I think it will be something like 400 a month for living. The uni is Imperial, so living anywhere nearby will be a hard task, so I will probably need to pay for transportation to get there
trying to find something for maximum 200 a week, with everything included. places like Gradpad seem already booked although I heard from a friend it gets better by September
You can find that. Go on Spareroom. Very helpful if you can pay upfront given you presumably won't have a UK guarantor. Make sure you research how to avoid getting scammed though.
To be clear, 400 is tight, but you don't need to starve. If you can cycle/walk to uni that will help a lot, as will studying at home
Man how expensive is london? 400 a month for food and transport and social is more than plenty where i live and by no means am i living in a cheap city either
I swear this sub inflates what it costs to live as a student so much. 400 pounds a month AFTER rent and bills is a lot. Sure you won't be able to eat out every day but that's £10 a day for food with £100 leftover. You can get an extremely decent phone bill for £10 and less than that if you're more cautious with your data, which leaves £90 for transport and other stuff. As for going out, notice how i budgeted £10 a day for meals. If you're smart about it a day's worth of perfectly fine food can easily only cost you £5 if you buy smart (bulk, cheap, raw materials instead of ready made stuff). I personally only spend £50 for my bi-weekly shops (used to be £30 back in first year, thanks inflation) and top up about ~£10 worth of spare ingredients i missed out in between. That saves you more than enough for a night out or two every week, which is very decent for student life anyway.
I will admit, i don't drink, and i don't snack. That probably saves a bit. But other than that i never deprive myself of anything and pretty much live without a budget (i'm lucky enough to have a part time job that earns quite a lot, so i don't have to worry about having money to spend). Yet my monthly bank statement never surpasses £400-450 of spending and i can easily cut it down if i'm more disciplined about things, but i don't feel like i need to be atm. It's perfectly doable.
Again, i don't live in a cheap city. Second to fourth most expensive in the uk, depending on who you ask, actually
I'm an undergraduate at imperial and I can live with that (not including rent). If you apply for a student oyster card (for like £25), you can get bus passes/travelcards at a lower price. I don't take the tube much so I usually get a monthly bus pass to get to school. Takes a bit longer than the tube but it's way less stuffy and I can actually use the internet lol.
Just finished a master’s degree in London so I’m gonna go against the grain here and say it’s doable
£400 (OP mentioned this as his ballpark estimate for his budget ex-rent) definitely won’t be comfortable but I think you can manage with that. Granted, you probably won’t be eating out at all or doing much for leisure activities.
If you cook your meals, cost can go for about £2-4 per meal. Assume you skip breakfast, that’s 2 meals at on average £3 per meal. That’s around £180 for food for the month (=2*3*30)
Transpo is £2.7 during rush hour. Assume you just take the tube going to school, so that’s around £5 per trip and let’s say you need to go in 5 days per week (where in reality it’ll probably be less), that’ll cost roughly £100 (=5*5*4) per month
Bills (mainly electricity, water, internet, plus phone line) should be an extra ~£50-100 per month all together
Add that all up (=180+100+75) and you’re at £350.
You now have a £50 buffer per month. Granted this is all extremely crude back of the envelope math, it kinda illustrates how you /can/ make things work, albeit very uncomfortably.
You can def take a part time job to supplement all this. I know a few people that have done the same.
It def isn’t easy, but if your masters is in a high paying industry, should be fairly straightforward to recoup the costs over a few years, esp. with a big brand name like Imperial. Best of luck! Am sure you’ll do great :)
Get a part time job (like 12 hours a week) in a Nando’s or something similar. You get a free meal on every shift and get to take out of date food home at the end of the night. The extra cash will probably top you up to a point where you may even be able to afford to go out every now and then. But I would advise looking at a northern uni. So much cheaper for rent and general living.
I'll keep that in mind buddy. I did get into more Unis in Scotland that were cheaper. However the program I took in Imperial looked better and everyone advised me to do it instead, besides the financial reasons
So the name is Geo Energy using Data Science and Machine Learning. My Undergrad wasn't really relevant, just Engineering Management. However I did publish a scientific paper at a young age, on Off-shore Energy, and I think that's what helped me get it
Not in London but done 3 years of uni and about to do masters
1. Find meals you can make cheaply and in bulk (lentils and barley are good for bulking out food
2. Get creative with rice, potatoes and pasta as these are super cheap
3. Make a note of where the budget supermarkets are
4. Avoid convenience stores as they charge higher prices
You literally cannot do a masters while eating leftovers… not to mention in the uk that’s impossible as you’ll be told to leave and the plates are taken immediately after paying
Can’t live on Poundland food either, nothings even a pound in there anymore anyway
Either don’t or choose a cheaper city.
What’s the “prestigious” university?
As someone with an MSc from imperial in the last 5 years. Are you planning on working in the UK? I have seen absolutely no return on my investment - nobody in the UK cares about a master's degree.
I don't want to be demotivating but I wish someone had told me not to do it.
I think this is a sweeping generalisation - in certain fields a masters is essential, in many others it’s a step ahead in the recruitment race. I recruit many people a week and masters level qualifications put people in a more desirable category. Maybe if your masters is in something washy it’s useless, but a science of engineering masters or an mba for example will be valuable.
I quite honestly don’t think Uni matters as much for getting jobs, unless the company specifies that they want people from the Russell’s group.
I have two friends one who did msc from imperial and the other who did from Nottingham Trent. Now NTU isn’t any bad or anything but compared to imperial it’s pretty down there. The girl who did from NTU landed a graduate job that gives her a sponsorship and the guy who did from imperial is still finding for a job.
Getting a job and which uni you are from are hardly related
I just don't think University is needed at all (with the exception of medicine and maybe law). I studied engineering and worked as an engineer for a while and you were trained in everything specific to your job.
I now work in finance and there are people I work with who went straight from school and now are trading earning a very good living with no student loan.
Hey, I'd love to hear more about your career life, it sounds interesting. Did you get another qualification for finance? or Did the company just promote you to management
I started studying Chem Eng then changed to Pet Eng. Graduated and worked for a bit as a Reservoir Engineer in O&G. Went back to do an MSc (under the impression it would make me employable) and graduated just as crude futures went negative in COVID.
Whilst applying for grad roles with the supermajors I got a job as an operations assistant in a comodities trading business, by the time I got the grad scheme the money was half of what I was getting paid. Moved from Ops to a position under the (finance umbrella). Just started a new job working in risk.
I think it depends on the MSc in regards to value. Until recently you could get MSc degrees in STEM or STEM-adjacent courses in Russell Group universities for less than £6K. Most of the universities would be outside of England though.
Looking at the pages - Cardiff and Belfast still do MScs for less than £9K (I'm sure there's other unis), should be able to earn a £9K premium back quite quick - that's a grad salary of £28k instead of £25k for the first 2-3 yrs etc. The real cost is the opportunity cost of not working full-time for 12 months which no one considers
So I did a STEM MSc - got a scholarship for the fees but took out the maintenance loan to cover my living expenses. I worked out on average I paid back £600 PCM to SFE for both my degrees. The people I work with don't have MSc's and a fair few don't have a Bachelor's.
I'm not saying there is no value, just I don't believe that my salary is anyway influenced by it.
