Many respondents have made clearer the expenses of daily life in London. Although I don’t know in what capacity or reason the subject may have gone to the UK, whether to go to work, study abroad, or short-term travel. From the perspective of studying abroad, I will talk about tuition and fees plus living expenses in London, the approximate cost of a year, and I hope it will be helpful to every student out there.
How much does it cost to go to university UK? Is the cost of studying in UK for international students high? You’re surely going to know that shortly.
Below We will discuss in detail how much money one will spend in London for one year from the possible costs listed below before moving and after moving abroad for studies.
How much does university cost in the UK? Let’s get straight into it, shall we…
Table of Contents
Cost of Studying in the UK for International Students
1. Before Moving Abroad Costs
After receiving the offer to study in the UK, you must start to submit some visa materials, you’d have to choose your favorite university from the offer, get your residence arranged in advance, and start a series of trivial preparations. Visas for studying in the UK generally require students to apply for Tier 4 student visas.
The materials to prepare are not too complicated. As long as you have the admission notice and confirmation letter provided by the British school, you can be eligible for a British student visa. Some of the following materials mainly include:
- Passport
- Tuberculosis Physical Examination
- Application Form
- Proof of Deposit
- Passport Photograph
- IELTS Score.
1.1 Visa Fees
There are three options for the UK visa cycle:
The shorter the cycle, the more expensive the fee.
- The processing time for the visa center is about 15 working days. In case of peak season, the processing time may be extended to 1-3 months. The application fee is approximately £348.
- The service time for a British Express visa is 3-5 working days, and an extra £215 rush fee is required.
- The super priority visa service time is within 24 hours after submitting the application, and an extra £971 expedited fee is required.
It’s important to note that there could be a slight or notable difference in the time range and fees provided above in your own country of residence.
Students who do not have a passport need to apply for a passport first.
1.2 Tuberculosis Examination
The Visa Section of the British Embassy requires international students who apply for a visa of more than 6 months to provide a tuberculosis test report when submitting their visa. The cost of a chest X-ray is £60, which does not include the cost of tuberculosis treatment. (It should be noted that this tuberculosis test must be done at the designated hospital issued by the British Embassy, otherwise, it will be invalid)
1.3 Certificate of Deposit
The bank deposit for a T4 student’s UK student visa needs to exceed the sum of course fees and at least nine months of living expenses. According to the requirements of the British Immigration Service, the cost of living in London is approximately £1,265 for one month and approximately £11,385 for nine months. The cost of living in the outer London area is about £1,015 for one month, and about £9,135 for nine months (this standard of living costs may increase year by year, for the sake of safety, you can add about £5,000 to this basis).
The specific tuition can be found on the offer or CAS letter sent by the school. Therefore, the amount each person needs to deposit depends on the tuition.
The money must be deposited regularly for at least 28 days before issuing a deposit certificate. The second is to ensure that the visa materials are submitted within 31 days after the deposit certificate is issued. Although according to the embassy, the deposit certificate is now spot-checked, the deposit must meet the historical requirements before the contract is signed.
It is not recommended that you take the risk. If you have provided an unqualified security deposit, if you are drawn, the result will be the refusal of the visa. After the refusal, the difficulty of applying for a visa greatly increased.
1.4 Tuition Deposit
In order to ensure that students have chosen this university, the school will charge part of the tuition in advance as a deposit. Most colleges and universities require students to pay deposits between £1000 and £2000.
1.5 Accommodation Deposit
In addition to tuition, there is another deposit required to book dormitories. British universities have limited accommodation places. There are too many monks and porridges, and the demand exceeds the demand. You must apply in advance.
After you receive the offer from the dormitory, you will be eligible for your place, and you will have to pay a deposit to keep your place. University accommodation deposits are generally £150-£500. If you want to find housing outside the university dormitory, there will be student dormitories or rental agencies outside the campus.
This deposit amount must be paid according to the other party’s request. Remind students who have no experience abroad, here must find a reliable institution or homeowner, confirm the details, whether it includes utility bills, and deposit refund standards, otherwise, there will be a lot of trouble.
1.6 NHS Medical Insurance
As long as they are applying to stay in the UK for six months or more, overseas applicants from outside the European Economic Area need to pay this fee when applying for a visa. In this way, medical treatment in the UK is free in the future.
When you arrive in the UK, you can register with a nearby GP with a student letter and you can make an appointment to see a doctor in the future.
In addition, after seeing a doctor, you can purchase medicines at BOOTS, large supermarkets, pharmacies, etc. with the prescription issued by the doctor. Adults need to pay for the medicines. The NHS fee is 300 pounds per year.
1.7 Outbound Ticket
Airfare is relatively tight during the peak period of studying abroad, and the price will be much more expensive than usual. Usually, a one-way ticket is more than 550-880 pounds, and a direct flight will be more expensive.
