Living costs

Before you hit the South Bank, visit the London Dungeon or start eating out in swanky restaurants, remember that your student funding has got to last you all year. You don’t want to run out of funds and be living off baked beans for the last few months of your course. Here’s an outline of your average student spending – essentials only. And that doesn’t include what you spend on clothes, music and socialising! You'll need about £800 a month, as a minimum.

Rent

Most students spend around £100 - £200 a week on accommodation. Whatever you do, make sure you’ve got this essential expense covered – the stress and worry of finding your rent payments each month is a problem you can seriously do without.

If you've got a place in one of our halls of residence, remember that you'll have to pay an advance deposit. The fees for halls include council tax and utility bills (heating, hot water etc.), but not telephone calls. Halls are self-catered and rent prices for each are different.

Have a look at our accommodation pages for information on rent prices and payment procedures.

If you'll be looking for private rented accommodation, bear in mind that rent prices vary depending on the area of London, the type of accommodation and the number of people sharing. Accommodation in central London can be hard to find - and is usually expensive. Most students travel in to our central London campuses from London Transport Travel Zones 2 and 3.

Most rent prices don't include bills like gas, electricity, phone and broadband. If you're going to be a full-time student, you won't have to pay council tax, but you will have to provide your local council with a Council Tax Exemption Certificate, which confirms you're a full-time student.

You'll usually need to pay one month's deposit and one month's advance rent - make sure you have enough money to cover this (we recommend that you set aside about £1,500 for this).

Food

If your food isn’t part of your Halls of Residence deal, this will probably be one of your biggest expenses. Club together with your flatmates and do a big weekly shop at a local market and you can expect to eat and drink very well indeed for under £30 a week.

Travel

Very few students can afford to live in Zone 1, so it’s more than likely you will have to pay up for travel costs. Make sure you enquire about the TFL Student Oyster card, and cycle and use the bus wherever possible – a single journey costs from just £1.30. Around £10 - £15 is a safe estimate for your weekly travel costs.

Course essentials

You’ll need to put aside an amount for books, photocopying and stationery. Make good use of the library and research the option of buying books second hand and you can help to keep the costs down. The average student will spend about £10 a week on course essentials.

Telephone

Whether it’s an old-school Nokia or the latest smartphone, your mobile is one essential students cannot do without. Make sure you do your research before you choose your pay-as-you-go deal or 18-/24-month contract - there are plenty of good price comparison websites, including moneysavingexpert.com and cable.co.uk Get the best tariff for the way you prefer to communicate and try not to spend more than £10 a week.

Laptop

A new laptop can cost anything up to £1,000. Lots of companies do student discounts, so be sure to ask.

Laundry

You’ll need cash for washing your clothes every week, unless you’re in private rented accommodation with the luxury of a washing machine. Expect to pay around £5 per week.

Clothing

How long’s a piece of string? The minimum most students spend each week is £10, but that really depends on the individual.

Going out

The student experience is as much about the social life as it is about learning. Plan how much spare cash you’ve got to socialise very carefully and try not to go wild in the first few weeks. It can cost as little as £10 a week to over £100, depending on your tastes and cash flow. Work out what you want to do and how you can keep the cost manageable – this is a serious lifestyle decision. There are plenty of student discounts in London – take advantage of them.