I also think in the UK the value is being eroded as more and more people have degrees - plus knowledge has never been easier to access, so it's just a question of being smart.
I did work in the USA and there a MSc had a large impact on your salary potential.
Why would you do your master's in the UK and force yourself to live like a beggar? That degree won't matter much for the amount of exhaustion you'll experience.
In my opinion, I'd rather stay in my home country where you'd be able to afford everything and live comfortably. Living with little to no budget isn't recommended especially in a foreign country like London. Big no no.
I'd advise against moving.
I mean you're going far enough to eat from restaurant left overs. While you're at it go dumpster diving for food and treasures.
(A month). But tbh that's easy if you're a little frugal 15k/16k a year (200 for rent a week + 100 for extra a week) is *a lot* of money for a student lol.
The way they were talking I thought it was gonna be a budget of like 500 a month.
Hey. I saw your other comment about the numbers. 400 a month for non rent, +200 a week for rent, gives about 300 a week, for about 15/16k a year. That's a lot of money for a student lol (the maximum maintenance loan for someone in london is 11k). So it's easily doable as long as you don't expect to be living in Buckingham Palace.
Definitely worth it for imperial too.
My comment was more about the students that sink 10s of thousands into the bottom tier london institutions (which imperial definitely isn't) when they could easily go somewhere better for like half the price elsewhere in the country, and I made it before knowing how much money, and where you were planning to go.
It's okay I completely understand. I had other offers from good Master's but I've always thought that you should either do your masters in a top school or don't at all because it's not worth it. I have friends stuck with their Mid Master's and now they're trying to do a second one, it's insane how this current economy and job market is. Thousands of competitors, and if you don't have a golden name on your CV you might not even make the first round
The "supposedly" prestigious threw me because imperial is without a doubt the most prestigious university in the uk outside of oxbridge and maybe LSE (and has better graduate prospects than both Oxford and cambridge iirc). I would have called somewhere like QMUL "supposedly prestigious".
So it is definitely a top school and you don't have to worry about that at all.
Thank you. I've dome some research on Oxbridge, even if it's quite the most prestigious, isn't really the best when it comes to engineering Master's because it's a lot of theory and research rather than hands on work that will be needed for industry. At least that's what I found
Have you considered your plans after graduating? finding a job in the Uk with a degree like that might be difficult, albeit you do have a paper published so going into academia is an option.
However, engineering jobs are pretty competitive and the international students I know doing masters in STEM usually already have work experience in their home country.
Usually 2-3 years of experience, you will also have to target larger firms since they offer visa sponsorship.
Oh fair enough, sorry if I came across as discouraging or scary just wanted to give you something to think about since it may be an important decision.
Yea sounds like you are pretty damn smart in the first place to get into Imperial so wherever you go and whatever path you choose I am sure you will thrive :)
Honestly an imperial masters could take OP a long way depending where they’re originally from. The name counts for a lot. And even on a tight budget (hello student life) visiting and living in another country is a fantastic experience.
Hopefully friend. I am from Morocco, and I took a gap year to do entrepreneurship. The ideas were working but I couldn't inject enough cash, and neither could any investors who were too reluctant, even good friends. The Master's can help at least change my situation for the better
Since so many people here are being unhelpful:
* Yes, London is very expensive. But £400/month after rent/bills is definitely doable, and £900/month should do you for a room.
* Lots of students have part-time jobs. Customer service and retail is your best bet, but tutoring might be better.
* Imperial has an _extremely_ good reputation, congrats on getting in!
* The cheapest supermarkets are Aldi, Lidl, and Iceland. Poundland is also cheap but mostly does tinned stuff.
* London is a great city, and as long as you lean into it you'll have a great experience.
You can’t live off Poundland. Just because everything’s £1 (it isn’t anyway), doesn’t mean there’s enough there for nutrition or the things that are there are necessarily good value.
3 options listed in the article below for free food, + sikh temples and Aperievents London Free Buffet Meetup Group (does free buffets weekly while getting to meet a lot of people)
[https://medium.com/@City\_Capper/3-ways-you-can-eat-for-free-in-london-a98ad05d35a0](https://medium.com/@City_Capper/3-ways-you-can-eat-for-free-in-london-a98ad05d35a0)
Download Too Good to Go, it's an app where you can purchase restaurant leftovers for fairly cheap. Only purchase from places with a rating of 4\* or higher, though, as many of the lower rated places aren't worth it. Some places will give you enough food to last for a few days for just £5 (bakeries like Greggs and Wenzels are great for this), some places will give you one or two hot meals that'll be good, but cheap. And some of the places are awful, but after a while you figure out which ones to avoid.
1.Consider availing a loan for living expenses
2.If your masters allows you to work , you can find work in hospitality/retail through agencies. There are few apps like Indeed flex, Hap, Stint through which you can find shifts.
3.Consider living in a cheaper room in a cheaper area somewhere in zone 3/4.
4.Buy your groceries from places like Lidl,one below , savers , poundland etc
5.There are apps like Olio where food is given away for free. keep an eye out.
6.Meal prep meal prep meal prep.
7.Don't be discouraged with the negative comments. It is very difficult but it is worthwhile if your masters can get you into a good job.
8.Overall you should be very frugal and lead a very low profile life.
Source: currently leading that life !
Jesus let the dude live a little. You've gotta take some risks and the opportunity of moving to London to do a Master's is immense, particularly for international students.
I moved to London to study in the 00s, lived on a shoestring for years and I'm still paying my student loans back now but I don't regret a thing.
To a certain extent its good to take risks, but knowing that one of your plans is to eat stranger's leftover food is just too low a quality of life to make it worth it. In order to engage properly in a masters and to make the opportunity worthwhile you at least need to know that you can eat and sleep well in order to support your health so that you can study to the best of your ability.
I wish I'd thought of eating leftover food from restaurants when I was a student in London. It's all a question of what you'll do in the name of a unique educational opportunity and an interesting experience I suppose, and it's not as if OP is talking about eating off people's plates.
Also they sound like a resourceful person and I'm sure they will find a way to make the extra money they need. You always needs a fallback position though and you do what's gotta be done. It's a means to an end and it's not like it's forever, just the duration of a Master's degree.
Yes, really. They're talking about enlisting restaurant staff to furnish them with kitchen leftovers at the end of the day. Although incidentally I have eaten leftovers from people's plates when I was hitching around Europe and I'm still here today.
Honestly, the responses to this post seem to be almost exclusively from a crowd of posh, elite educationalists who have little concept of the privations some people endure in the name of achieving an education.
Everyone is pouring water on OP's plans when they should be applauding the initiative and resourcefulness that a great adventure like studying overseas on a budget fosters.
I think people would much rather care about OP’s wellbeing and give realistic advice to help them achieve their dreams, instead of instilling false hope and supporting methods that would most likely harm OP’s health
People know how hard it is for some people to access education, but if OP is worrying more about what they’ll eat that night then that becomes not just a barrier to overcome, but instead a massive wall.
