Other Costs for Studying in the UK

Living costs

Moving to another country to study is an exciting adventure and of course you have many questions. One of those questions may be ‘how much money do I need every month for food and other expenses?’ or ‘can I buy my favourite food from my country?’.

The good news is that London is a multicultural city with many international restaurants and supermarkets. So you should be able to find your favourite dishes and restaurants from back home as well food from around the world.

In addition to your tuition and accommodation fees you will need to budget for day-to-day living expenses. Of course, everyone has a different budget but the tables below show what you can expect to pay in London for some important essentials:

More information on costs and other essential pre-arrival information can be found in our Pre-Arrival Guides.

In addition to your tuition and accommodation fees you will need to budget for day-to-day living expenses. Everyone has a different budget but this is what you can expect to pay in London for some essentials:

Study materials for the year	£200
Water, gas&electricity bills (if not included in your accommodation)	£60 per month
Internet (if not included in your accommodation)	£25 per month
Cinema/Movie	£12
Lunch from a sandwich shop	£8
Coffee from Starbucks	£4

Food and drink

You should budget £60 to £70 per week for food. Some typical prices are

Bread (1 loaf)	£1.40	Rice (1kg)	£1.85
Milk (1 pint /0.57 litres)	£0.90	Apples (pack of 6)	£1.90
Eggs (pack of 6)	£1.50	Bananas (8)	£1.10
Can of Coke	£1.20	Pasta (1kg)	£1.55
McDonalds Big Mac meal	£6.79	Box of breakfast cereal (500g)	£2.25

Travel

Everyone in London use the London Underground, called ‘The Tube’ but there are also buses, trains and even a ferry forgetting around. Plus, from London you can catch a train to anywhere in the UK.
Student travel in London is 30% cheaper for students with a Student Oyster card and we can help students apply for one. This reduces weekly travel costs within London to about £25 per week.

FAQs

Unfortunately, you are unable to work while studying at IFG because working is not permitted for international students studying at below degree level plus working is not permitted on a Standard Visitor Visa. However, if after your IFG programme you progress to university you can work up to 20 hours per week during term time 40 hours a week outside term-time.

Many museums such as the British Museums, the National Gallery& Tate Modern are free to enter. There are also many parks and markets to wander around as well as free events to watch such as the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace and the Chinese New Year parade in London’s China Town.

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