UK Schools Cutting Loan Totals to Cut Costs reports Payday Ninja

(EstateNewsWire.com, December 08, 2012 ) Manchester, U.K -- In the United Kingdom, students stranded with a shortfall of £8,566 per year, according the the National Union of Students (NUS).

The estimates come from first-year student's expenses accumulated of a 39-233k academic year. From the report, an average £1,956 is spent on food alone. Over £2,000 is allocated to personal items like mobile phone bills. £1,310 is utilized for leisure spending, which includes alcohol and cigarettes. The average price of rent, excluding the central London area, is calculated at £4,834 per year.

Maintenance loans available at £3,575 for all eligible full-time students who started in September 2012, which does not cover the total cost of accommodations. Of the loans provided, 35% are provided directly by the government under income-assessed loans. The maximum amount for students can rise as high as £5,500. Students with an income of £25,000 or less are considered eligible for additional grants of £3,250. That number does not demand repayment. The gap of £8,500, noted by the NUS, is based on students receiving loans of £4,335 and a grand near £1,000. The NUS calculated that a student will be required to work 34 hours, every week of the year, in order to earn the difference after taxes are considered.

According to recent surveys, the average costs for student accommodations have doubled over the last decade. The cost in 2002 was £59.17 per week. That number has jumped to £117.67 in 2012. A cambridge student will be expected to pay £80 and £110 per week for a single room, and between £90-130 for a suite. Those costs do not include extra costs at colleges that demand payment for heating, lighting, and a Kitchen Fixed Charge.

Pia Salter, who is a first year classicist at Newham stated, “Even though you are paying the same rate every year and the rooms do vary a lot, the way the Newnham room ballot works enables a balance in the standard of accommodation. On the other hand, it is an expensive rate, and you don’t have the option to pick a cheaper room. [The kitchen fixed charge] does seem an extravagant amount.” Salter, who is an international student, does not receive a tuition fee or maintenance loan: “I have to rely on my parents for financial support and that can be hard. It’s hard to balance finances, and it requires a lot of budgeting that a busy student perhaps doesn’t have the time to really evaluate and consider.”

Students are not permitted to work part-time during the school term, thus additional financial assistance is required atop maintenance loans. Those funds must come from the parents, overdrafts, or bursary schemes.

Lyam Todd, a sophomore philosophy student at Christ's, said of his situation: “My loan definitely would not cover my accommodation and living costs. I think my loan is about £2100 per term and my college bill is about £1700. Luckily I get the full Newton Bursary, as well as a college bursary, and that’s why I feel secure enough with money. The funds that the University lays on for students are so extremely helpful and vital to many students here, myself included.”

Cambridge has implemented a Bursary Scheme that administers the Isaac Newton Trust, offering annual bursaries up to £3,500 for each eligible student who begins course in 2012. The assistance to students who have income below £42,600.

Cambridge University Students' Union organized a day of protest in March of this year. The protest was in reaction to the proposal to offer a reduction of £3,000 on fees for students with income below the required £25,000.

The University caved to the pressure and announced the scheme would continue to offer the grants up to £3,5000. Certain students with what is considered disadvantaged backgrounds received fee waivers of £6,000 in their first year through a national program.

A spokesperson for the University said: “The University of Cambridge is committed to the principle that no UK student should be deterred from applying to the University because of financial concerns. We offer an unlimited number of bursaries to students from lower income households to ensure that students can meet the cost of their Cambridge education, regardless of background.

“Cambridge itself is a relatively inexpensive place in which to study and has consistently been ranked in the top 10 of NatWest’s Student Living Index of the UK’s most cost-effective university cities. As most students stay in college accommodation for the duration of their studies, they do not need to pay commercial rents, large deposits or additional utility bills, as college rents are all-inclusive.

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