Budgetary factors 'need to be taken into consideration' by students
While the primary consideration when choosing which university to go to should always be the standard of education, students are placing increasing importance on cost when making their final choices.
Many students will be moving away from home for the first time this September, and as such will have to take greater care with their money.
One of the main budgetary concerns is rent, and Lucy Payne, HSBC's Youth Manager, has therefore suggested that students consider the impact of rent on their budgets before choosing which university to go to as outlay can vary depending on location.
"When I was studying we all wanted to get as far away from our parents as possible, but these days the increasing cost of rent, food and transport mean you really have to think about your income and expenditure if you don't want to struggle for three or four years," she explained.
"A student's biggest regular expense is rent and, with the escalating cost of property and rent, you could be paying upwards of £100 a week for a room in a shared house, depending on where you live. Ask yourself whether your student loan and a part time job are going to cover that and leave you enough to enjoy your student life."
The most expensive student centre to rent in is London, followed Plymouth, Birmingham, Nottingham and Leeds.
July 11th 2008