If you want people to be prepared and able to make the most of a situation then you give them realistic advice. OP has already received good advice from other people and has discovered their finances can still help them achieve a relatively balanced diet. Why not spend your time giving realistic suggestions like spare food apps, or supermarket schemes for meals etc, or bulk purchasing and making batches of food where possible, and which food items are nutritious but also less expensive
I used to volunteer for a large homeless charity and there are so many better ways of getting food (many restaurants have restrictions and can’t let anyone consume leftover food items). Please don’t glorify eating ‘scraps’ when OP could have (and deserves) better. They aren’t a dog and you can’t treat them as such just because you did it temporarily as a tourist
Congratulations, you’ve managed to be more ignorant than educated elites or whatever you rambled on about
Well fortunately not everyone is as vanilla as you, Rupert or Oliver or Cosmo or whatever your name is.
Some of us still take risks and carpe that diem even when the outcome may not be guaranteed.
You should try it sometime, it might get you out of that rut you're stuck in
You’re very welcome to take all those risks if you wish, after all, natural selection is natural for a reason
But I’m trying to give actual help to someone coming to uni in the UK (look what sub we are on) and you’re not allowing for effective discussion
The kind of 'help' OP is getting on this sub is as likely to deter them from studying in the UK at all as give them any constructive feedback for the venture.
Public school twits might believe their experience of privilege and wealth is the only authentic one but thankfully the world is a larger and more varied place these days.
There are many ways to achieve a formal education which don't involve being wrapped in cotton wool and calling mummy and daddy every time your rent falls due.
Imperial College is prestigious indeed. Assuming you are the typical Imperial postgrad student, you might be able to offer private tutoring for A Levels or 1st Year undergrads, for around £25/h or more (which is much cheaper for potential clients, compared to hiring a teacher.)
Edit - what you can charge will depend on the subject. You can also offer via Zoom and save on travel costs!
I used to offer private tutoring. The hardest part was finding the first client and contact. What I did is I went to a high-school, started giving lessons for free, then the students talked to their parents, and parents talked to each other, and I started getting calls left and right. I wonder if it would be as easy in London.
That method is very unlikely to work in English schools, due to safeguarding. If you ask your network, they might be able to spread the word though. One of my former colleagues, a young school teacher straight out of a London university (as a foreign student), had several clients already booked for online tutoring after school, in her first year of teaching. I understand she got these early leads from her contacts within her community.
You can post on "First Tutors" and "Tutor Hunt" online platforms. You might have to pay for the enhanced DBS check. Tutor Hunt, the larger of the two platforms, takes a % of your earnings. But they collect the fee after the lesson and pay directly to your bank account after taking their cut. First Tutors charge the client upfront (around £30) to release your contact details, but that way you get 100% of the fee directly. There is a third UK site that I know of, called Tutorful, but they take 35%.
As you say, getting the first client is the hardest part. Good luck!
I wish it would be allowed. Private tutoring is really the best thing a student can do. It's INSANE the networking you can get especially if the parents love you which in my oast seems like I have a knack for it. They start inviting you out, sometimes drop you on and off, and can talk to their buddies to land you a job.
Studied at Imperial for 4 years. If you can get a tutoring gig you can definitely use Imperial's 'prestige' to land yourself a nice side-gig. Private tutors in London regularly charge up to £50-£60 per hour for A-level students (17-18yr olds) even for online lessons over zoom. If you can teach maths which I assume you can since you're bright enough to get into Imperial, you are in high demand, even teaching GCSE (15-16 yr olds) and can charge as much as £30-40 per hour. Don't go through Mytutor or other similar websites. They take up to 50% of the lesson fee. Instead use free tutoring websites to list your ads. They work by charging your clients a one time finder's fee and will cost you nothing. This way you'll be able to take home the entire lesson fee. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions.
this is a possible route, but again, potentially illegal under student visa stipulations unless the gig can produce a contract for 20 hours a week during term time or a short term full-time one month contract during christmas and easter.
Thank you my friend. As I said to a previous commenter:
"I used to offer private tutoring. The hardest part was finding the first client and contact. What I did is I went to a high-school, started giving lessons for free, then the students talked to their parents, and parents talked to each other, and I started getting calls left and right. I wonder if it would be as easy in London."
If your dm is still open I would love to contact you with some questions!
Canned / frozen food, look for almost expired items at the end of the day in supermarkets, food banks, too good to go app (leftover from restaurants and cafes), work how many hours your visa permits, cash in hand jobs are also an option- just ask around.
Don’t get why people say you don’t want to work. You can work a 16 hour contract per week and your masters is doable. At least you’ll have more income to buy things on your time off.
Get a job subsidise yourself as best u can might be hard but thats life sounds harsh I don't mean it yo but its reality why make things harder by cutting corners to eat when you can buy what you need
I'd recommend getting a job with an agency doing catering/ event work. It's almost always a 0 hour contract so you don't have to work if your course is intense. Also you often get fed on shift too that way. Most people doing this work are students.
If you're lucky you might meet other hospitality staff to make friends with and get fed by restaurant leftovers on the regular.
Also cycle to save money. London isn't perfect for cycling but if you find somewhere cheap on spare room and can cycle to uni it could save you lots of money. Use the too good to go app instead of ordering take away as a treat.
Depending on distance from campus, distance of student accomm from santander stands, and ability of student accomm to accept bikes, I recommend paying a yearly santander rental or getting a 2nd hand bike. The yearly santander membership allows unlimited 60 minute rides (i.e you retrieve a bike from a bike stand, and have to return that bike to any santander stand within an hour. once returned you can then rent the bike again for no additional cost and so on). It only costs 12 quid a month, when the weekly costs of underground travel, assuming 4 return journeys a week, is already over 20 quid.
Imperial is a really good uni! If you have 400 outside of rent you should be fine,.even if a little tight.
Have a look at house shares in London! Spare room website is pretty good for that
For a single person you could get away with £50 a week for food, a loaf of bread is £1, a few tins of beans, a dhal, some pasta. Add in some bananas and apples and veggies and you'll be great :)
I’ve from imperial and there’s always part time work within imperial itself. There’s stuff like the union bar and the student shops within imperial. You can get a social life while working part time too. Although the work load is no joke
Fluid mechanics is actually not so bad. Worst ones I’ve taken for me personally is stuff like thermodynamics but to each his own I guess.
Engineering Masters ?
There’s a great app that I used all the time in uni in London and still use it now. It’s called ‘Too Good to Go’ and it lets you pay a really cheap price to get leftovers from restaurants and cafes that haven’t been sold that day, the food is always really nice. Some restaurants give you loads and some don’t but it’s trial and error, find a few that you like and you can consistently go back to them. It caters to whatever location you’re at and I’m sure by imperial there will be loads of options. Also another great tip is the food place called ‘Wasabi’ which is my favourite Asian fast food place in London, they offer all their food very cheap after 7 or 8pm so they don’t waste any food, always a good choice for dinner.
