Kings college london

[Ilovechristmasfalalalalalala]

I am a single mother on benefits at the moment. When my youngest starts school I am hoping this will change. Anyway my eldest is set on going to london this september, she has been accepted.

Im worried about the cost, it is £290 a week for accommodation not including food.
She says she will find a part time job while there but im worried as I cant help her im even worrying about how we are going to get her stuff to london from Durham.

I wasnt allowed to pursue my dreams when I was younger as my parents forced me into work so they could get board money, I dont wamt to stop her from following hers.

I guess im asking has anyone been in this situation and its been ok?

Has she looked to see what bursaries there may be for less well off students? Definitely worth a try. I'd look on their student finance pages.

I have a daughter at KCL, it’s not just the accommodation it’s the cost of living in London. My DD just keeps saying leaving the house costs money in London. Transport is expensive, food costs more because you have to travel to reach the bigger supermarkets, drink and entertainment is a lot more expensive (she compares with her sister at another uni). Sorry to be discouraging but you’d have to have a really good reason to go there if funds were tight.

One of our DC is at a London university (not KCL). Yes, it's horribly expensive but IMO one of the biggest mistakes is living so far out that you need to pay for public transport every time you leave your accommodation. You need to live as centrally as possible so that you can walk everywhere and take advantage of student entertainment and free museums etc.

And use the bus rather than the tube, very cheap.

Is she not eligible to the Kings Affordable Accommodation scheme? That is much cheaper.

London is very expensive but there are many more opportunities for part-time jobs and it might be . It depends on the type of course but if she fancies London and is willing to work for it then I think you should at least explore all the bursaries and other student support available for those ion lower incomes.

@Ilovechristmasfalalalalalala this sounds tough.

is there any way should could apply for a bursary / scholarship directly from the university ?
is her father able / willing to support.
do you have the funds available to pay for the accomodation ?

if the answer to all the above is no I really don’t see how this could be feasible. A part time job in London won’t go very far unless she’s working lots of hours. Cost of living in London high even by students standards of living.

what we’re her other options ? does she understand the financial implications?

My DD would also comment on the high number of international students at KCL with very large budgets! It sounds like a frivolous problem but my two DDs at different unis on the same budget one feels well off and one feels like she’s not just from the costs and the people around her. Like I say you just need to feel that it is worth it for the course/career because it is a constant annoyance that you have to get over.

She should be eligible for the maximum student loan and usually halls accommodation isn’t the whole year.

As others have mentioned Kings have affordable accommodation and bursaries available so make sure she applies for everything she can.

I know people that came from abroad or went up to Dundee on the coach with 2 suitcases and they were fine

If you come with 2 suitcases you then need to buy bedding, pots and pans and such like locally. It surprising how that stuff adds up but that’s the same at any uni.

Is there a specific reason that she wants to/needs to go to Kings for university? If that is really the only place she can do her chosen course then that’s one thing but if she really just fancies being in London, I think you have to point out the realities to her. You can still help her to live her dreams without being in London!

As everybody else has pointed out, make sure that she is aware of and applies for any possible scholarships or funding. However, she may also need to defer for a year and work at home to save as much money as she can to provide herself with a cushion. What would she think about that?

Thanks for all your replies!
She has always wanted to live in London plus the course she wants do involves a year in Australia.

Yes shes eligible for max student loan and wants to stay for 51 weeks.
Im well aware she has her head in the clouds, she has dreamed of uni since year 3 in primary school. She aced her GCSES and her SATS.

She has been accepted in all 5 universities that she applied to.

Our house is tiny, she hates the living conditions so wants to move out ASAP, her dad has practically disowned her which is why I disowned him.

I will try sit her down and gently explain all the points listed without sounding like im putting a downer on it.

Thanks again.

The year in Australia - have you looked into how much that's likely to cost? Oz is a very expensive place to live, that's leaving aside flights, is there tuition to pay?

