Studying in Wales is often seen as an affordable adventure, with living costs being 4x lower than some places in England!
Living costs in Wales are lower than in most of the rest of the UK. Cardiff, the capital of Wales, has the second-lowest monthly rent of all the UK's university cities. The city itself came fourth in the 2021 NatWest Student Living Index for monthly rental costs in UK university cities, and sixteenth in terms of overall living costs.
Other universities in Wales also offer other incentives for international students, for example, Aberystwyth University offers free accommodation for the first year of studies for international students!
Accommodation
Most first-year international students like to live in university-run halls of residence. These might be on-campus, or in a “student village” a short distance away from campus.
All accommodation at the universities we work with have single rooms, so you won’t have to share with anyone else! Some rooms are ensuite and others have a shared bathroom. You do, though, typically share a kitchen with about 6-10 other people. You also might find social areas in some accommodation blocks. Most universities in Wales are self-catered, meaning you get to cook your own food. But there are some universities that still have catered (meal-plans) accommodation available.
After your first year, you tend to move off-campus to live with friends you’ve made during your time in university accommodation. There is still some university accommodation available for students in their second and third year of study, however.
The pricing of university accommodation is weekly. It’s a fixed fee, and it includes:
- Room
- Internet
- Utilities
You can expect to pay between:
- £75-190 per week for university-managed accommodation (not including the Aberystwyth accommodation scholarship)
- £80-90 per week for Off-Campus private accommodation.
Prices change depending on location, and whether the room is an en-suite or a studio apartment.
Other costs of studying in Wales
Students studying in Wales can buy or loan their own textbooks. All core textbooks will be available from the university library.
It’s important to note that, when applying for your visa to study in the UK, you’ll need to pay a health surcharge, which is around £470 per year of study. This gives you access to the National Health Service, which is free to use. In Wales, this fee also covers free prescriptions.
The Which? student budget calculator is a useful tool to use when calculating how much things cost. For example, the cost of studying in Swansea is roughly £820 a month (not including fees). Meanwhile, studying in London could cost you more than £1200 a month.
