year and save hard. Another advantage of London is that you are well placed for paid summer internships or simply a summer job via an employment agency.
- Accommodation. As a Londoner my eyes are rolling at the idea that North Acton is grim. I have not visited the new Imperial campus but have driven past. It is huge, a new University City, and friends who live in North Acton don't seem happy enough, and indeed are rubbing their hands at the thought of Cross Rail. As well as picking your location carefully (TfL's journey planner is your friend, as are buses and Boris bikes) sharing a room is an option. There are fewer party types at London Universities and lots use Libraries rather than study in their rooms. In terms of private rentals, HMO legislation has created lots of problems. It is rarely worth a landlord going down the HMO route so you simply don't get 5 or 6 bedroom house shares. Instead students lie about the numbers who will be living in a property and (some) landlords/agents turn a blind eye. DS pays quite a lot for his own room in a shared ex-Council flat on a small estate 5 minutes walk to the LSE. His GF lived nearby in a similar flat but shared a room so would have been paying less than £100 pw and so with no transport costs, was doing fine. As others have said, Imperial is relatively rich and is in a better position to help students. At least a dozen of DDs friends have gone there, and all seem to be living in different places without complaint. (In contrast to some grim stories about shared student flats with late night lifestyles, obsessive gamers, complete potheads and more that others are experiencing elsewhere.) London Universities are concerned about their inability to attract students from the rest of the UK and this is a priority.
- London itself. One big surprise can be how much you can do with very little money, especially if you are free during the day. The obvious includes music, art, public talks and museums, but students will find ways of doing most things cheaply. (Group tickets to Comic con...) Transport is good and cheap, with night buses and tubes so no need for expensive taxis.
- Academics again. Lots of serious world standard research happens at London Universities. A personal view/observation but almost because so many students don't engage (some of it is cultural as many will come from education systems where you sit silently in class, whilst others are very focused on the job market and getting the first) there are more opportunities for those who do. We saw DS last night, who was delighted that a nobel laureate had slipped into the audience of an informal presentation that DS had attended. And that the self-same nobel laureate had asked a question and made a joke - just like a normal person. (My claim that, in the days when dinosaurs still roamed, the very same nobel laureate had taught me, and indeed had been a normal person able to make jokes, was ignored.) He had just been to a series of three public lectures given by a very big name American academic, and not too long ago was part of a group who went to Cambridge for a seminar with a big name professor there. (Who had also taught me when I was an LSE UG!) DS is one of a small number who has opted to do a dissertation in his third year, which means he not only has a supervisor but is supported as part of the group in terms of subject choice, research methods, data sets etc, which ought to be invaluable should he go on to take a Masters. Presumably similar opportunities will exist elsewhere, but it would be hard to think of somewhere offering more. A couple of third year Imperial students we know are say similar.
So OP, again. If your DD really wants to go to Imperial for the academics, it is worth trying to make it happen. Yes London is not cheap but it can be cheaper than others claim (or Universities elsewhere can be more expensive than you might expect) and the extra money can be a good investment, both in terms of academic satisfaction and future earnings.
But really not for everyone. Students can get lost, you have to work very hard to keep up and some will still struggle, whilst other Universities will offer much more of the wider getting away from home University experience. Its a big decision.