How much will it cost you to be a student in the UK? The answer depends to a large extent on what you study, where you live and how extravagant a lifestyle you aspire to.

There are two major financial elements to consider when planning to study in the UK: course fees and living costs. You will have little control over the first of these items because course fees are fixed amounts determined by the universities and colleges, ranging from £6,000-7,000 a year for an undergraduate classroom-based course to £16,000-17,000 a year for an undergraduate clinical course.

You can, however, exercise considerable flexibility over living costs. Let's look at the key components and illustrate how you can plan to break even when living as a student in the UK.

Accommodation
Unless you are lucky enough to be offered free accommodation with friends or relations, you will find that getting a roof over your head will make the greatest demands on your non-fee finances, usually taking away at least half and sometimes as much as three-quarters of your income.

It is essential to find a suitable place to live, especially during the first twelve months. Everything else revolves around your feeling secure and comfortable at home - your attitude to living in Britain, your ability to focus on studying successfully, your opportunities to make new friendships and so on. Can you, for example, walk to your study centre or will you have to make a long and possibly expensive journey every day? Do you want to be surrounded by other students or do you crave peace and quiet?

Before you accept a place, contact the accommodation office at your chosen university or college to check out the service on offer. Is there official accommodation in a hall of residence? Will you get a priority place because you have travelled such a long way to start your course? Are meals provided? Would you be expected to share a room? Can you inspect the accommodation before you sign any agreement? Does the accommodation office have a list of approved premises in the private sector?

Here are some key points to consider:

• Cost. Ask especially how many weeks you have to pay for. Is it term-time only (in which case you would have to find somewhere else to live during the vacations) or do you have to take out a full ten- or twelve-month rental agreement?
  
• Catering. How many meals are supplied a day, if any? Are meals provided at weekends or Monday to Friday only? Do you have access to a kitchen to prepare your own meals?
  
• Space. How big are the rooms? Do you have to share? Is there an en-suite bathroom?
  
• Transport and travel. Will you be on-campus or many miles away? What sort of transport is available and how much does it cost?
  
• Local services. Would you have easy access to a bank, shops and leisure facilities?
  
• Insurance. Is there a comprehensive policy covering all students in a hall of residence? How secure are the doors and windows? Is crime a serious problem?

It goes without saying, of course, that London is far more expensive than anywhere else in the UK! Other pricey areas include south east England, Oxford and Cambridge. The cheapest part of the country for renting student accommodation is generally the north of England. Bearing in mind the huge variations in price linked to the issues and facilities listed above, average student rents in London are around £85 per week compared with around £45 to £50 in the north of England.

Food
Unless it's already included in your accommodation costs, food will be your second major expense. Unlike property rents, the cost of food is fairly similar all over the UK. London students tend, however, to spend more on food, perhaps because there are so many tempting restaurants and other places to eat!

Expect to spend at least £35 each week making sure that you are reasonably well fed.

Going out
You may intend to devote all of your time to your studies but most students feel that socialising is an important part of their life at university or college. This is a serious lifestyle decision for each individual and it could cost you anything from nothing to over £100 per week, depending on how gregarious you are, whether you have a taste for expensive concerts or theatres and how determined you are generally to have a good time.

Books, photocopying and stationery
Books can be exceptionally expensive but you don't necessarily have to buy a new copy of every book mentioned by your tutors. Check to see how well stocked the library is in your subject area and find out whether there is a good second-hand bookshop. You will almost certainly have to photocopy some material and you will have to make sure that you have adequate supplies of paper.

You may need to allow around £5 a week to cover these items.

Computer and other equipment
You may already own a computer and decide to bring it with you. If not, you could easily spend £1,000 on a new machine! Do you really need it or does your university or college offer 24-hour IT facilities?

You may be required to purchase materials and equipment for some courses, especially in areas such as science and design.

Telephone
It seems that no student can live in the 21st century without a mobile phone! How much it costs depends entirely on how long you chat, but a typical student spends around £10 a week on phone bills. (That's about twice as much as they spend on books!)

Clothing
Even if you don't rush out every week to buy the latest fashions, you will need to allow a certain amount of money for new clothes. The average ranges from £5 to £10 per week but some students spend a great deal more.

Basics
You'll need to put some cash aside to wash your clothes and to keep yourself clean. You'll also have to pay for electricity and gas unless you are paying a fully inclusive charge in a hall of residence.

Travel
You may live on campus and walk everywhere but you could find yourself spending a small fortune if, say, you are living in a London suburb and have to commute every day to lectures in the centre of town.

It is generally not a good idea to drive your own car and we make no allowance for this in our calculations.

Plan your own budget!

Look at the figures in our typical student budget and then make your own projections about what it might cost you to be a student in the UK. We have left two columns blank for you to work out your own weekly and yearly expenses. Our calculations assume that you will stay in the UK for the full 52 weeks but you may stay for, say, nine months or less and could make savings accordingly.

Item Cost per week Cost per year Your weekly estimate Your yearly estimate

Rent £60 £3120
Food £45 £2340
Electricity/Gas £4 £208
Clothes £6 £312
Telephone £10 £520
Basics - laundry and toiletries £6 £312
Travel £5 £260
Going out £8 £416
Books, equipment and so on £6 £312
Total £150 £7800

Remember that our figures don't allow for other expenditure such as buying presents for friends and family, treating yourself to an occasional CD or other luxury or taking a weekend or more away from your studies from time to time. And we certainly haven't reckoned on any flights back to India!

Put everything together and you'll quickly see why you need to be budgeting for non-fee expenses of just under £10,000 a year outside London and around £12,00 to £15,000 in London. Please let us know if your own calculations are very different from ours.

You can try to offset some of the expense by getting a job, working for up to 20 hours a week during term time and full-time during the vacations. Your university or college should be able to give you further information on employment options in the area. Depending on how many hours you work in total and how well you are paid, you may be able to cover a large amount of the living costs outlined in this article.

Be prepared!
The key message is to plan your finances carefully in advance. If you have thought about your budget and worked out how to cover the inevitable expense of eating and sleeping, you can focus on your studies without fretting too much about money.