Education is one aspect of life that has seen quite a great population moving from their respective countries of origin to institutions in other countries. Sometimes students go overseas just to enroll in a particular institution. Attributed to its outstanding education system, the UK is a popular destination for international students. Therefore, we articulate monthly expenses and UK living expenses for international students in this article.
The country has quite a number of top-class universities for students from all over the world to choose from. In a system that empowers students for the economic era we are presented with, the UK has grown tremendously because most of these students end up living in the UK rendering their services to the country.
This is just a background of what it means for a student to go and study in the UK, especially from Africa. Now it takes us straight into the cost of living for an international student in our country of interest for the day. The tuition fees for international students (both undergraduate and postgraduate) range from is £10,000 – £30,000 per year for full-time courses. These fees differ by university and in some cases program. The higher range is for top universities and medical degrees. Despite all this, £12000 is the agreeable average cost of tuition fees for an international student per year.
READ: How Much Money Do You Need to live Comfortably, UK?
Full-time programs for postgraduate degrees, will take tuition fees ranging from £10,000 – £13,000 per year. “For laboratory and research-based programs, average annual fees stand at £14,000. For medical degrees, the average figure is £22,200 and it can go up to £58,000.” Now that we have quite elaborate information on the tuition fees, I can help you wrap your head around the aspect of living costs for international students in the UK.
UK Living Expenses For International Students
Again the issue of living comfortably comes to play. It is no rocket science that a student needs to be comfortably sheltered and have all their basic needs available, for them to deliver their best academically. Information in the Table below shows how much a student needs per month to live comfortably in the UK:
Is UK affordable for international students?
Yes, it’s very affordable because some of the top UK Universities have cheap University fees for international students. If you want to study in the UK, you can find something cheap and within your budget. From around £9,200, US$15,120, £12,200, or US$36,120 is needed for covering the living costs alone.
Breakdown cost per month in UK
What is the living cost in the UK for international students? Below is a recommended budget. The average living cost in the UK for international students is now around £15,000 per year. For undergraduate tuition rates for foreign students cost estimated is about £11,000 – £ 35,000 a year if you’re studying for full-time courses.
Living expenses in UK for international students 2022
- Rent £547
- Food £200
- Utility bills: (Electricity, Gas, internet & mobile phone £130
- Laundry £25
- Stationery and text books £40
- Clothing £75
- Transport £90
- TOTAL = £1107
The table above shows us that the average cost of living for students in the UK sits at £1107 per month. For interest sake, you can convert it to your local currency and see how much it is. Another issue that we mentioned before is the issue of currency exchange rates used by banks and financial institutions during conversion to the GBP.
These institutions use rates that leave them with some form of revenue from your money. These costs may even be more depending on your lifestyle, spending habits, and budget. If you look at that breakdown you will realize there were no social and recreational activities accounted for in that budget.
A look at the cost of one movie ticket and dinner at a restaurant, which both cost £9 and £15 respectively shows the figure could be much higher for an outgoing student as compared to the conservative in nature. When applying for a UK visa, the Immigration authority obliges you to work with £1,334 as your monthly budget “or up to a maximum of nine months or £12,006 to study in London.
READ: Cost of Living in UK Per Month
This amount is in addition to the tuition fees. This is the minimum amount you need to show to get a visa to study in London. As we learned earlier, it is more expensive in the heart of London than in other places in the UK. This means when you are studying in other places in the UK the amounts will be lesser.
A global education website reveals, “If you study at colleges outside London, you will require a minimum amount of £1,023 per month or up to a maximum of 9 months or £9207 as requested by UK Visa and Immigration. The average accommodation rents are £150 per week. The UKVI also estimates that in addition to your rent, you will need approximately £104 every week for living costs. This amount will differ according to your lifestyle and will depend on how much you socialize.”
However, those costs did not include health care which is one of the most important needs of every human being. We learned again that the UK has a free healthcare policy for every citizen in the country. Things like dental care and prescription costs can be incurred while receiving healthcare services.
Although you may not need healthcare facilities on a monthly basis, you will definitely need them at some point. This means your budget should include some reserved funds (which are as important as funds for all the other detailed needs) for healthcare services.
