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General living costs for students

Your main costs as a student will be your accommodation, food, travel, entertainment, clothing and other course costs.

It is difficult to estimate how much students should budget for, as the income available to each student will vary and your priorities and interests will be different. Some may manage with a couple of T-shirts and a pair of jeans, where others may consider a regular trip to clothes shops an essential part of their expenditure.

As a guide, for a first-year student living in a hall of residence at St Mary's please see below some estimations of costs that they may have per week:

  • Hall Accommodation - £185.38-£303.75 (2023/24 prices)
  • *Food/Toiletries - £50-£60
  • Entertainment - £50-£70
  • Travel - £20-£60
  • TV Licence/Insurance - £10-£20
  • +Other course costs - £30-£50
  • Laundry - £15-£25
  • Telephone - £15-£20

Students living in a house or flat share will also have to budget for utility costs (gas, electric, water rates, phone, etc.) and allow extra for food and travel costs. The cost of rent for properties in Twickenham and the surrounding areas is averagely between £600 and £800/£900 per person per month which may or may not include utility costs.

To see our cost of living tips & advice page, please click here. 

If a student's maintenance loan isn't enough to cover their core costs, students are expected to seek part-time work to supplement their income.

  • Apply for student loans
  • See what support and advice our Accommodation Service can provide
  • * For students living in halls of residence, breakfast and evening meals are included in your accommodation fees
  • + These will vary, depending on your chosen course, but will include text books, stationery and photocopying. Other costs may include field trips, theatre visits, sports kit, etc. Please contact the relevant course for further information.