Are student halls in London worth it?

[CautiousLurker01]

So DD has offers from KCL and UCL and firmed/insurance accepted. They are in the top 5 nationally for her subject and top 10 globally so she isn’t interested in going anywhere else, before it is suggested. We’re delighted for her. She has had a difficult few years so achieving a place anywhere is huge and we are so proud of her.

However, halls at both unis come in at around £14,500 for a 40 week contract (all bills etc included) and she was keen to ‘get involved’ at college and make friends, become independent etc.

My issue is that, having been a recent PG student myself, all my fellow students made it clear that they commuted to save on costs and the only ‘resident’ students were the overseas ones (and they grouped together by nationality, so all those from India formed a clique of their own - they were all lovely, but kept to themselves socially). Talking to my current supervisors it seems that courses are structured to allow students to be in college a couple of days a week to accommodate commuting and part time jobs, as they know students need the income and work experience on their CVS. We actually live 50mins by train from London, both colleges a short walk or bus ride from Waterloo. My fear is that we will commit to £14.5k a year to live in a 10msq room where DD may not actually meet anyone when she could just as easily meet friends through her course and societies and jump on a train home at night? Saving us around £11k a year.

We will also in Sep 2026 have a second DC studying in London, so we potentially will be paying £28-30kps for two-three years (both hope to do Masters afterwards). My DH works in London 30-50% of the time and potentially has access to funds that would mean he could, in fact, just about afford to buy a 2-3bed flat and use the £2500-3000k a month that we would otherwise be spending on rents by paying towards a mortgage. On paper, this is a no-brainer. DD, and later, DS, would have a flat in London so could mix with friends, be at uni, get a PT job etc but longer term any increased equity in the flat could be released and given to them to get on the property ladder. We have financially planned for this for decades so can afford the £30kpa, though not without sacrifice. Kids will only be entitled to @£3k if stay at home and £6.5k-ish (in maintenance loans) if in London due to household income.

The question is, are we being selfish in seeing this in terms of minimising the debt they’d leave uni with (and, yes, the fact that DH could use it when working up in London, rather than use hotels) and should we fund them both to live in halls so that they get the ‘full uni experience’? They are both incidentally entitled rooms in halls all three years, btw. I have friends whose DCs are loving uni, but have not made friends in halls (or worse, really do not get on with the people in their dorm/house or the floor of their halls) and ended up commuting home every weekend anyway. I am just concerned that living in halls in London will bear no resemblance to my experience of the same in York Uni in the 90s or DH’s experience… at a crippling cost.

Does anyone have DCs in London halls who can reassure me or give me a current picture of what they are like at the moment?

Sorry TL;DR: are Halls in London worth the cost, or will they be full predominantly of (lovely) overseas students who are not doing the same course and have no shared interests with my DD?

I went to student halls in London and it was the best years of my life. A mix of English and intl students. I met friends 13 years ago that I’m still in touch with.
On the other side I have a friend who lived at home with parents and commuted to uni in London, our experiences are polar opposite and she feels uni was just ‘okay’.

No-one is commuting to university in London unless they already live in London (or close by). PGs are different as they are far more likely to pick a local university. There will be hundreds of home students from all over the UK in halls and a thriving social life built around clubs, societies and the union that she will not be able to fully partake in if she has to rush back for the last train from Waterloo every evening.

This was my experience but at the time international students represented less than 10% of the student population: on my recent MA, 50% of the students were from overseas and I understand international students make up 70% of those in halls/student accommodation in London?

Am worried all DD’s friends will disappear home a lot and in the hols - and after they graduate - and she will be stuck without uni mates in the UK?

I had the same experience. Parents lived 1 hour from London. Halls for the first year to make friends and experience student life then move somewhere cheaper.

My brother lived at home and commuted in. He hated it after year 2, made no friends and had no social life due to distance.

At undergraduate level, halls are a good idea to meet others. MSc level is very different with many more students commuting in.

I go to a London university as a PG student and many (not the majority) of the UG students DO commute now, I’m afraid. My tutors and supervisors have commented on it.

People also commuted up to 2hrs each way to Surrey Uni where I did my MA and had been UG students prior to this and done it then, too, although lockdown/covid may have impacted their decisions to do this.

Surely DD will also be going home from time to time though and has other friends from school? She’ll make plenty of others from hobbies, work etc. I really don’t think these worries are rational.

We’re in NI. DD has loads of friends at London universities who of course do not commute, they’ve all made lots of friends and have had a great time in halls. Your DD will be fine.

I think this is where we are settling - fund halls for the first year and hope it helps them make friends and then either buy a flat or sweet talk family who live in SE London to let DD use the spare room. The less money we spend during the course, the more money we can free up later to pay a chunk off their student loan off and reduce the debt.

I agree with others that halls for y1 would be a good idea. Aside from meeting people living alone and with peers is a hugely formative experience and part of the benefits of fully integrating and doing clubs and meeting people.

Thank you - I think that’s what I’m hoping to hear. Friends’ DCs have had mixed experiences at lots of different unis so I’ve been worrying that hers will be one of the worst ones. She is so keen to be actively involved (she is going a couple of years late) and to make new friends/be independent which a flat funded by bank of Dad would undermine I think. Both colleges seem to have great pastoral support and active student unions/societies. I’ve just seen that you can actually book a visit to some of the halls, so I think maybe we need to do that to get a sense of what they’re like (couldn’t do that in my day!)