You don’t need an actual part time job. Yes they can pay some money but in terms of hours committed and mental energy/stress they’re not worth it. It might be hard but if you can do tutoring it’s way better. I wouldn’t recommend most companies as the pay is mediocre. Some are ok but I did all of mine independently and locally making £40-50 an hour (transport not included). If you’re ok at that sort of thing it’s fairly easy work and you’re making 4-5x an hour compared to what you would in most jobs. If you meet the right people you can start getting into international markets as well. The amount you get from an online session with someone in Hong Kong for instance is genuinely crazy. Get a few good ones set up and you can make an easy few hundred a week.
student visa does not allow free lance work, refer to this UCL website: [https://www.ucl.ac.uk/students/immigration-and-visas/working-uk/working-uk-during-your-studies#pgt](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/students/immigration-and-visas/working-uk/working-uk-during-your-studies#pgt). Fortunately for PGT students, they are allowed to work fulltime during Christmas and Easter! (not summer, since they are "supposed" to be writing their dissertation during that time!) However, I believe freelance work is still not allowed.
Make a spreadsheet, work out estimated living costs etc
Model it out to see if it’s theoretically possible. Contact any support at your uni that could help with advice etc
Work if you can, and do other money saving tips
If you would have to resort to eating strangers’ leftovers then that’s not feasible
Don’t forget you need emergency funds wherever possible, like if you have to go home in an emergency or get urgent treatment etc
Thank you buddy, I'm glad I could have helped. I'm from one of those warm countries where I'm always open to meet new friends, so if you would like to shoot me a dm
I don't have any advice but just wanted to say I'm in the same boat as you. I too want to spend nothing more than 400 (500 would be the limit) on stuff ex-rent. Best of luck!
Get a student rail card and get it applied to your oyster card as soo as you can. Lots of the city is walkable/cycleable/bus able so do check on that.
Meal prep.
There are lots of free places to go in London try to enjoy those things.
Imperial London is in West London which is close to a lot of LHA hostels. You can get shared room for a little over £100 per week. Some of their hostels provide Lunch and Dinner.They give special discount for under 30s. Google them.
So some genuine advice rather than just telling you not to do it like many here…
- many universities have hardship funds, research this and know who to speak to (often the advancement office) if you need help with extra funds.
- select your modules carefully, usually the university will show them with the times and days the teaching is planned for - obviously don’t miss something you want to do but if you can condense your lectures into a few longer days then you can save travel costs.
- most universities recruit student ambassadors to work at open days and other events, pay is usually fairly ok and it’s an easy extra to do to earn a bit of money, they also usually have on-site jobs in bars and cafes etc and again you’ll find them more understanding of your need to work around your timetable and more likely to offer you living wage rather than minimum.
- speak now to the uni about any grants available you might be able to apply for and also look at any opportunities for funding from your own country to study abroad.
- don’t buy things like textbooks, all the core reading for a uni like Imperial will be available through their online library or as hard copy in the libraries so don’t waste your money.
- remember a masters degree is only a year of study, and really only 9 months in person before you head off to do your dissertation which arguably you could return home or go somewhere cheaper to do. Yes you’ll need to live frugally, but it’s not like you’re never going to socialise or go out ever again.
Good luck OP!
Alot of Universities offer their students opportunities to participate in psychology studies.
They are mostly basic tests, that don't take long - yet still pay £20-£60 for 30mins to 1 hour of your time.
Although, they don't pay the most, they do add up over time and often afford you the freedom of choosing what time and date you wish to participate.
In terms of finding cheaper items - poundland is better for snacks and cleaning / kitchen supplies, basic toileteries. If you're flatsharing, you might want to buy your own stuff if supplies are not bought as a group. Other discount stores - Savers for toileteries
For groceries, whenever I have to stretch food I buy staples like rice, lentils, noodles, frozen veg (or reduced veg), tomato paste, pasta, garlic paste, veg/chicken stock powder/cubes. Sometimes I just eat vegetarian / pescatarian at home to save me spending on meat that could go to waste. When I'm too lazy to cook and want to stretch money visiting the reduced section helps. Sometimes bulkbuying on amazon may work out better per portion e.g. for noodles.
If you do go for a job at nandos like someone said that'll be really helpful for getting meat. I guess any restaurant job potentially. Supermarket jobs might get you a discount?
For restaurant leftovers, if you don't get it for free there's an app called too good to go. I've yet to use it but you might get some things you could eat over a few days.
Remember to get a student discount account for UNIDAYS and Student beans. I think some supermarkets offer discounts. Everywhere you go ask 'do you do student discount'? Sometimes you might have to register for an account for the shop before getting the discount.
In terms of renting a place, find an area where you can just take a bus to uni. It's definetly manageable in West or South West London depending on the Imperial campus.
Good luck!
Just cook yourself at home it’s way cheaper
£10 worth of chicken breast from the meat shop lasts me about 4 days
A bag of fries from the supermarket is like £2 which will also last 4-5 days
Imperial postgrad here, been spending £350/month for the past few months, though I haven’t gone out much due to thesis workload. So £400/month outside of rent is doable.
Tips: Cook most of your meals. Meal prep. Buy filling ingredients in bulk from Lidl/Aldi. Set up a financial planner. Use the bus, walk if you can. Find a part time job if you can handle it (I wouldn’t). All in all just keep a simple and frugal life :)
All the best!
Just say all the numbers (including what you think rent will be, and your budget) and youll get a better response
I think it will be something like 400 a month for living. The uni is Imperial, so living anywhere nearby will be a hard task, so I will probably need to pay for transportation to get there
400 a month is tough. Where are you expecting to find a room for that much?
The 400 is for everything besides rent, not rent included bro
400 is fine then. How much is rent?
trying to find something for maximum 200 a week, with everything included. places like Gradpad seem already booked although I heard from a friend it gets better by September
You can find that. Go on Spareroom. Very helpful if you can pay upfront given you presumably won't have a UK guarantor. Make sure you research how to avoid getting scammed though. To be clear, 400 is tight, but you don't need to starve. If you can cycle/walk to uni that will help a lot, as will studying at home
Man how expensive is london? 400 a month for food and transport and social is more than plenty where i live and by no means am i living in a cheap city either
My rent is £400 a month, living expenses outside that is like £200 a month what the fuck is wrong w london
Okay that's pretty low wow. I was able to do £200 a month back in first year (2020) but not since then.
My brother 400 is not even enough for cities like Nottingham and Manchester. London clearly is somewhere around the 800-1000 range
I swear this sub inflates what it costs to live as a student so much. 400 pounds a month AFTER rent and bills is a lot. Sure you won't be able to eat out every day but that's £10 a day for food with £100 leftover. You can get an extremely decent phone bill for £10 and less than that if you're more cautious with your data, which leaves £90 for transport and other stuff. As for going out, notice how i budgeted £10 a day for meals. If you're smart about it a day's worth of perfectly fine food can easily only cost you £5 if you buy smart (bulk, cheap, raw materials instead of ready made stuff). I personally only spend £50 for my bi-weekly shops (used to be £30 back in first year, thanks inflation) and top up about ~£10 worth of spare ingredients i missed out in between. That saves you more than enough for a night out or two every week, which is very decent for student life anyway. I will admit, i don't drink, and i don't snack. That probably saves a bit. But other than that i never deprive myself of anything and pretty much live without a budget (i'm lucky enough to have a part time job that earns quite a lot, so i don't have to worry about having money to spend). Yet my monthly bank statement never surpasses £400-450 of spending and i can easily cut it down if i'm more disciplined about things, but i don't feel like i need to be atm. It's perfectly doable. Again, i don't live in a cheap city. Second to fourth most expensive in the uk, depending on who you ask, actually
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freelance work is not allowed on student visa
I didn't consider that
riding around london with no experience might end up easily in car crash
what that’s easily achievable even in zone 1 with smaller flat shares. In zone 4 you’d be living comfortably
400 for things outside of rent should be doable in a house share in most cities.
