Most prospective students have concerns about money. Coming to the UK may be your first experience of living away from home, and, naturally, you will be wondering how you will manage. Be reassured: most students do manage, albeit on a tight budget. At Birmingham, the cost of living is very reasonable. We understand your financial concerns, and do our best to help you maximise your income.
It's important you have a clear idea of the likely overall cost of studying in the UK; not only tuition fees, but all the everyday expenses you will have. Prices for accommodation and daily shopping vary between different regions of the UK.
Living costs for overseas students in the United Kingdom depend very much on each individual's needs and expectations. However, as a guide for students we can offer an estimate of costs for the academic year.
It is anticipated that an international student will need between £4,500 and £6,500 per year based on a student spending 52 weeks a year in the UK. (this amount is for living expenses only it does not include your fees). The amount will vary depending on your but will allow you to have a reasonable standard of living and not have any financial worries.
As a rough guide to costs, a `typical' student's basic weekly expenditure is shown below. No costs have been included for social life as these vary dramatically from student to student!
If you live in halls of residence or as a paying guest then you do not need to include any money for heating or water in your budget; this is included in your rent.
- Rent : £40-65.
- Food & Toiletries : £35.
- Books & Stationery : £5.
- Travel : £5.
- Heating : £8.
- Laundry : £3.
- Telephone : £2.
- Water rate : £1.
- Insurance : £1.
- TV Licence : £2.
Usually the College arranges an accommodation near the College premise for international students, if requested. The accommodation can be arranged in a hostel or private sharing rooms with other students or as a paying guest with a local family. The weekly rent for this type of accommodation may range from £65 to £100. Some accommodations have a heating system and furnished rooms for £65 per week or more and may include a weekly charge for cleaning, change of bed linen, lighting, heating, water heating and breakfast for a single room.
Many students prefer to stay in single or shared rooms in private flats in Birmingham, having a provision of self-catering thus having kitchen facilities. The weekly rent for this type of accommodations may range from £30- £50 per week.
Overseas students arriving in UK should inform Admission Officer of the College of their problem if any, at least a month prior to their arrival. The International Admission Form must accompany a letter stating the type of accommodation required in Birmingham (hostel, flat, single, shared etc.) with a consent to pay the security and rent of one month, in advance, upon arrival in UK amounting to, at least, A£400. Any extra money is refundable to the student after payment of the appropriate rent and security for the accommodation.
If you are catering for yourself you will probably need to budget for between £25.00 - £30.00 per week. There is no need to be concerned that you will miss the specialities of your home country - markets, specialist shops and the larger supermarkets now stock a wide range of authentic ingredients from around the world. Other international students will advise you where to find your favourite products!
You will find that local shops are often more expensive than the larger supermarkets. Vegetarianism and veganism are common in Britain and you should have no difficulty catering for your dietary requirements. Organically grown produce is becoming increasingly popular and is now stocked by most supermarkets, but tends to be more expensive than mass produced products.
Telecommunications
Most students in the UK now own a mobile phone. Mobiles are a great way of keeping in touch with family in your home country or your new friends in the UK. There are several different ways of budgeting for your mobile and you will need to work out which method suits you best:
If you are not very good at budgeting this may be a good idea for you as you can not run up a large telephone bill. You buy your telephone handset and then buy credit vouchers to make calls. You do not pay any line rental and are not tied into any contract. When the telephone runs out of credit it is not possible to make any more calls. Vouchers are available in many shops and vary from £5 to £50.
Under this system you make a monthly payment for the calls that you have made. There are huge variety of offers under this system, some companies will offer you a free handset or free on peak or off peak minutes. Normally you will pay a monthly line rental charge and will be given some free talk time. You will need to pay for any additional calls that you make.
If you use this system you pay for a handset and a year of line rental at the start of the contract. The contract is generally for 12 months. The package will usually include some free minutes of talk time every month but you may need to pay additional calls that you make.
If you already own a mobile that you use in your home country it may be possible to bring it with you to the UK and then join one of the UK networks. You can purchase a SIM card and fit it into your own phone and register it. If you use this system you do not need to pay any monthly rental. The price of the SIM card will include some talk time and you buy more credit when this runs out.
Whichever method you choose remember the following:
- Check that the phone you are buying can make calls overseas.
- Check the call charges and compare with other networks before you sign a contract.
- Check which network your friends use. Calls from mobile to mobile on the same network are cheaper.
- Try to make calls during off peak hours, usually from 19.00 - 07.00 the following day, although this may vary form network to network. Calls are much cheaper off peak.
- If you are using a pay ahead or pay monthly system try to keep track of the calls that you have made this way you should avoid a nasty surprise when you get your bill.
- Text messages are often cheaper than calls and can be effective if you want to send a short message to a friend who has a mobile phone on another network.
