Which university? Education
majority of people Oxford is very intimidating, which doesn’t come across in the prospectus.” A common mistake students make, which often puts them off applying to these places, is that they cost more than other universities: in fact, the fees are the same.
• Royal Veterinary College, London
• The Courtauld Q • Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh
Thinking about the Army or interested in learning valuable leadership skills while studying?
What about finance? Financing your time at university is a serious consideration, not just for you but for parents too, who will more than likely have to contribute. Many students build up around £20,000 worth of debt by the time they leave and although for some this is a financial learning curve, for others it feels like a handicap. If parents can lend support either financially or with budgeting, this can be invaluable not just seeing you through uni but for giving you a more secure start afterwards.
Although tuition fees (£3,290 a
• Cambridge • Central School of Speech & Drama
• Oxford
• Nottingham Trent • LSE • Oxford Brookes
year), accommodation and living costs are considerable, not to mention the costs of books and materials, there are loans available. Te Tuition Fee Loan provides up to £3,290 a year and the Maintenance Loan is worth up to £4,950 a year. Both must be paid back after graduation: repayment starts only when you’re earning more than £15,000 a year. For households earning under a certain income a Maintenance or Special Support Grant is available, worth up to £2,906, and does not have to be paid back. You can also apply for a bursary or scholarship direct from your university – its website should list details, or contact the university’s student support office. If you’re training as a nurse, medic, dentist or vet and interested in joining the Army Medical Services, you could get your tuition fees paid by Te Army Undergraduate Cadetship.
• Edinburgh • Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester • St Andrew’s
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Student accommodation Accommodation costs may depend on where you go to university. According to research from AFS (www.
accomodationforstudents.com), the average weekly rent for students is £65.30. Rents are highest in the south east: students in London and Kingston pay an average rent of more than £100 a week. Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester and
You can enrol in a University Officer Training Corps (UOTC) while a full-time student. You are expected to attend approximately one evening of training a week and one weekend a month, with time off during exam time. You get paid for your training days and there’s no obligation to join the army afterwards. UOTCs are available at Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow and Strathclyde, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Salford, Northumbrian, Oxford, Sheffield, Southampton, Tayforth and Wales. You can sign up at your university or directly through the OTC. Training starts during the first semester so sign up quickly if you want to begin in your first year. The full training programme takes place over three years but you can train for as long as you like.
Sheffield rank just below average, with the cheapest places to live being Stoke- on-Trent, Stockton and Middlesbrough. Although rents can vary greatly within a city, researching the average rates when considering your budget will ensure you don’t get a nasty surprise when you start house hunting. AFS managing director Simon Tompson says: “Tere is little value in attending a university in a city with all the action, if once you’ve paid the rent, you have no money left to enjoy being there.”
It
was only when I went to Bristol and saw how good the department was, that I became disappointed by Edinburgh’s
Newcastle graduate CLARE MARTIN
See for yourself Researching your course, campus, accommodation and budget is an essential part of the process, but a guidebook or prospectus can only take you so far. It’s vital to see the place for yourself. Newcastle graduate Clare Martin says: “You need to see not only your first choice but your second, third, fourth, etc, to make comparisons. It was only when I went to Bristol and saw how good the department was that I became disappointed by Edinburgh’s. And then when I
visited Newcastle, I was able to sit back and compare all three.” Many would-be students have been completely thrown when they’ve actually visited a place because “it just didn’t feel right”, “the city was dead”, “the accommodation was depressing” or “it was out in the sticks”. Likewise, others have been taken by surprise on arrival and never looked back.
Summer 2011 FirstEleven 33
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MEET GIRL OF DREAMS
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