Navigating student finances: Which UK universities are the most expensive?

Student finances can be complicated when you’re new to living alone and budgeting, as well as juggling coursework, exams, and of course, maintaining a social life.

For new undergraduates, affording university is becoming harder than ever, with a recent survey finding that 61% of students have borrowed money to cover rent.

On top of that, the cost-of-living crisis has raised the prices of food, utilities, and travel, adding more strain to students’ budgets.

Despite the financial challenges, universities continue to offer many benefits, including helping students gain career prospects, learn relevant skills, and build self-confidence and independence.

To really dig deep into the current status of finances for students across the country, UK Debt Expert has created the Affordability University Index, which examines five key data points to determine how truly different it is, financially, depending on where you study.

The research took into account students who will study at Russell Group universities, looking at:

• Average monthly expenses for students, including travel costs,
• Average weekly rent for the cheapest university halls options.
• Cost of cheapest freshers week tickets.
• Average cost of a pint in the city.
• The number of part-time jobs available within 10km of the city.

Find out below to see the most and least affordable universities for the class of 2024/2025.

Which universities are the least affordable?

It might not come as a surprise that the capital ranks first for being the most expensive of this year’s undergrads, especially since often, students in the city are entitled to a larger maintenance and living loan. Students can expect to pay nearly £300 a week on average, to afford a single non-en-suite room.

Pints aren’t cheap either. Students looking for a fun, affordable night out can expect to pay nearly £6 for a pint, meaning a budget of £20 will barely cover three drinks, unless there is an offer on.

However, Londoners have more opportunities to earn extra money, with the highest number of part-time jobs available within the radius. Some jobs that students often take up include bartending, retail work, and even part-time PA work.

Renowned and historic university cities Cambridge and Oxford appeared in the top ten positions for most expensive, showing that while they’re recognised internationally for offering high-quality education, training and experience, they could be pricing out students who can’t justify the extra costs. Cambridge also had some of the fewest job opportunities out of all of the cities analysed.

While London was the most expensive overall, students going to Edinburgh are likely to spend the most each month on living expenses – at £781 per month, taking into account travel, food and socialising. With halls of residence costing around £150 per week, students in the Scottish capital could struggle to have anything left for personal expenses at the end of the month.

The University of Warwick appears on both the most and least affordable tables, positioned in the middle of the top 20, with an average monthly expense of £381, making it a relatively affordable university overall.

Which universities are the most affordable? 

With the lowest average monthly expenses and cheaper rent rates, Nottingham has come first place as the most affordable city for students. With students making up 13% of the population of the city known for Robin Hood, Notts-based students can expect to save over £500 compared to their London counterparts.

Compared to universities in London student accommodation across Nottingham is £113 cheaper which can make a big difference to daily living.

As part of the Russell Group, the University of Nottingham is also one of the top five most targeted universities by Britain’s leading graduate employers, making it a popular choice for students.

Over half of young people regularly worry about their finances, and having over 96 job opportunities available close to the university can help ease worries and build extra funds if needed.

Leeds comes in second place, with the Northern city a popular choice for students looking for a balance of affordability and a vibrant student experience.

As one of the cheaper cities, the average cost for a month is £463 – excluding rent, and some fresher’s tickets cost as little as £5 for the entire week – seven times cheaper than a freshers ticket in Warwick which is a whopping £35.

How do I tackle my finances at university? 

Navigating a new start at university can be exciting, with a new location, living space and friends to spend time with. However, with so much change, you could spend above your means, and struggle to keep up with your peers who may be in different financial situations to you.

For many students, handling finances will be a completely new task (alongside working out the laundry room), and only two in five young adults are considered to be financially literate.

If you are worried about budgeting and finances make sure you take the time to speak to university advisors or a finance expert who may be able to offer some tips to ensure you have the best start to university life.

Methodology

For this study, our expert researchers looked at the cities that are home to the top ranked universities across the UK (in the Russell Group rankings), and compared these against five relevant index points to find the most and least expensive universities for students. The data points included:

• Average monthly expenses for students, including travel costs (according to Numbeo).
• Average weekly rent for the cheapest university halls options (according to each university site).
• Cost of cheapest freshers week tickets. (Various sources).
• Average cost of a pint in the city. (According to Wetherspoons and Greene King).
• The number of part-time jobs available within 10km of the city. (According to Indeed).

Once the data had been collected, an index score was given to each university in each data set, depending on the affordability of the result. The cumulative percentages for each city were totaled and ranked out of 850, with the highest index figure being most affordable, and vice versa.