Your living costs - how much will I need to live on?
Apart from your tuition fees, you will need to budget for:
- Travel and visa costs
- Accommodation costs – rent and utility bills
- Study costs – books, music, stationery and printing, storage devices for backing up your work, instrument maintenance and insurance.
- General living costs – food, phone bill, toiletries, laundry etc
- Daily travel to the conservatoire – If you don’t live within walking distance
- Extras, social life, etc
Here are some estimated costs to help you plan your budget:
Accommodation
This will vary according to where you wish to live and the length of the contract.
Joseph Stones House or other similar Hall of Residence.
|
Approximate weekly rent for an en-suite room in shared flat |
£175-£200 |
|
Approximate weekly rent for a studio room (self-contained) |
£240-£280 |
Rents include utility bills, internet connection and basic insurance. Contracts are usually for 43 weeks. Residences in the city centre are generally more expensive than those further away.
Room in a shared privately rented house or flat with other students:
Approximate weekly rent £100-£120.
Contracts are usually for a full year i.e. 52 weeks.
This does not usually include utility bills, contents insurance or internet connection. You should allow at least another £25-£40 per week for these.
For more information about the different types of accommodation available in Leeds see www.unipol.org.uk/home.
The overall cost for accommodation whether in a Hall of Residence, or a private house, is roughly the same, but the length of time you can stay is different.
Other costs
In addition to the above costs we would suggest that you need to allow about another £85 per week at least, to cover food, laundry, books, stationery, mobile phone, and leisure. You will also need to budget for other less regular costs such as a TV licence, household goods you may need, clothing, visa fees and travel costs.
For more useful information about budgeting and costs in the UK, see:
https://study-uk.britishcouncil.org/moving-uk/money-budgeting
Opening a Bank Account
You will need to open a UK bank account as soon as possible.
Visit www.ukcisa.org.uk/International-Students/When-you-arrive/Opening-a-bank-account/ for the most up to date advice on how to do this.
As well as the various ID documents, you will need a letter from Leeds Conservatoire, confirming your enrolment. Please email studentfunding@leedsconservatoire.ac.uk to request this. You will need to tell us which bank you are intending to use. We can only issue this after you have enrolled.
The following banks all have branches in Leeds city centre, where you can open an account:
Remember that International students cannot obtain benefits in the UK and are required to have enough funds to cover their tuition fees and living costs.
Further questions?
For further advice about all aspects of study in the UK see www.ukcisa.org.