If you do not want to buy a mobile phone you can buy a pre-paid phone card. Many different companies offer these cards which are available in different sums such as £5.00, £10.00 or £20.00. They are sold in many shops around campus and the city.
The cards buy you credit and can be used on almost any touch tone telephone to call within the UK or overseas. You just need to dial an access number and enter an account number and then you can make your phone call as normal. You will be told your credit balance and it is not possible to run up debts on your card. When your credit runs out you just buy a new card.
Because cards are pre-paid, call time is bought in bulk from the telecom companies and savings are passed to the customer - these can be up to 80% on some international calls. Some public payphones will charge a small surcharge if use their facilities.
Companies specialise in offering reduced rates to different regions of the world and prices change regularly. Students from your home country or region of the world will be able to offer the good advice about which card will be best value.
Most cinemas and theatres will offer reduced prices for students - Average prices are shown below:
- Cinema £4.00.
- Theatre - Local £7.00 - £15.00.
- Theatre - London from £13.00.
- Concert £8.00 - £20.00.
- Club From £4.00.
- Coffee £1.00.
- Soft drink £1.00.
- 1 pint beer £2.75.
- Glass of wine £2.50.
- 20 Cigarettes £5.00.
Eating out and meeting for a drink are all popular socialising activities. Because of our multi-cultural society we have a huge variety of restaurants offering different food from around the world. Prices for a main course in a restaurant vary from about £5.00 upwards, a MacDonalds set meal including a drink is currently around £3.00.
The UK is also famous for its `pubs', which serve alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. In the last few years there has also been an increase in cafAc bars that serve food as well as drinks. A rough guide to prices is shown above.
If you have come from a very different climate it may be cheaper to buy your clothes once you arrive in the UK. But do remember it will be autumn and you will probably need a warm jacket, shirts, jumpers and of course an umbrella!
Most students dress in casual clothes such as tracksuits, jeans, jumpers and trainers. There is no particular dress code in the UK, it is very much up to the individual. Dress to be as warm and comfortable as possible. A large selection of ready-to-wear clothes are available in chain stores in every town and are generally good quality and of a reasonable price.
Price ranges for clothes Women / Men:
- Blouse/shirt £20-£40 £15-£40.
- T- Shirt £10-£25 £10-£25.
- Jeans £20-£55 £20-£60.
- Sweater £30-£50 £30-£50.
- Trousers £25-£50 £30-£60.
- Shoes £25-£50 £30-£60.
- Winter coat £90-£150 £70-£150.
- Winter jacket £60-£100 £60-£80.
It is an unfortunate fact of life that many students at one time or other experience a theft of some sort. It is important, therefore, that students insure all their valuables like computers, cameras, bicycles and music systems which are expensive to replace.
The majority of international students in the UK experience a healthy and illness free lifestyle throughout their studies. However it is advisable to register with the local medical practices in your area. It is important to look after yourself by making sure that you get plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, which will be readily available to you in the UK at stores, street markets and supermarkets. If you are from a warmer climate then you may feel chilled at times and it is vitally important that you wear adequate, layered warm clothing and that you continue with any sporting activities or exercise you were involved in back home.
Health care for all students in the UK is free of charge, you will not have any bills to settle for any medical services you receive whilst you are student in the UK, other than paying for prescription medicines. This ruling does not apply to students who arrive in the UK with a pre-diagnosed illness.
You will be given the opportunity to register with a local surgery when you enrol at the start of the semester. There are arrangements on both campuses to make appointments with a doctor, or to drop in on a more informal basis. Procedures for obtaining medication in the UK are straightforward and will be explained to you when you register with your local doctor.
Should you require dental treatment then staff at the College can put you in touch with a practice in your area that accepts National Health Service patients, which means you will pay a reduced price.
If you need an eye test or have to renew your glasses then city has a wide range of opticians from which to select.
It is important that if you have any health problems at all that you talk to someone about them, This could be someone from your programme of study or from our student services department who will be able to advise you on the most appropriate course of action.
At the city centre, a range of banks in the main street and it is up to you which one you decide to bank with, there are very few differences between them.
The main banks in the UK are HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, National Westminster, Halifax and Abbey National. Student services will be happy to give you advice on the various services the banks have to offer. All banks offer free services to students in the UK. You should ask your bank at home about the arrangements for transferring money to the UK.
It is not possible to open a bank account before you come to the UK, so you must make sure that you bring enough currency with you to get you from the airport to the Institute and to see you through the first day or two. Travellers' cheques are the safest form of travelling with money and we recommend that you bring around £200.00 when you arrive.
If you have an internationally recognised credit card such as Visa, American Express or Mastercard, then this will be very useful. Credit cards can often be used in public telephones for making long distance calls and you can get 24-hour cash withdrawals in almost any high street in the UK.
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