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?

DS is in his second year at UCL and lived in halls for the first year. Loved it and has lots of friends. This year he’s sharing a flat (bloody expensive). Third year will be abroad but fourth year he’ll be living at home in Zone 3, south London.

Are you already from London? If so I'd advise commuting as otherwise it would just break your bank (I think). Yes commuting isn't "as social" but there are plenty ways for commuting students to make friends and have fun.

I commuted to university in London from first year and I’ve just graduated. I am in Zone 6. Happy to answer questions if you have them.

Consider commuting costs. I was nowhere near as lucky as your DC and you appear to have set them up so well with money - I lived off minimum loan and x2 part time jobs to pay train fares and general life costs!

Have you compared UCL's catered student halls with with their self-catering student houses? e.g single rooms at Ramsey hall are about £300pw and those in Campbell West house are about £180pw. I don't know what KCL offers

My son actually thrived in his final year when commuting. Was super involved with societies and his friends were always happy to let him sleep around if he wanted a late night.

There's a whole thread somewhere on this board about UK parents dropping their kids off at halls of residence in London (possibly entirely at UCL) and also lots of tips about nearest supermarkets etc. So I think you're catastrophising about there being 'no' UK students living in halls at UCL or Kings.

@WombatChocolate you sum it up perfectly - at Surrey and UEL face to face lessons were 1-2 days a week for the first 10 weeks of each semester. By comparison, I rarely had a day without lectures/seminars/tutorials when I was at York in the 1990s - even if some days it was just the one. I think if you are reading medicine or a STEM subject with a high lab/practical project component this is likely different, but my DDs subject is arts/humanities and the UCAS offer letter states that the course is 18-20% taught and 80% independent study; with overseas field trips in either/both Y2 and 3, so she won’t even be in London for one of the terms.

Add to this that she is ND, so there is a high risk that she may find living in a noisy halls a little overwhelming even if she can manage the course comfortably, and I am really reticent to spend so much money when she can travel in for under a bit over a tenner with her railcard… she is also aware of the costs involved and is both anxious about accruing the debt herself, and also feels a burden because the alternative is that we pay it - either at the time or by clearing the debt when we downsize (no point hanging onto is and leaving it in our wills any more, is there…) If she lives in halls both she, and we, need to see what exactly she gets from that additional £45k spend.

Here's the thread about Mumsnetters with kids living in halls in London (and it was primarily UCL).

www.mumsnet.com/talk/higher_education/5144963-thrills-and-spills-of-studying-in-london?page=1

Lots of kids in my child’s degree course at UCL commute in. The majority. Some of ucl halls are awful. As in nasty.

I have two DCs studying in London. The first (Masters student) commutes (1hr 20min by train each way) as it’s cheaper and he has already had the undergrad halls experience at a uni elsewhere. The other is an undergrad in first year and lives in halls in London - and loves it. She and her housemates are now all best buddies and are going to private rent together from September (cheaper). I don’t think her experience so far at the uni would have been so good if she hadn’t lived in halls. But that’s only because of the housemates in the accommodation she was allocated - and that was purely down to luck.

I never said ‘no’ students commute! Not at any point.

I said that many students (in my experience as a current student, working with UGs at two universities) now commute.

I am not catastrophising. I am trying to understand what I will potentially be spending £45k over the next 3 years, along with the same again for my DS. There are few people I know that think nothing of spending £90k without being absolutely certain it is worth every penny. Especially when an annual rail pass is less than £2k a year?

Thanks will go and read that now!

And @Justsayit123 that is the thing - a lot of the halls are awful or have been refurbished recently (and look amazing on the website) hence those massively high fees.

@Itslookinglikeabeautifulday I think getting the right housemates is just so key, and such a lottery. My DD struggled a little with friendships in school and is just coming into her own at college, but she is really nervous when she first meets people. I was really lucky at uni, but a couple of my friends have horror stories from recent experiences (parents of girls - for some reason the boys seem to just rub along with less issue!)

I would really struggle to get my head around that amount of money. Chances are she may not gel with her corridor and end up living at home most of the time. What type of experience does she want? It’s really a matter of the student making it into the experience they want. DS1 said there were lads at his lively university who barely came out of their rooms because they played Xbox all day. DS2 is somewhere that supposed to be fairly quiet and he’s partied nonstop since he’s been there.

