How on earth can anyone afford a masters?

[sergeantmajor]

DS is an undergrad, considering doing a masters as it is needed for his most likely career path. I just looked up the tuition fees: £20-£30k for one year! I had assumed it would be comparable to an extra year of undergraduate fees which he could probably fund via part time work, rather than effectively doubling his student debt. It seems that there are various funding awards to apply for but I don't know how realistic it is to expect someone to swoop in to fund him. How do people do it?

He will not have much, if any, time for paid work.

I second @Needmoresleep here. DD2 did a Masters in London last year, at a university on a par with Cambridge or LSE for her field of study, and quickly realised working part-time was a non-starter, the studying was a full-time job in the evenings and at weekends.

Of course it may be different for different subjects, but I would definitely advise not assuming there will be time for part-time paid work on top.

He should look a bit broader than just LSE and Oxbridge. Kings charge £17k if he wants London.

Titchy, it depends what he wants to do. Then course, and course content, matter if you want to be, say, a quant for a hedge fund. Or bea strong applicant for a funded PhD programme.

KCL economics department is relatively new and does not have the same reputation as LSE/UCL and, for Masters, Imperial.

Marking place, most informative and interesting thread, thank you for sharing your knowledge!

I totally believe the fees quoted by OP. My DD is currently doing a masters at LSE and her fees were over £26000 (and she's not an international student). She got a loan for £11000 and I borrowed some money. She moved home and has a part time job which pays for her train fares. All of her friends there are international students and from wealthy families. I've probably done the wrong thing borrowing the money (from family) but didn't want her to miss out on the opportunity. She already has a full time job to start after her exams. It does seem unfair though that you need to be well off or get yourself in debt to afford the fees.