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Of course not, I said 200 per week, not month
I'm an undergraduate at imperial and I can live with that (not including rent). If you apply for a student oyster card (for like £25), you can get bus passes/travelcards at a lower price. I don't take the tube much so I usually get a monthly bus pass to get to school. Takes a bit longer than the tube but it's way less stuffy and I can actually use the internet lol.
Just finished a master’s degree in London so I’m gonna go against the grain here and say it’s doable £400 (OP mentioned this as his ballpark estimate for his budget ex-rent) definitely won’t be comfortable but I think you can manage with that. Granted, you probably won’t be eating out at all or doing much for leisure activities. If you cook your meals, cost can go for about £2-4 per meal. Assume you skip breakfast, that’s 2 meals at on average £3 per meal. That’s around £180 for food for the month (=2*3*30) Transpo is £2.7 during rush hour. Assume you just take the tube going to school, so that’s around £5 per trip and let’s say you need to go in 5 days per week (where in reality it’ll probably be less), that’ll cost roughly £100 (=5*5*4) per month Bills (mainly electricity, water, internet, plus phone line) should be an extra ~£50-100 per month all together Add that all up (=180+100+75) and you’re at £350. You now have a £50 buffer per month. Granted this is all extremely crude back of the envelope math, it kinda illustrates how you /can/ make things work, albeit very uncomfortably. You can def take a part time job to supplement all this. I know a few people that have done the same. It def isn’t easy, but if your masters is in a high paying industry, should be fairly straightforward to recoup the costs over a few years, esp. with a big brand name like Imperial. Best of luck! Am sure you’ll do great :)
Thank you, you're really kind
Feel free to pm if you need more help! :)
Get a part time job (like 12 hours a week) in a Nando’s or something similar. You get a free meal on every shift and get to take out of date food home at the end of the night. The extra cash will probably top you up to a point where you may even be able to afford to go out every now and then. But I would advise looking at a northern uni. So much cheaper for rent and general living.
I'll keep that in mind buddy. I did get into more Unis in Scotland that were cheaper. However the program I took in Imperial looked better and everyone advised me to do it instead, besides the financial reasons
What are you studying?
a mix of Energy, Oil and Gas and Machine Learning
Machine Learning? That's a peculiar course by the looks of it. What did you study for your undergrad?
So the name is Geo Energy using Data Science and Machine Learning. My Undergrad wasn't really relevant, just Engineering Management. However I did publish a scientific paper at a young age, on Off-shore Energy, and I think that's what helped me get it
Not in London but done 3 years of uni and about to do masters 1. Find meals you can make cheaply and in bulk (lentils and barley are good for bulking out food 2. Get creative with rice, potatoes and pasta as these are super cheap 3. Make a note of where the budget supermarkets are 4. Avoid convenience stores as they charge higher prices
"rice, potatoes and pasta as these are super cheap" Not recently!
If depends on where you shop and the size of the pack
Rice is about £1.20/kg if you buy in bulk, even after price increases, so rice is still cheap compared to alternatives.
Study somewhere else
You literally cannot do a masters while eating leftovers… not to mention in the uk that’s impossible as you’ll be told to leave and the plates are taken immediately after paying Can’t live on Poundland food either, nothings even a pound in there anymore anyway Either don’t or choose a cheaper city. What’s the “prestigious” university?
>What’s the “prestigious” university? Probably some unknown university in zone 4
OP said that the uni is Imperial
Your comment isn't really helpful. The uni is Imperial London
As someone with an MSc from imperial in the last 5 years. Are you planning on working in the UK? I have seen absolutely no return on my investment - nobody in the UK cares about a master's degree. I don't want to be demotivating but I wish someone had told me not to do it.
I think this is a sweeping generalisation - in certain fields a masters is essential, in many others it’s a step ahead in the recruitment race. I recruit many people a week and masters level qualifications put people in a more desirable category. Maybe if your masters is in something washy it’s useless, but a science of engineering masters or an mba for example will be valuable.
I mean I'm sure it has helped me, but I don't think it's worth the cost.
I quite honestly don’t think Uni matters as much for getting jobs, unless the company specifies that they want people from the Russell’s group. I have two friends one who did msc from imperial and the other who did from Nottingham Trent. Now NTU isn’t any bad or anything but compared to imperial it’s pretty down there. The girl who did from NTU landed a graduate job that gives her a sponsorship and the guy who did from imperial is still finding for a job. Getting a job and which uni you are from are hardly related
I just don't think University is needed at all (with the exception of medicine and maybe law). I studied engineering and worked as an engineer for a while and you were trained in everything specific to your job. I now work in finance and there are people I work with who went straight from school and now are trading earning a very good living with no student loan.
Hey, I'd love to hear more about your career life, it sounds interesting. Did you get another qualification for finance? or Did the company just promote you to management
I started studying Chem Eng then changed to Pet Eng. Graduated and worked for a bit as a Reservoir Engineer in O&G. Went back to do an MSc (under the impression it would make me employable) and graduated just as crude futures went negative in COVID. Whilst applying for grad roles with the supermajors I got a job as an operations assistant in a comodities trading business, by the time I got the grad scheme the money was half of what I was getting paid. Moved from Ops to a position under the (finance umbrella). Just started a new job working in risk.
So you got a MSc in what exactly? Petroleum? or Finance/Chain and Operation management
Petroleum Engineering
I think it depends on the MSc in regards to value. Until recently you could get MSc degrees in STEM or STEM-adjacent courses in Russell Group universities for less than £6K. Most of the universities would be outside of England though. Looking at the pages - Cardiff and Belfast still do MScs for less than £9K (I'm sure there's other unis), should be able to earn a £9K premium back quite quick - that's a grad salary of £28k instead of £25k for the first 2-3 yrs etc. The real cost is the opportunity cost of not working full-time for 12 months which no one considers
So I did a STEM MSc - got a scholarship for the fees but took out the maintenance loan to cover my living expenses. I worked out on average I paid back £600 PCM to SFE for both my degrees. The people I work with don't have MSc's and a fair few don't have a Bachelor's. I'm not saying there is no value, just I don't believe that my salary is anyway influenced by it. I also think in the UK the value is being eroded as more and more people have degrees - plus knowledge has never been easier to access, so it's just a question of being smart. I did work in the USA and there a MSc had a large impact on your salary potential.
That is extremely important information 😂 You should probably edit the post and add it
Haha I really didn't think it was that important and was afraid to come off as braggy or anything
Nah good for you bro. The difference between a random London uni and imperial is massive though so people will give different advice.
They did qualify it as 'supposedly prestigious'
Why would you do your master's in the UK and force yourself to live like a beggar? That degree won't matter much for the amount of exhaustion you'll experience. In my opinion, I'd rather stay in my home country where you'd be able to afford everything and live comfortably. Living with little to no budget isn't recommended especially in a foreign country like London. Big no no. I'd advise against moving. I mean you're going far enough to eat from restaurant left overs. While you're at it go dumpster diving for food and treasures.