2. After Moving Abroad Costs
2.1 Tuition
Regarding tuition fees, depending on the school, it is generally between £10,000-£30,000 , and the average price between majors will vary. On average, the average annual tuition for overseas students in the UK is around £15,000; the average annual tuition for masters is around £16,000. MBA is more expensive.
2.2 Accommodation Fees
Accommodation costs in the United Kingdom, especially London, are another large amount of expense, and renting a house is even higher than in domestic first-tier cities.
Whether it is a student apartment or renting a house on your own, renting an apartment in central London costs an average of £800-£1,000 per month, and a little further away from the city center is about £600-£800 per month.
Although the cost of renting a house by yourself will be lower than that of a student apartment, the biggest advantage of a student apartment is its convenience and peace of mind. Many students choose to live in a student apartment in the first year of coming to the UK and understand the British environment.
In the second year, they will consider renting a house outside or sharing a room with a close friend, which can save a lot of money.
2.3 Living Expenses
The content covered by the living expenses is more trivial, such as clothing, food, transportation, and so on.
Among them, the cost of catering depends on the individual, usually cooking more by yourself or going out to eat more. If you cook at home every day, the cost of food can be stabilized at ￡250-￡300 a month; if you don’t cook by yourself, and if you go to a restaurant or order takeout, then the minimum is ￡600 per month. And this is a conservative estimate based on the minimum standard of £10 per meal.
After most of the international students came to the UK, their cooking skills improved a lot. They usually cook by themselves. On weekends, everyone eats in Chinese restaurants or dines by themselves to satisfy the Chinese stomach.
Transportation is another big expense. First, to get to London, you need to get an oyster card -a London bus card. Because public transportation in London does not accept cash, you can only use oyster cards or contactless bank cards.
As a student, it is recommended that you apply for the Oyster Student Card and Young Person Card, also called 16-25 Railcard. There will be student transportation benefits, which is not troublesome and very suitable.
Then there are mobile phone expenses, daily necessities, entertainment expenses, shopping, etc. The average monthly living expenses (excluding accommodation expenses) in the London area are generally around £500-£1,000.
The interval is slightly larger because everyone has different lifestyles and different geographical locations. If you visit more, you will have more spare time and the cost will naturally be much higher.
2.4 Project Cost
There will be some expenses for doing projects in schools. This depends on the needs of the project. There are some schools that cover a wide range of resources.
The expenses are relatively small, but at least £500 should be set aside for project expenses each semester.
We’ve talked about the costs for both before moving and after moving abroad. There are additional expenses we ought to talk about, let’s look at them below.
- You can check out the Lowest Tuition Universities in Canada.
3. Flexible Additional Cost of Studying in the UK for International Students
3.1 Round-Trip Ticket Fee
Some students in the United Kingdom will have two months of vacation, and some students will choose to return to their home country for about 440-880 pounds.
3.2 Tickets to the Exhibition
As a cultural exchange hub, London will have many art exhibitions, and the average ticket price is between £10-£25. In addition, a more cost-effective way is to choose an annual card. Different institutions have different annual card fees, about £30-£80 per year, and different access rights or discounts. But for students who often watch the exhibition, it is very suitable to pay back after seeing it a few times.
3.3 Entertainment Fees
The entertainment expenses here roughly refer to recreational activities:
- Dinner………………………£25-£50/time
- Bar………………………£10-£40/time
- Attractions…………………………£10-£30/time
- Cinema Ticket………………………….£10/$14.
- Traveling abroad……………………at least £1,200
3.4 Shopping
There are often big discounts in the UK, such as Black Friday and Christmas discounts, which is a good time to pull weeds.
Other average living costs in the UK:
- Weekly food shop – About £30/$42,
- A meal in a pub or restaurant – About £12/$17.
Depending on your course, you’ll likely spend at least; - £30 a month on books and other course materials
- Mobile phone bill – At least £15/$22 a month.
- Gym membership costs roughly £32/$45 a month.
- A typical night out (outside of London) – About £30/$42 in total.
In terms of entertainment, if you want to watch TV in your room, - you need a TV license – £147 (~US$107) per year.
Depending on your spending habits, you might spend - £35-55 (US$49-77) or so on clothing each month.
Get to know how one can make money in UK as an international Student. When you talk about expenses, it’s also important to talk about income you know.
Conclusion
In general, the expenditure for studying abroad in the London area of the United Kingdom is about 38,500 pounds a year. If you choose part-time work and study and work in your free time, the annual expenditure can be controlled at about 33,000 pounds.
With this article on the cost of studying in the UK for international students, every scholar out there should have an idea of the expenses involved with studying in the UK and would further guide you in money-making decisions as you study in the United Kingdom.
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Feel free to share your financial experiences with us while you study in the UK using the comment section below. Thank you and have a smooth study abroad experience.