Students confused mum

CLAPTON

Make sure she keeps her Nationwide account though. Although they dont offer student type benefits they do have the best debit and credit cards for travelling abroad with no foreign exchange fees (unlike most banks that charge 2-3% per use of a card abroad).

Does she actually have her formal UCAS offer.. if not why not wait until thursday when she will receive it and the banks are really into the student a/cs.

Also I've forgotten now has she actually got copies of her credit files ... just in case something is on there by mistake... they only cost £2 per agency for the statutory copy.

http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/index.html

https://www.econsumer.equifax.co.uk/consumer/uk/sitepage.ehtml?forward=gb_elearning_credit14

http://www.callcredit.plc.uk/corporate_scripts/consumer_creditreport.asp

C_Ronaldo

Try any local supermarkets, high street shops eg boots, wh smiths, hmv,

Broke_Student

DrFluffy wrote: »

6k does sound a lot. I'm at a London uni, and out most expensive accommodation (massive rooms, ensuite bathroom [not just shower/wet room, but own bath!]) is £4,300 pa for a standard length course (non-catered)... And that accomm is only a few years old... Cheapest is £2,700 (shared bathroom).

Ditto!

Lavendyr

kari59 wrote: »

First of all the Uni is Kingston. A room in Halls is £97 per week.

That's really quite expensive, a year ago my halls in Cambridge were only around £60-£65 per week - are they catered halls, or en-suite? She could go without either of those if there are cheaper halls available that are communal toilets/self-catering.

RoxsiScotland

halls are the biggest rip off ever. get your children to find a flat share nearby, works out tons cheaper and they wont be stuck in a pokey little room!

pixiedust_2

Are halls the only option? BCUC run a scheme called Head Tenancy, where they control rental of private accomodation - all the properties have to hit set standards, and rent is still paid termly to the university, rather than having to deal with private landlords. Only drawback is that you have to find your own group to house share with. Might be worth seeing if the uni have any other options available tho, cos £97 is horribly expensive!

kari59

I'm getting less confused thanks to you all.
Her room is ensuite but this doesn't make that much difference to cost. They are not catered halls though.
Not able to share with friends as the uni is 200 miles from where we live, although that will change once she's settled and made new friends.

Karnam

6k for a halls room?!

i must have my info wrong cause that is a total ripoff.

my halls, University of London, Hughes parry halls which were catered and were in Bloomsbury (the heart of london, 20 mins walk for 4 major universities, 10 mins to oxford street, largest concentration of student population in the UK) were just over 5k for the whole year.

candygirl

Can she not share a house with other students , that's a lot cheaper than renting from the university which is a total rip off.My daughter paid £55 a week 2 years ago in a shared house, she also worked her butt off and came home for meals a lot,as she went to out local uni.It is much cheaper to study up North too:p

Lavendyr

Actually, if it's en-suite, £97 per week is not so surprising. Still nowhere near £6k a year in my reckoning though - how long are her terms? Normal uni term = ~10 weeks. 10x £97 x 3 = £2910. How are you getting to £6k?

She really doesn't need an en-suite, in fact I personally think it's better experience for future house-sharing not to have one...it's a real luxury for a student to have his/her own bathroom!