I did first year in halls in a London uni and had the best time ever. My parents live about an hour away so I commuted for the remaining 2 years as it was cheaper but it was easier to maintain a social life as I had lived with them already in halls. Maybe that would work for your DC, mix of both?

Thanks for this - I think this may be where we settle - a first year in halls and then commute in once she has a social network established. She could travel in with her dad LOL!

My son's friend had the opposite experience and found halls in London very lonely so ended up returning home and doing the course online.

My son at a traditional university in halls/private lets in the North of England had a whale of a time

I agree with a PP that university is changing...lectures are often all online as are some seminars.

What are your daughter's thoughts? I think the difference with your situation is that you can buy a flat. You mention she has ASD. Would being able to escape to a "home" that isn't actually home, be a nice compromise? I assume your husband comes "home/home" at the weekend, so she and her brother would have the London flat to themselves at the weekend. It could become a very popular party venue!

That’s been my DC’s friends experience of London universities @aliceinawonderland They’ve mostly been quite lonely and regret not going elsewhere.

People who's DC found London lonely, what caused it? My DS choose an undergraduate only hall because he knew it'd be more social than ones with a higher percentage of postgraduates.

It would unusual to be in halls for UCL or Lings for more than one year btw. Students do one year and then rent accommodation (or in some cases commute from home) generally. The richest international students don’t use uni halls at all, preferring private ones or their own flat.

Agreed, but my children get PIP and will get DSA, so they are eligible for uni accommodation throughout. However, we think we will be looking at the commuting or buying a flat option after the first year.

My child is at UCL and pays £205 Pw for their Hall right by Bloomsbury campus. Depends how fussy you are but that’s way less than £14.5k a year! And they are loving it … it’s very sociable with a wonderful mix of nationalities.

@Ceramiq my DN was also at International Hall and also loved it and made lots of friends plus other friends from sports teams etc.

@CautiousLurker01 I think your plan of halls for 1st year is great if you can afford it. Costs have really spiralled but shared bathrooms aren't a problem and that reduces the cost significantly. In fact they are good because you leave your room more often and bump into people in the corridor.

We are only looking at KCL accommodation at the moment (as it’s the one she will do a firm acceptance on) and the halls are £11.6-14.43k for an ensuite within reasonable distance of the campus. There are MH/disability issues which require her to have an ensuite, so we can’t reduce to cheaper halls with shared facilities. I am assuming there will be a scrum for the cheaper rooms, and even though she will have DSA etc we are not sure how they weight applicants, so we have to financially plan around the worst case scenario of being allocated a more expensive ensuite room. We’re hoping it’ll be the lower priced room and that DSA might possibly include a contribution, but we won’t know until after we’ve applied and the rooms have been allocated in June/July.

Thanks for this - I think halls for one year seems to be a must, from what people are saying. Even if she bombs socially in that setting, it will help build resilience and we are just a 50min train ride away if it doesn’t work out. DH can sob into his discount beer at the money spent 🤣 I am hoping she will surprise herself - the fact that she has pulled herself together at college and obtained these offers has already exceeded her expectations of herself. I am probably being over protective in not wanting her to hit a wall when she is finally on track.

Some of the halls also seem to have great social activities teams who may cajole her into mixing with housemates and helping her make friends. I’ve not gone into it, but DH does have MH/disability needs that mean an ensuite is a must, but we have veered away from looking at studios for the reasons you mention (cost may also have been a factor!) - but getting out of her room to cook/eat and into the kitchen will mean meeting/chatting and interacting with others on her floor will be good for her… so long as she doesn’t hack everyone off by being a slob with washing up/cleaning up after herself! I, personally, am looking forward to a spotless kitchen next year…

@CautiousLurker01 my DS is in final year at UCL, and we also live in Greater London. He was in Connaught Hall in first year (an inter-collegiate hall very central in Bloomsbury), then a flat-share in NW1 in his second year sharing with friends he made in halls. He has been commuting from home in his third year because his housemates were all doing a year abroad and because it is a very short year - his lectures end at Easter, then exams after Easter, then finished. It wasn't worth him signing up for another 12 months of accommodation.

He loved his year in halls. He made his closest friends there, as well as through his sport, rather than on his course. He now has many friends in London that he can stay overnight with when socialising.

He will be starting a job in the city in the coming September. For us, this is the right time to help him buy his first flat, in his own name, with obviously a big deposit gifted from us. This will be much more tax efficient than us buying a second property and him living in it.