1 in 5 prospective students expected to be financially stable with no money worries at all, yet a huge 70% label already themselves as skint and already in their overdrafts.

Interestingly, prospective students shared that they expected their parents to support them financially each month, contributing on average £179 every four weeks to fund their wild and wonderful lifestyle. However, the reality data shows that 50% of students receive nothing!

Those that do get financial help from their parents receive on average £2568 a year (£214 a month). With an estimated 1.1 million students in the UK, and 50% of those receive help… the total amount coming from banks of mums and dads across totals to £1.4 billion per year.

The average student spends £65.70 a month on food, £354 a month on rent, £93.50 a month on bills, £38.50 a month on travel, £62 a month of beauty/fashion treats, and £64.50 on getting drunk and partying.

With total outgoings of around £678.20 a month but an average income as a student of £469 a month – there’s no doubt that 70% of students are already in their overdrafts

Despite the struggles, 53% of UK students don’t work whilst at University.

44% of students said they spent the majority of their money in fresher’s week on rent however a huge 42% said going out was their priority during fresher’s. 18% of students threw their money straight into a shopping trip during fresher’s week and 2% booked a holiday.

14% of students have a credit card as well as their loan to ensure they can make the most of their time living away from home.

Living costs across the UK of course vary meaning the cost of being a student (income vs outgoings) are different for each region.

The Reality of a Student House

When it comes to student housing, the majority of current students live in a run-down house shared with complete strangers. A huge 95% of students expected to live in a warm house – however, just 5% enjoy such a luxury. 15% of students can’t afford to heat their homes throughout winter, and, because of this, 1 in 5 live in a house that suffers with mould. It was found that many choose to sleep in numerous jumpers just to keep warm.

Case study, Robert from York St Johns, lived in a corridor with a bed sheet as a curtain for 12 months to evade sky high renting costs in the city. Read about his experience here.

Students were found to spend just £16.40 on their weekly shop with 1 in 4 expecting to share meals with everyone in the house, cooking large batches to make it cheaper per head. However, a huge 70% of students said they don’t share their food and 18% even admitted to arguing over cupboard and fridge space.

1 in 3 expected to lose weight as a student, but the majority don’t! On average each student adds 14lb to their waistline. However, this can’t be blamed on an increase in takeaways – as a huge 36% said they can’t even afford one!

Reality of Life after Graduation

Expectations of life after graduation are a bit more realistic! Just 16% of students expect to graduate with a first class degree, the majority expect to have a salary of less than £15,000 a year and just 12% of students expect to own their own house once they finish.

The reality data of life after graduation shows that the majority (42%) graduate with a 2:1, interestingly the average student moves onto a post-grad salary of £24,498.35 a year.

However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows for some! More than 1 in 4 graduates move back in with mum and dad and their dreams of travelling the world before starting their career are diminished!

Explore the full study here.