Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University has been named the cheapest of the UK’s top 20 universities, according to a new study, while the London universities, Cambridge and Oxford are among the UK’s most expensive.
The total cost of living over a three year course at Edinburgh is £28,761, which has subsidised tuition fees and gives students free entry into student events. This is more than £30,000 less than London School of Economics; which is the most expensive.
Ukash, who carried out the study, used nine areas of living expenses, including the cost of a pint of lager and the average rent. Notably, it also included the cost of annual gym membership and car insurance, expenses which don’t necessarily apply to every student.
Cambridge University is ranked the fifth most expensive, at a cost of £47,997 for three years. It also was ranked the most expensive for the cost of a pint of lager and the second most expensive for the cost of a pizza.
Miranda McLean, Marketing Director at Ukash, commented on the results: “We were surprised to find such staggering differences in costs, with factors such as car insurance, rent and tuition fees varying greatly depending on where you study”.
Something not explicitly compared in the survey, however, is the teaching received at the various universities. Cambridge supervisions and Oxford tutorials offer one-to-one tuition. As one Durham student noted there is a great sense of “getting what you pay for”, with the one-to-one academic and pastoral care offered by the colleges “making up for the cost”
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