What You Need To Know About Studying In The UK As An International Student

We should not trust the masses who say only free can be educated, but rather the lover of wisdom who say only educated are free. — Epictetus

One of the most pressing needs of the current economy is education (quality education). Just a few of the issues the world is currently facing include supply chain disruption, climate change, skill shortages, and manufacturing issues. The only defence we have against this hostile environment is education.

Due to the excellent educational system, the UK is one of the top destinations for international students. According to a 2019 study by US News & World Report, the United Kingdom took the top spot in the best countries for Education. The number of international students is rising steadily; in the academic year 2020–2021, 605,130 foreigners studied in the UK. This is a result of the highly qualified academic staff, diverse environment, and internationally renowned universities. Additionally, the UK is considered a favourable location because:

There are numerous scholarship options available. Chevening, Commonwealth, and Great scholarships are the most important awards. (Add link to read more).
Its official language is English.
Compared to comparable English-speaking nations like Canada, the weather is much better.
In contrast to the USA, it is also very affordable for students.
There are many job opportunities in the UK.

For all aspiring students, here are two things that they must definitely focus on before moving to the UK for pursuing their education.

Cambridge University - Photo credit Splash

PR Route

One of the major goals for students is to get citizenship in the country from which they pursue their education. The UK does offer citizenship to immigrants, but the process takes roughly eight years of time duration. Here is the ideal route to citizenship.

For further information regarding the visa check out the link to my detailed work.

The actual cost of studying in UK

Universities in the UK have different tuition rates for local and foreign students (twice as much as UK students). Although there are other significant costs associated with studying in the UK, the course fee is unquestionably the most significant. The expenses can generally be broken down into three categories, which are:

1. Visa fees

Students have to apply for a student visa to pursue their education. At the time of writing this article, the website states that the response will be granted after 3 weeks (for students applying outside of UK) [1]. The visa will be granted only if the student is able to show a bank statement with sufficient funds to make sure that the student can live and study in UK without any problem. The statement must show the funds in your account for 28 days and can be 31 days old (at max).

The student can rely on these sources of funding only. [2]

The summary of the amount to show in bank statement.

Bank statement requirement if a student gets admission in University of Portsmouth

Apart from bank statement, there are other significant expenses that come while applying for the visa and that includes:

2. Initial expenditures (Air ticket, cutlery, clothes, …)

Once students get acceptance by the university, they need to spend money on the following activities:

Pay an initial deposit to the university, on average around £ 4000
Find accommodation and pay the deposit for the accommodation which varies from £ 250 - 1000.
Purchase necessities like cutlery, clothes, travel bags and many more. This expense depends on the individual but £ 300 is sufficient in majority of cases (especially for students from Pakistan).

3. Your stay in UK (living expenses, remaining course fee, ……)

After arriving in the UK, the average student spends between £800 and £1100 a month on living expenses, depending on where he resides. For instance, the cost of rent in London is twice as high as that in Leicester. [3] [4]

Additionally, after arriving in the UK, the student must pay the remaining course fees in two payments.

Can students finance their education by working part-time?

No, if a student follows the visa criteria, this is not a possibility. Consider a master's student who was accepted by a Tier 2 university; the degree is one year long and costs £ 16,000. According to visa guidelines, the student can only work 20 hours per week throughout his studies; however, during holidays such as Easter, Christmas, and New Year, they can work full time (say, 50 hours per week). Assume a 52-week academic year comprises of 42 restricted weeks (20 hours/week) and 10 free weeks (50 hours/week). As a result, the total number of hours a student can legally work in the UK is

**(20 * 42) + (50 * 10) = 1340 hrs/year**

As previously stated, the monthly living expenses range from £ 800 to £1100. If your monthly living expenditure is £ 850, your annual living expense is

**850 * 12 = £ 10,200/year**

As a result, the total cost of a student's stay in the UK is

£16,000 + £10,200 = £26,200/year

To completely fund a degree on your own, a student's hourly wage needs be

£26,200/1,340 = £19.55/hr

Part-time workers could expect to earn between £10 and £11 per hour. As can be seen from the basic calculation above, it is not viable to completely fund your degree and stay in the UK on your own. Hence, my advice to all ambitious students is to consider the UK only if your family can pay the school tuition and you simply need to manage living expenditures. As you may be aware, the UK's inflation is rising as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Therefore, the prices of food and essential necessities are only likely to rise more, hence, managing living expenses on your own is the only viable choice for students.

My working on expense

The work shown below is the most accurate estimate of the expenditures necessary at each step of the degree. The GBP/PKR exchange rate is 253.20. The work below is for a 16-month course at the University of Portsmouth. The first round of expenditures is necessary in order to fly to the UK; however, the second round of payments is to be made while residing in the UK.