She has ASD/ADHD and has had a period of MH issues, so is going to uni a couple of years late. The fears are very rational - and no, she doesn’t have many friends at home due to the stigma of Mental illness and them all having gone to un a few years ago. But thanks, anyway.

DS did year 1 in halls and the rest at home and saved a lot of money. His minimum loan covered his rent as he took a shared room and only a 31 weeks contract.

I know lots of kids staying in London halls who could commute. Yes a more international experience than say living in Exeter but that’s surely a good thing

My DC went to KCL and was in halls for the first year. He made plenty of friends and moved in the second year to a flat share with friends. He was on campus from about 8 until either 6 or 9 depending if there were evening rehearsals. Commute on top of that would have been a lot.

One of our DC was at International Hall (University of London intercollegiate hall) in 2023/24 and absolutely adored it. Spartan accommodation and boring food but fantastically well located and great for meeting masses of people.

I think she’d love an international crowd, esp if there are some skiers/snowboarders she could meet up with between terms/semesters. A friend just suggested booking visits so that we can check out what social activities they put on in each one. I notice some have a sort of JCR - pool table/games room etc where the students hang out so as long as I know she won’t be holed up in her room for the whole year, I’ll be happier!

Absolutely no holing up at International Hall! My DC was unbelievably social.

Whilst many UGs at the uni you are at may well be commuter students, this won’t be true of all London UGs. UCL and Kings attract home students from much further away. The data in this article isn’t perfect by any stretch but shows over a third of all UGs at both those two unis come from more than 40 miles away (adjust this if you like): https://wonkhe.com/blogs/which-universities-recruit-commuter-students/

DS is at UCL - second year now - and spent first year in halls (Ramsay, if you’re interested) even though we live in zone 4. It was great for him as that’s where he met his friends, he’s currently flat sharing with lad whose room was opposite him last year who also lives in London. It also sounded like there was a good social scene too… So whilst there are commuters, certainly last year there were plenty in halls.

(Oh and his girlfriend comes from
Thamesmead and she also lived in halls last year!)

14k for halls! That’s so much money. Is that catered?

No!! Got very nice kitchen though 🤣

My DS2 is currently in halls in a similarly ranked non London university and the rent is less than £6k a year. DS1 is applying for a postgraduate course and unfortunately London is out of the question. We would find those fees astronomical. If you can afford it then go for it. We are high earners but it just seems a waste of money.

It’s tricky isn’t it. One thing I’ve realised, with a DC at another UK uni, is that after Easter, no or b little teaching happens. It’s revision and exams and then some weeks with social stuff but no teaching. So, if you’re looking at paying for halls for 40-44 weeks of the year, they are probably only being taught directly for 20 of those weeks.

And then a private let in yr2 or 3 probably means paying for 51-2 weeks but again receiving direct teaching for 20 weeks. If you add to that the fact there might not be lectures and seminars 5 days a week, but perhaps 3, you’re then looking at 60 days of lectures for the cost of a full year of rent.

And yes I know they access libraries, student clubs and societies and socialise, but the point is that the cost of accommodation is vast in relation to the amount of time spent in formal teaching.

Someone who is able to live at home could save thousands by just travelling in for their lectures/seminars and social stuff.

I can really see why people pay for halls for yr1 to get the experience etc but then live at home. Those who pay for 3 years accom whilst living within commuting distance, are often those who really are well off and for whom £14k for accom plus bills and other costs isn’t really a factor. But for most, it will be a factor.

In the end, uni is changing. Us oldie parents who had the traditional 3 or 4 years away from home look back at it nostalgically and want the same for our kids. But we had our tuition paid and were able to leave uni with low or no debt. Things are different now. The direction of travel is towards more staying at home due to cost. Uni course structure must change in the next few years as tuition fees don’t cover it. The experience we had as teens will become less and less the experience for the next uni generation.

People will still live in London as students. Many have to as the commute is too far. But how fortunate to live within commutable distance so those huge costs can be avoided. How fortunate to maybe get a year in halls and then live for free at home and have access to top universities and a unique experience of London Uni.

It’s hard for us as parents to imagine uni without living there. And it’s hard for the kids when many they know might go away to other places where it’s costly but not as extortionate, and in teen minds uni still means living away for 3 years. But once there, they’d find they were one amongst many doing the same and social lives amongst students adjust to reflect the way and not laces they live.

The rents are all £11-14k at the halls I’ve looked at unless you come from a lower income household/were a child in care (in which case you can apply under an Affordable Accommodation Scheme, where fees are £6k). I’ve looked at 15 different residences on their undergrad accommodation page. Only one, without an ensuite, is under £10k the irony is that some of the halls are in E15 and beyond, and only save her 30mins on the commute from home!!

We are just struggling to get our heads around £45k in accommodation fees over three years (potentially x 2 when DS goes the year after) when it would cost very little in train fares and there is no reason they can’t stay late and catch a train home or even kip on a mate’s floor if they want to party?! We can find the money (well, if DD takes out the loans) but it seems madness for her to get into debt and for us to spend that money if it turns out she hates halls. I think it all hinges on the added value she gets from being in halls and whether that is worth £45k+interest (and that is aside from the £30k in fees…).