Living costs for Imperial

[Inmyfifties]

DS is starting uni in September and he’s put Imperial as his first choice which I’m really pleased about. I’m now planning ahead and trying to estimate a realistic monthly budget for living costs (excluding rent) for a typical first year.

Could parents with recent experience share some figures with me please? I’ve looked online but would also like some more real examples.

Thank you!

The parents who have DC at Imperial for the first year, what did you choose on your accommodation selection and where did your DC end up? Just trying to work out all the scenarios. Would love DS to get Kensington accommodation but assume it is a lottery unless you want and select N Acton?

My dc chose a mixture of Paddington, Ken and N Acton but he really wanted en suite non shared. The majority of accommodation is in the N Acton halls and the Ken halls are over subscribed. £6.8K for a single room en suite is very good for London. Only a few stops on the Central Line to the centre.

I have one at UCL. The first year accommodation was £12,000 for halls and the second year was £15,000 (for a full year of rent), we give £120 per week living which is just about ok - most of this is spent on food, gym, and transport. I have another child at a different uni outside of London and think being in London has added around £5/6000 to the annual cost.

Does anyone know where most 2nd years rent (and roughly how much it costs)? I was at Imperial in the late 90s and was very fortunate to stumble on cheap accommodation in 2nd/3rd year just minutes from college, but I still have nightmares about finding 4th year accommodation- it was difficult to find anywhere not too far away or too expensive. DS is considering applying next year (which I am delighted about as I had a fabulous time) but quite honestly I am concerned about the accommodation…. Please reassure me!

Most 2nd years rent in Shepherd's Bush or Hammersmith.

@WatsernameHammersmith is definitely popular for 2nd/3rd years and to rent a room is around £1K a month in a house share so not cheap. Your dc could see if any current 2nd/3rd years are leaving their properties and get the details to jump in. Imperial have an accommodation office too that might be able to put dc in contact with agencies and landlords. Quite a few students return home and commute in to save money.

My DC get the full wales loan which next year is a bit over £12000 and we topped up £200 a month first year in halls and £250 a month after that. They tell me they cannot manage term time jobs.

Mine pay around £1000 a month for off campus accommodation.

I think the living costs information on the Imperial website is fairly accurate.

The full maintenance loan plus the full Imperial bursary will total almost £19k next year so I would budget for at least that. Of course, it is possible to live more frugally but it is pretty miserable living on a much tighter budget than your class mates.

If that is unaffordable, I would consider carefully whether the Imperial course is worth the cost/living frugally. It is undoubtedly an excellent university but, if costs are an issue, I would carefully weigh up the advantages and disadvantages eg if you have an offer for maths at Warwick and Imperial, Warwick might be a better option for quality of life, if the choice is between maths at Bristol or Imperial, living on baked beans all year and sharing a room at Imperial might be a worthwhile sacrifice.