University can offer so much: the chance to escape home, live independently, meet new people, study a subject that interests you and improve your employment prospects in the future. With the advent of variable tuition fees in 2006 and the rising costs of living, students need to have a good grasp of their finances before and during their courses. You also need to be sure that university will be a good investment for you.

Student debt has recently broken the £3 billion barrier, and forecasts show that students graduating in 2010 will have accrued £30,000 of debt. University is now a major financial decision for young people and therefore requires a lot of consideration and planning. Here we have a handy concise guide to the costs of university (eek!). Check out 'funding your degree' for info on what’s available in the form of grants and bursaries. 

You should obtain as much info as possible to ensure you’re choosing the right place for you. There are many books written on subjects such as choosing your uni and dealing with student finances. Also, many of the major newspapers have in depth guides when it comes to UCAS application time. Helpful books include the Virgin Guide to University, The Push Guides to University and Student Money, and The Guardian University Guide 2007 (check out the f:mall for online bookstores and net yourself some f:rewards on your purchases!).

where does it all go?

NUS have issued some helpful guidelines that show average student expenditure by category. The guidelines also illustrate the expenditure gap between students studying in London and those studying elsewhere in the UK. However, you are probably aware that tuition fees are now variable and set by the individual uni, so the £1,175 figure shown in the guidelines is now more likely to be nearer to £3,000. Remember also that this is an average – if your lifestyle revolves around a luxurious flat with Sky HD, regular meals out, cocktails aplenty and expensive store cards then these guidelines will probably be totally irrelevant to you!

Remember that a student loan isn’t free money and that you will start accruing interest from the day the loan hits your bank account. The salary threshold to trigger repayments is only £15,000 and when you’ve got other outgoings like income tax, council tax and credit card repayments, you might start to feel the pinch!

Click on 'sites to check out' for the link to NUS guidelines on Student Expenditure. There are also sites that allow you to calculate that all-important budget (don't worry, more info on budgeting coming up in cost-cutting!). 

course costs

• Tuition Fees

UK universities (excluding Scotland) can now set their own annual tuition fees at up to £3,070 a year. You will find that the vast majority of the prestigious universities have plumped for the maximum £3,070 a year tuition fees for all their courses as competition is still fierce for places, but they may also have some of the most generous scholarships and bursaries in order to attract students from less affluent backgrounds.

There are some universities that have decided not to charge the full £3,070. For example, Leeds Metropolitan University has set its fees at £2,000 for undergraduate degrees, whilst University of Greenwich is charging £2,560 for each of its undergraduate degrees for 2007/08. Each university will publish their own fee information. Some of the universities charging lower tuition fees will promote their competitive fees to offset their less generous bursary schemes – only you can decide which method suits you best.

Non-Scottish UK students applying to a Scottish university will also benefit from reduced tuition fees. You won’t be quite as well off as your Scottish friends, but you will only be charged a fixed fee of £1,735 for standard undergraduate courses or around £2,700 for medical courses per year. You can spend the rest on plenty of warm jumpers or drams of whisky. By avoiding tuition fees in their own country, Scottish students have to pay a graduate endowment, which is a one off payment on April 1 following graduation (could there be a worse April fool!). However, there are plans in the pipeline to scrap endowments meaning that Scottish students will soon have access to a free higher education if they study in Scotland.

Welsh students at Welsh Universities will only have to pay up to £1,200 a year regardless of parental income as their nice assembly will pay the rest!

Go to www.ucas.com/studentfinance to search for courses that interest you and to find out more on each university's approach to financial assistance.

• Books/Equipment

Buying some books and equipment is unavoidable, and the NUS estimates that expenditure in London in 2005/6 was £325/year, while outside London expenditure was £136/year. Your first year reading list will probably advise you to purchase all the books on the list, which may total £200 - £300. However, most university libraries have access to a fantastic range of books and journals and it’s likely that all the books on your list will be housed there. Also, there may be people on your course that live in the same halls as you, which makes it really easy to share course books.

• Travel

No we don’t mean the cost of a Virgin Atlantic flight to New York! Think about the distance between your halls of residence and campus – will you need to take public transport? How far away are the bars for a night out (and how much will the taxi back cost)? How often are you planning to visit your folks back home and what’s the cost of the train fare? Travel is definitely something to think about before choosing your uni as it can be very expensive, particularly if your uni is very campus-based and the nearest shopping centre or bars are miles away!

NUS estimates that travel costs in 2005/06 were £641 in London (even with an Oyster) and £452 in the rest of the country. Some banks offer a free 5 year Young Persons Railcard, which is worth snapping up as it’s normally worth £100! Full time students in London can get a 30% discount on Oyster travel cards longer than 7 days (see www.tfl.gov.uk ). In other cities, most bus networks offer similar discounts. Going green by walking or getting on a bike is another great way to stay fit and reduce those travel costs!

living costs

Living costs including rent, bills, food, insurance, clothes and leisure came to a whopping £8,338/year in London and £7,033/year outside of London. Obviously, everyone needs a roof over their heads, food and clothes from time to time (or else you may be refused entry to your lectures!). However, there are thrifty ways to save your pennies in most areas of your life and we dissect each area on our costcutting page!

remember ...

For more great ways to save on all the above and other expenditure (except tuition fees, which we can’t really do much about unfortunately) see the costcutting page.