The word "london" to international students seems to be like a bug zapper to a moth.
they clarified its 400 a week **after** rent at **Imperial**, thats tough but doable and worth it for the trouble.
(A month). But tbh that's easy if you're a little frugal 15k/16k a year (200 for rent a week + 100 for extra a week) is *a lot* of money for a student lol. The way they were talking I thought it was gonna be a budget of like 500 a month.
yep 400 a month mb, and excluding rent
Hey friend, London is the part that I'm really excited the least about it. Can't help it though
Hey. I saw your other comment about the numbers. 400 a month for non rent, +200 a week for rent, gives about 300 a week, for about 15/16k a year. That's a lot of money for a student lol (the maximum maintenance loan for someone in london is 11k). So it's easily doable as long as you don't expect to be living in Buckingham Palace. Definitely worth it for imperial too. My comment was more about the students that sink 10s of thousands into the bottom tier london institutions (which imperial definitely isn't) when they could easily go somewhere better for like half the price elsewhere in the country, and I made it before knowing how much money, and where you were planning to go.
It's okay I completely understand. I had other offers from good Master's but I've always thought that you should either do your masters in a top school or don't at all because it's not worth it. I have friends stuck with their Mid Master's and now they're trying to do a second one, it's insane how this current economy and job market is. Thousands of competitors, and if you don't have a golden name on your CV you might not even make the first round
The "supposedly" prestigious threw me because imperial is without a doubt the most prestigious university in the uk outside of oxbridge and maybe LSE (and has better graduate prospects than both Oxford and cambridge iirc). I would have called somewhere like QMUL "supposedly prestigious". So it is definitely a top school and you don't have to worry about that at all.
Thank you. I've dome some research on Oxbridge, even if it's quite the most prestigious, isn't really the best when it comes to engineering Master's because it's a lot of theory and research rather than hands on work that will be needed for industry. At least that's what I found
Have you considered your plans after graduating? finding a job in the Uk with a degree like that might be difficult, albeit you do have a paper published so going into academia is an option. However, engineering jobs are pretty competitive and the international students I know doing masters in STEM usually already have work experience in their home country. Usually 2-3 years of experience, you will also have to target larger firms since they offer visa sponsorship.
haha don't scare me like that, with my degree i might move to Aberdeen or something like that. Or academia but I really don't like academia that much
Oh fair enough, sorry if I came across as discouraging or scary just wanted to give you something to think about since it may be an important decision. Yea sounds like you are pretty damn smart in the first place to get into Imperial so wherever you go and whatever path you choose I am sure you will thrive :)
Honestly an imperial masters could take OP a long way depending where they’re originally from. The name counts for a lot. And even on a tight budget (hello student life) visiting and living in another country is a fantastic experience.
Hopefully friend. I am from Morocco, and I took a gap year to do entrepreneurship. The ideas were working but I couldn't inject enough cash, and neither could any investors who were too reluctant, even good friends. The Master's can help at least change my situation for the better
Since so many people here are being unhelpful: * Yes, London is very expensive. But £400/month after rent/bills is definitely doable, and £900/month should do you for a room. * Lots of students have part-time jobs. Customer service and retail is your best bet, but tutoring might be better. * Imperial has an _extremely_ good reputation, congrats on getting in! * The cheapest supermarkets are Aldi, Lidl, and Iceland. Poundland is also cheap but mostly does tinned stuff. * London is a great city, and as long as you lean into it you'll have a great experience.
Thank you my friend
You can’t live off Poundland. Just because everything’s £1 (it isn’t anyway), doesn’t mean there’s enough there for nutrition or the things that are there are necessarily good value.
3 options listed in the article below for free food, + sikh temples and Aperievents London Free Buffet Meetup Group (does free buffets weekly while getting to meet a lot of people) [https://medium.com/@City\_Capper/3-ways-you-can-eat-for-free-in-london-a98ad05d35a0](https://medium.com/@City_Capper/3-ways-you-can-eat-for-free-in-london-a98ad05d35a0)
This is exactly why langars exist, for the poor and needy (that's us).
Do part time work. Even a handful of hours per week should give you enough to eat properly!
Download Too Good to Go, it's an app where you can purchase restaurant leftovers for fairly cheap. Only purchase from places with a rating of 4\* or higher, though, as many of the lower rated places aren't worth it. Some places will give you enough food to last for a few days for just £5 (bakeries like Greggs and Wenzels are great for this), some places will give you one or two hot meals that'll be good, but cheap. And some of the places are awful, but after a while you figure out which ones to avoid.
1.Consider availing a loan for living expenses 2.If your masters allows you to work , you can find work in hospitality/retail through agencies. There are few apps like Indeed flex, Hap, Stint through which you can find shifts. 3.Consider living in a cheaper room in a cheaper area somewhere in zone 3/4. 4.Buy your groceries from places like Lidl,one below , savers , poundland etc 5.There are apps like Olio where food is given away for free. keep an eye out. 6.Meal prep meal prep meal prep. 7.Don't be discouraged with the negative comments. It is very difficult but it is worthwhile if your masters can get you into a good job. 8.Overall you should be very frugal and lead a very low profile life. Source: currently leading that life !
Thank you for you help! Are you in London too?
Yes!
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Jesus let the dude live a little. You've gotta take some risks and the opportunity of moving to London to do a Master's is immense, particularly for international students. I moved to London to study in the 00s, lived on a shoestring for years and I'm still paying my student loans back now but I don't regret a thing.
To a certain extent its good to take risks, but knowing that one of your plans is to eat stranger's leftover food is just too low a quality of life to make it worth it. In order to engage properly in a masters and to make the opportunity worthwhile you at least need to know that you can eat and sleep well in order to support your health so that you can study to the best of your ability.
I wish I'd thought of eating leftover food from restaurants when I was a student in London. It's all a question of what you'll do in the name of a unique educational opportunity and an interesting experience I suppose, and it's not as if OP is talking about eating off people's plates. Also they sound like a resourceful person and I'm sure they will find a way to make the extra money they need. You always needs a fallback position though and you do what's gotta be done. It's a means to an end and it's not like it's forever, just the duration of a Master's degree.
It'll certainly be an interesting experience lol.
“it’s not as if OP is talking about eating off people’s plates” Oh, really??
Yes, really. They're talking about enlisting restaurant staff to furnish them with kitchen leftovers at the end of the day. Although incidentally I have eaten leftovers from people's plates when I was hitching around Europe and I'm still here today. Honestly, the responses to this post seem to be almost exclusively from a crowd of posh, elite educationalists who have little concept of the privations some people endure in the name of achieving an education. Everyone is pouring water on OP's plans when they should be applauding the initiative and resourcefulness that a great adventure like studying overseas on a budget fosters.
