UK Costs

Tuition and Fees

The cost of tuition in the UK will vary depending on a great many number of factors. Things such as the location of the school, the type of course you plan to attend, the length of the course, etc… will all have a bearing on how much it will cost at the end of the day.

To give you a simple guide we have put some numbers together which show you how much it could cost you for ESL courses and then degree programs. Other courses and schools, such as those that offer A-levels and GCSE’s vary so much that we encourage you to contact schools to find this information.

ESL Programs
English as a second language course will generally in the region of £100 to £200 per week – but this can rise up to £1,000 per week if you include things like meals, accommodation, etc… that some schools will arrange for you.

The best advice for ESL schools is to do your research and find a school that is in a good location, offers good student support and have low class numbers. Although London will be an attraction for many students it will be more expensive, so try and look further a field – you will get to see more of the UK if you do this also.

For more information on ESL programs we would recommend a visit to the ESL Directory – which offers a free online database of schools around the world.

Undergraduate Degree
University fees for international students vary in the same way that ESL program fees vary. It is dependent on the course, the location of the university, etc… As a guideline you can expect to pay between £6,000 and £9,000/ year for courses. If your course is specialized, such as a clinical program for doctors, this can be as much as £18,000 per year. You will have to factor in that most university degrees last for 3 years, and 4 year sandwich programs are becoming a lot more popular.

Post-Graduate Degree
As a post-graduate student, the course length will generally be shorter, and class sizes will be much smaller. For this reason, fees will be higher ranging up to £10,000 for a course. If you are taking an MBA program, competition may firstly be fierce, and the cost could be in the region of £10,000 to £16,000 or more per year

Living Costs

As a rough guide we have calculated what it could cost you for the major items you will need when you are in the UK:

1. Food – if you buy your own food, try and budget in about £25 to £30 per week to purchase food supplies. You can of course be smart and savvy about this and save much more.
2. Telephone (landline) – BT has a base rate of £10/ month for just line rental so calls are charged on top of this so that would be £2.50 per week.
3. Telephone (mobile) – the cost of mobiles varies depending on the provider and tariff you are on. Prepaid is generally cheaper to control costs, but if you make a lot of calls a contract will start at £5/ week.
4. DSL/ Internet – most companies charge a base of £5/ week for standard DSL in the UK
5. Bills – if you live in a house or apartment you will need to calculate water, heating and electricity into your budget – this can be anything from £10/week for all bills depending on the time of year.
6. Travel – if you live away from University you will need to include travel expenses in your budget. This can be anything from £10/ week, more if you live in London.
7. Study Materials – books, notepads, paper, printer cartridges are all things you will need and you should budget about £7/ week for this.
8. Fun – it’s not all study when you come to the UK, there will be time for some fun so you need to think about the cost of this. A cinema ticket in the UK costs around £8, a pint of beer £3, a DVD rental around £3. These are all costs you will need to budget so set aside what you’ll need for fun!

Sample University Living Costs
UK universities generally provide guidance as to how much an international student should expect to spend on living expenses (not including university tuition and college fees). Of course, making a budget and controlling your costs is largely up to you, but here is a short representative list to give you a general idea of living expenses:

• University of Liverpool – £5,500 to £7,000 per year
• Essex University – £5,700 to £7,500 per year
• University of Manchester – £8,100 per year
• Oxford University – £9,750 per year
• University of London – approximately £210 per week

How to Budget?

List your expenses
The things you need to think about are:

Explore UK:

• List of Universities in UK
• Colleges in London and rest of UK
• UK University Rankings
• UKBA’s Register of Sponsors
• Costs to study and live in UK
• UK Student Visa Procedure
• UK Student Visa Form
• Post Study Student Worker