University may not be free, but it's still a bargain

Aug 27 2009 Agenda, Birmingham Post

Recent graduate Peter Wood offers some pointers for forthcoming freshers on how to survive university life and not achieve a degree worth less than the paper it is written on.

Going to university has been at the forefront of many sixth-formers’ minds in the past few weeks.

When this year’s A-level grades were released a week ago, thousands of students discovered if they had achieved their entry requirements. For many this was where their certainty ended as they have to work out how to pay for the next three to four years.

For those receiving AS grades the decision is greater still as they will be the ones choosing if and where to apply to university.

As a recent graduate, I couldn’t believe how vastly my classmates’ preconceptions of university life differed. What differed even more was the amount they were paying to live and study.

A student starting university this October will be having a radically different experience to those of a meagre 10 years ago.

Tuition fees now cost a maximum of £3,225 per year. That’s just to attend lectures.

Add to this books, mandatory field trip charges and stationery, never mind the fairly substantial costs of food, accommodation and drink – University College London recommends £220 a week in living expenses alone.

Put all that together and you could end up with a whopping £44,000 of debt by the end of three years of “work”.

However, this shouldn’t necessarily put anyone off applying to go – a new Ford Focus now costs around £15,000, which makes university seem comparatively inexpensive – and with a little effort anyone can cut the cost of university to something far more acceptable.

It’s always uncomfortable to read any news involving students. They always seem to fall into two types, either so hard working that they start working second jobs to buy ink cartridges or those that create headlines proclaiming “Asbo student’s vodka shame!”

In truth I have never met anyone like either. The majority of students I know – be it from my own or my parents’ generation – are pretty regular individuals looking to combine getting a good education with having a good time.

However, one of the most striking differences for students today and those of yesteryear is their accommodation. There was a time when a crumbling terrace in Selly Oak was the pinnacle of a student’s aspirations whereas these days students will accept nothing less than state-of the-art student halls.

And they don’t come cheap – Birmingham’s very own Victoria Hall will cost you a minimum of £4,300, although that does get you an ensuite room for three terms and despite the maximum student loan outside London is only £5,000, Victoria Hall has sold out for next year.

For those poor parents picking up the bill, the trend towards (significantly more expensive) student halls is set to continue in so far as it becomes a self-fulling prophecy for the students – as more students who take up halls, so fewer students want to risk becoming a social pariah by taking a room in that crumbling Selly Oak bedsit.

But when it comes to saving money this has to be the first area of expenditure to be examined.

You may be taking a social gamble, but living out of halls in your first year can save a few hundred pounds straight off.

Alternatively, try living slightly farther away from the university in your second and third years. A few minutes extra walk won’t stop you getting to the pub, but it will definitely give you more money to spend on beer. A bedroom in a shared house on Pershore Road can be had for as little as