Gallery

The cost in detail

So where does all the money go, and where can they make savings? Here’s a quick rundown.

Accomodationaccommo

There are three main options here – live at home, stay in university accommodation, or rent a private flat. All are good for different reasons.

1. Live at home
The cheapest option. Your child might need to fork out a bit more on travel expenses but you may get help with these from SAAS. See section 3.

Yearly Cost: £0
2. University Accommodation

What’s available and what it costs can vary a lot. Either way, bills and even food can be included in the rent, making a saving and making life a bit simpler. Some accommodation closes during the holidays.

Price Range : Self Catered, Shared Bathroom: £2150. OR, En-suite, meals provided: around £6000.
Yearly Cost: £2150 – 6000+

3. Private Flat
Again it varies by where they are and how nice it is. We’ve looked at the average cost of student flats over a year. It is possible to get shorter leases and bring the cost down a bit. These prices don’t include bills, the initial deposit, or food.

Price Range: St Andrews: £5061, Dundee: £2866, Edinburgh: £4690
Yearly Cost: £2866 – 5000+

Household Billspig

If your child chooses not to live at home, you’ll need to factor in the cost of bills if these aren’t included in their accommodation fees. Students can get caught out by these, especially if they don’t come out monthly

Council tax
This is free as long as the council knows that the occupiers are students.
Yearly Cost: £0

Gas & Electricity
If your child stays in university accommodation, this might be included in the rent. If they’re sharing a private flat a rough guide is £50/month. However, a few big jumpers can go a long way to bringing that down!
Yearly Cost: £0 – 2600

Internet, Phone, Mobile
University accommodation usually includes an internet connection in the price. Otherwise, roughly £10 a month. In either case, you also need to factor in mobile phone bills of £10 - £30 / month.
Yearly Cost: £120 – 480

TV License
If your child brings a TV, or watches live TV online, they’ll need a license. However, if they only watch TV online after the show has aired, they will not.
Yearly Cost: £107 – 142.50

The Bare Necessitiesbare necessities

Students spend money on food, clothes, essentials and socialising. Sadly not always in that order! If they’re sensible, these costs can be kept down.

Food
If they’re staying in catered accommodation, they will probably still need to budget for lunch or for food on the weekends. For those students who self cater, it really varies. Some get by on as little as £10 a week, while the average is around £30.
Roughly £1000

Socialising
This is where a lot of people can overspend and it’s a good idea to stick to a budget. The UK average is £28 a week but there’s no reason they can’t have a good time on less. If they’re under 18, the costs should be even less.
Roughly £1000

Travel Costs
If they stay near where they study, these won’t come to very much. Otherwise it’ll be the price of a yearly student bus or train pass. SAAS can provide specific money for these costs.
Between £50 - 250

Other Essentials
The other main costs are clothes, books & stationary. Course books can usually be found in the library or at book sales, and cheap clothes and stationary are always an option (though they might not agree at first!).
Between £100 - £300