OP, I've just asked AI about the cost of the year in Oz. Whilst the student doesn't have to pay tuition to the Oz university (they pay a much-reduced fee to King's instead), the Australian costs are very high (living, health insurance etc) and the student must - in order to get the visa - be able to show they have access to sufficient funds.

I don't want to pour cold water on your daughter's dreams - but you need to look directly into this yourself and then discuss it with her.

Oh wow I never even thought! Sounds far too expensive to be honest. I will try speak to her but shes very stubborn but she needs to know.
Her second choice was Edinburgh, which in my opinion is a much more affordable option.

Stubborn or not, if I were you I'd be very frank indeed that you cannot financially support this and the reality is she might be in danger of failing and having to leave the course.

I agree with @AlohaRose that if she really really wants this course, she should consider taking a year out and saving hard. I acknowledge that I would have hated this advice aged 18.

Edinburgh is also v expensive and a 4 year undergrad. Best option would be for her to defer for a year and work full-time to raise funds.

Yeah whichever she goes for, she needs to be working to build up some funds. Hopefully she's been doing that already as this has been her goal for so long. It's great that she's so focused and determined but realism has to come into it. That rent is crazy and it costs such a lot to do almost anything in London. I live down here but am from a much more affordable area up north and it's a huge difference in costs. It was way more doable in the 90s when I came down to uni.

My DS went to uni in London and managed to rent a place paid for entirely out of his wages from working at the student bars. He also had friends who managed their finances through summer jobs' savings; no parental support and no consistent term time job. DD went to Manchester, also had a pub job and ended up with a massive overdraft. How much money you need/spend depends on the individual. However, uni far from home is expensive because of the cost of the trains and London rents are higher than elsewhere in the country. You have so much choice where you are: Newcastle, Edinburgh, Manchester, Leeds. Doesn't any of these tick her boxes?

Funnily enough they were all the ones she applied for but nope it has to be London.

Well I sat her down explained everything that has been wrote here and she says she knows but shes still going ahead 🤦‍♀️ and has accepted the offer.

Theres nothing i can do now. Thanks for all your replies it has been very helpful.

London can be expensive but there are more part time jobs paying, tutoring for younger kids like Year 4 maths or English would be £40 per hour etc. Food shopping, check out Asian supermarkets etc they have cheaper options and avoid Tesco Express etc since they cost more. Get rent or room near the school or bus routes, save transport money. Kings have companies listing PT or one off paid jobs on their online student forums. Work in the holidays to get more funds. Use Olio app for free meals or small items.

A young relative of mine in London has a before school nannying job, getting a little girl off to school. It pays extremely well! Plus she gets to do extra babysitting for the family.

Well, if she's set on it all you can do is support her. Make sure you know what's available at Kings and make sure she applies (for what she needs to apply for) https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study-legacy/funding/kings-living-bursary-2025-26. There are loads of tools and gadgets about budgeting on their site, and she needs to take budgeting seriously.

London (like most places) is swilling with unwanted stuff like kitchen equipment etc and she needs to be ready to find out how to get that and be prepared to collect stuff.

She needs to research all the discount student travel schemes, museum and gallery schemes, food projects, etc. She needs to think about how she's going to get a job asap.

London is doable as a skint person but you have to be really organised about it. If she doesn't seem to be thinking about this stuff and planning, you can't stop her going but you can start saving an emergency fund for a ticket home when she realises she can't actually do it without forward planning.

Good luck to her though! May as well get excited for her!

Is she not working evenings and weekends now? If not, she needs to and she needs to start saving. There are a lot more jobs in London than elsewhere, but she would really benefit from having a CV with at least a bit of work experience if she hasn't already.

Also, when are you planning on starting earning money again? Is it this year your youngest starts school? I thought to get UC you still have to work at least part time from when the youngest is 3 years old.

I think it's commendable that she is so dead set on it, just make sure she knows she is going to have to work extra hard to be able to fund it.