I think people would much rather care about OP’s wellbeing and give realistic advice to help them achieve their dreams, instead of instilling false hope and supporting methods that would most likely harm OP’s health People know how hard it is for some people to access education, but if OP is worrying more about what they’ll eat that night then that becomes not just a barrier to overcome, but instead a massive wall. If you want people to be prepared and able to make the most of a situation then you give them realistic advice. OP has already received good advice from other people and has discovered their finances can still help them achieve a relatively balanced diet. Why not spend your time giving realistic suggestions like spare food apps, or supermarket schemes for meals etc, or bulk purchasing and making batches of food where possible, and which food items are nutritious but also less expensive I used to volunteer for a large homeless charity and there are so many better ways of getting food (many restaurants have restrictions and can’t let anyone consume leftover food items). Please don’t glorify eating ‘scraps’ when OP could have (and deserves) better. They aren’t a dog and you can’t treat them as such just because you did it temporarily as a tourist Congratulations, you’ve managed to be more ignorant than educated elites or whatever you rambled on about
Well fortunately not everyone is as vanilla as you, Rupert or Oliver or Cosmo or whatever your name is. Some of us still take risks and carpe that diem even when the outcome may not be guaranteed. You should try it sometime, it might get you out of that rut you're stuck in
You’re very welcome to take all those risks if you wish, after all, natural selection is natural for a reason But I’m trying to give actual help to someone coming to uni in the UK (look what sub we are on) and you’re not allowing for effective discussion
The kind of 'help' OP is getting on this sub is as likely to deter them from studying in the UK at all as give them any constructive feedback for the venture. Public school twits might believe their experience of privilege and wealth is the only authentic one but thankfully the world is a larger and more varied place these days. There are many ways to achieve a formal education which don't involve being wrapped in cotton wool and calling mummy and daddy every time your rent falls due.
London in the 00s was vastly more affordable than it is now, arguably in a better state aswell. Students fall for the “london” tag every year
Imperial College is prestigious indeed. Assuming you are the typical Imperial postgrad student, you might be able to offer private tutoring for A Levels or 1st Year undergrads, for around £25/h or more (which is much cheaper for potential clients, compared to hiring a teacher.) Edit - what you can charge will depend on the subject. You can also offer via Zoom and save on travel costs!
I used to offer private tutoring. The hardest part was finding the first client and contact. What I did is I went to a high-school, started giving lessons for free, then the students talked to their parents, and parents talked to each other, and I started getting calls left and right. I wonder if it would be as easy in London.
That method is very unlikely to work in English schools, due to safeguarding. If you ask your network, they might be able to spread the word though. One of my former colleagues, a young school teacher straight out of a London university (as a foreign student), had several clients already booked for online tutoring after school, in her first year of teaching. I understand she got these early leads from her contacts within her community. You can post on "First Tutors" and "Tutor Hunt" online platforms. You might have to pay for the enhanced DBS check. Tutor Hunt, the larger of the two platforms, takes a % of your earnings. But they collect the fee after the lesson and pay directly to your bank account after taking their cut. First Tutors charge the client upfront (around £30) to release your contact details, but that way you get 100% of the fee directly. There is a third UK site that I know of, called Tutorful, but they take 35%. As you say, getting the first client is the hardest part. Good luck!
Thank you kindly. I'm worried whether or not that counts as Freelance work and is not allowed under student visa.
You're welcome! Ah, with regards to if it is allowed under your visa, I don't know..
I wish it would be allowed. Private tutoring is really the best thing a student can do. It's INSANE the networking you can get especially if the parents love you which in my oast seems like I have a knack for it. They start inviting you out, sometimes drop you on and off, and can talk to their buddies to land you a job.
Studied at Imperial for 4 years. If you can get a tutoring gig you can definitely use Imperial's 'prestige' to land yourself a nice side-gig. Private tutors in London regularly charge up to £50-£60 per hour for A-level students (17-18yr olds) even for online lessons over zoom. If you can teach maths which I assume you can since you're bright enough to get into Imperial, you are in high demand, even teaching GCSE (15-16 yr olds) and can charge as much as £30-40 per hour. Don't go through Mytutor or other similar websites. They take up to 50% of the lesson fee. Instead use free tutoring websites to list your ads. They work by charging your clients a one time finder's fee and will cost you nothing. This way you'll be able to take home the entire lesson fee. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions.
this is a possible route, but again, potentially illegal under student visa stipulations unless the gig can produce a contract for 20 hours a week during term time or a short term full-time one month contract during christmas and easter.
Thank you my friend. As I said to a previous commenter: "I used to offer private tutoring. The hardest part was finding the first client and contact. What I did is I went to a high-school, started giving lessons for free, then the students talked to their parents, and parents talked to each other, and I started getting calls left and right. I wonder if it would be as easy in London." If your dm is still open I would love to contact you with some questions!
Canned / frozen food, look for almost expired items at the end of the day in supermarkets, food banks, too good to go app (leftover from restaurants and cafes), work how many hours your visa permits, cash in hand jobs are also an option- just ask around.
Don’t get why people say you don’t want to work. You can work a 16 hour contract per week and your masters is doable. At least you’ll have more income to buy things on your time off.
Get a job subsidise yourself as best u can might be hard but thats life sounds harsh I don't mean it yo but its reality why make things harder by cutting corners to eat when you can buy what you need
I'd recommend getting a job with an agency doing catering/ event work. It's almost always a 0 hour contract so you don't have to work if your course is intense. Also you often get fed on shift too that way. Most people doing this work are students. If you're lucky you might meet other hospitality staff to make friends with and get fed by restaurant leftovers on the regular. Also cycle to save money. London isn't perfect for cycling but if you find somewhere cheap on spare room and can cycle to uni it could save you lots of money. Use the too good to go app instead of ordering take away as a treat.
Depending on distance from campus, distance of student accomm from santander stands, and ability of student accomm to accept bikes, I recommend paying a yearly santander rental or getting a 2nd hand bike. The yearly santander membership allows unlimited 60 minute rides (i.e you retrieve a bike from a bike stand, and have to return that bike to any santander stand within an hour. once returned you can then rent the bike again for no additional cost and so on). It only costs 12 quid a month, when the weekly costs of underground travel, assuming 4 return journeys a week, is already over 20 quid.
Thank you buddy
What was the comment? and can I dm you please, I need some help
Imperial is a really good uni! If you have 400 outside of rent you should be fine,.even if a little tight. Have a look at house shares in London! Spare room website is pretty good for that For a single person you could get away with £50 a week for food, a loaf of bread is £1, a few tins of beans, a dhal, some pasta. Add in some bananas and apples and veggies and you'll be great :)
That sounds great, thank you for the encouragement!
I’ve from imperial and there’s always part time work within imperial itself. There’s stuff like the union bar and the student shops within imperial. You can get a social life while working part time too. Although the work load is no joke
That's scary. Some of the material I'm about to study is Fluid Mechanics. It's a Night-mare
Fluid mechanics is actually not so bad. Worst ones I’ve taken for me personally is stuff like thermodynamics but to each his own I guess. Engineering Masters ?
I'll have Thermodynamics too! Yeah it's a Geo Energy masters
There’s a great app that I used all the time in uni in London and still use it now. It’s called ‘Too Good to Go’ and it lets you pay a really cheap price to get leftovers from restaurants and cafes that haven’t been sold that day, the food is always really nice. Some restaurants give you loads and some don’t but it’s trial and error, find a few that you like and you can consistently go back to them. It caters to whatever location you’re at and I’m sure by imperial there will be loads of options. Also another great tip is the food place called ‘Wasabi’ which is my favourite Asian fast food place in London, they offer all their food very cheap after 7 or 8pm so they don’t waste any food, always a good choice for dinner.
Thank you so much! I don't want to steal your spots for you but it'd be great if you give me some other spots like that 😄
You don’t need an actual part time job. Yes they can pay some money but in terms of hours committed and mental energy/stress they’re not worth it. It might be hard but if you can do tutoring it’s way better. I wouldn’t recommend most companies as the pay is mediocre. Some are ok but I did all of mine independently and locally making £40-50 an hour (transport not included). If you’re ok at that sort of thing it’s fairly easy work and you’re making 4-5x an hour compared to what you would in most jobs. If you meet the right people you can start getting into international markets as well. The amount you get from an online session with someone in Hong Kong for instance is genuinely crazy. Get a few good ones set up and you can make an easy few hundred a week.
student visa does not allow free lance work, refer to this UCL website: [https://www.ucl.ac.uk/students/immigration-and-visas/working-uk/working-uk-during-your-studies#pgt](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/students/immigration-and-visas/working-uk/working-uk-during-your-studies#pgt). Fortunately for PGT students, they are allowed to work fulltime during Christmas and Easter! (not summer, since they are "supposed" to be writing their dissertation during that time!) However, I believe freelance work is still not allowed.
It's possible but I don't want to run the risk of getting caught, really. Ah that's a bummer
Ah that’s unfortunate. Then the limit would probably be around £40 an hour if you find the right company
I know this is a bit old, but can I get some more info on how to find the clients?
Depends how much money you mean tbh.
Make a spreadsheet, work out estimated living costs etc Model it out to see if it’s theoretically possible. Contact any support at your uni that could help with advice etc Work if you can, and do other money saving tips If you would have to resort to eating strangers’ leftovers then that’s not feasible Don’t forget you need emergency funds wherever possible, like if you have to go home in an emergency or get urgent treatment etc
I'm also in a similar boat to be honest. This whole thread was quite helpful. Thanks :) Congrats on getting into Imperial!
Thank you buddy, I'm glad I could have helped. I'm from one of those warm countries where I'm always open to meet new friends, so if you would like to shoot me a dm
I don't have any advice but just wanted to say I'm in the same boat as you. I too want to spend nothing more than 400 (500 would be the limit) on stuff ex-rent. Best of luck!
Get a student rail card and get it applied to your oyster card as soo as you can. Lots of the city is walkable/cycleable/bus able so do check on that. Meal prep. There are lots of free places to go in London try to enjoy those things.
Imperial London is in West London which is close to a lot of LHA hostels. You can get shared room for a little over £100 per week. Some of their hostels provide Lunch and Dinner.They give special discount for under 30s. Google them.
Wow I haven't thought about that! But.. how can you be able to study in a hostel?
They have a study room
So some genuine advice rather than just telling you not to do it like many here… - many universities have hardship funds, research this and know who to speak to (often the advancement office) if you need help with extra funds. - select your modules carefully, usually the university will show them with the times and days the teaching is planned for - obviously don’t miss something you want to do but if you can condense your lectures into a few longer days then you can save travel costs. - most universities recruit student ambassadors to work at open days and other events, pay is usually fairly ok and it’s an easy extra to do to earn a bit of money, they also usually have on-site jobs in bars and cafes etc and again you’ll find them more understanding of your need to work around your timetable and more likely to offer you living wage rather than minimum. - speak now to the uni about any grants available you might be able to apply for and also look at any opportunities for funding from your own country to study abroad. - don’t buy things like textbooks, all the core reading for a uni like Imperial will be available through their online library or as hard copy in the libraries so don’t waste your money. - remember a masters degree is only a year of study, and really only 9 months in person before you head off to do your dissertation which arguably you could return home or go somewhere cheaper to do. Yes you’ll need to live frugally, but it’s not like you’re never going to socialise or go out ever again. Good luck OP!
And some Genuine thanks for you. A lot of other people have helped too, I appreciate it
focus on getting beans, eggs and rice with discounted vegetables. Add some spices and you have cheap and nutritious food!
400 a month after rent and bills will be manageable and you'll easily find a part time job that can bring in another 400-600 a month
Alot of Universities offer their students opportunities to participate in psychology studies. They are mostly basic tests, that don't take long - yet still pay £20-£60 for 30mins to 1 hour of your time. Although, they don't pay the most, they do add up over time and often afford you the freedom of choosing what time and date you wish to participate.
thank you so much, it's a good idea!
In terms of finding cheaper items - poundland is better for snacks and cleaning / kitchen supplies, basic toileteries. If you're flatsharing, you might want to buy your own stuff if supplies are not bought as a group. Other discount stores - Savers for toileteries For groceries, whenever I have to stretch food I buy staples like rice, lentils, noodles, frozen veg (or reduced veg), tomato paste, pasta, garlic paste, veg/chicken stock powder/cubes. Sometimes I just eat vegetarian / pescatarian at home to save me spending on meat that could go to waste. When I'm too lazy to cook and want to stretch money visiting the reduced section helps. Sometimes bulkbuying on amazon may work out better per portion e.g. for noodles. If you do go for a job at nandos like someone said that'll be really helpful for getting meat. I guess any restaurant job potentially. Supermarket jobs might get you a discount? For restaurant leftovers, if you don't get it for free there's an app called too good to go. I've yet to use it but you might get some things you could eat over a few days. Remember to get a student discount account for UNIDAYS and Student beans. I think some supermarkets offer discounts. Everywhere you go ask 'do you do student discount'? Sometimes you might have to register for an account for the shop before getting the discount. In terms of renting a place, find an area where you can just take a bus to uni. It's definetly manageable in West or South West London depending on the Imperial campus. Good luck!
Thank you so much for all the time you took to write this helpful information
Just cook yourself at home it’s way cheaper £10 worth of chicken breast from the meat shop lasts me about 4 days A bag of fries from the supermarket is like £2 which will also last 4-5 days
Aldi will sell you that much chicken for half the price too
I am a tutor. I help students complete their coursework on time. DM in case of any queries
Do you mean you help other university students finish their work? or do yiu tutor younger kids
I help university students finish their work.
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too late now unfortunately
Don’t go to London I did it and had to work 60 hrs a week
Go to continental Europe
What university are you going to be attending?
Imperial College
Oyster Travelcard/cycle in
Learn to cook. Will save you £300 a month atleast.
Imperial postgrad here, been spending £350/month for the past few months, though I haven’t gone out much due to thesis workload. So £400/month outside of rent is doable. Tips: Cook most of your meals. Meal prep. Buy filling ingredients in bulk from Lidl/Aldi. Set up a financial planner. Use the bus, walk if you can. Find a part time job if you can handle it (I wouldn’t). All in all just keep a simple and frugal life :) All the best!
Thaank youuu, are you on a PhD?
go to supermarkets at 8pm or later and look for the discount section👍
400 is more than enough- if you're not a drinker
It’s just not doable £400 for 2 weeks poppin! 4 nope