Lincoln is the most affordable university town in the UK, according to new research.
The East Midlands city, which boasts a student population of over 12,000 people, has been ranked above Cardiff, Leicester and Newcastle in a new list of the top 50 cheapest places to be a student.
The study takes into account factors like rent, travel costs, gym memberships and even the price of a kebab in compiling the index.
Attendees of Lancaster University are shown to have access to the cheapest pints (£2.80), while in Belfast, Queen’s students save the most money on taxis (£0.78 per km).
Northern institutions fared better on the whole than their southern, and specifically London-based, counterparts, with Newcastle and Aston rising at least ten places to break into the top ten for 2017.
Exorbitant rent prices of up to £232 a week at Kings College, London are staggering when compared to cities like Edinburgh who scored best with a £102 weekly average.
Former league-leaders Keele fell ten places, possibly due to 28 per cent rise in pint prices and £376 added onto the average yearly rent for students.
- Lincoln – Although it did not rank in the Top 50 on the University league tables, 2017 sees Lincoln as the highest-performing new entry and number-one overall. With £30 travel passes for the bus, cut-price pints (£3.10) and taxis for under a pound per km, Lincoln University gives a rounded approach to cheap living in the area.
- Strathclyde – Scotland’s highest entry has climbed 5 places in the ranks, scoring well on virtually every metric. The average gym membership sets students back a mere £7.58 per month opposed by their economical £4.47 kebab making the struggle with healthy-living that bit cheaper.
- Cardiff – With Swansea University in 19th place, Cardiff offers students crossing the border to Wales the best in terms of low-cost living. Out of all 50, Cardiff boasts the best deal for cinema tickets (£6.50).
- Queen’s, Belfast – As mentioned earlier, student’s at Queen’s can be ferried around for the least with taxi prices of only 78p per km. While they’ve dropped two places from 2016, Queen’s also claim the lowest weekly rent of the top 10 (£113)
- Leicester – If not for Lincoln, Leicester’s leapfrogging of Coventry would have made them the cheapest in the Midlands. But with the cheapest travel passes in the country (£29) and £3.10 pints, you won’t hear many Leicester undergraduates complaining.
A new infographic created by Marbles.com highlights the glaring disparity between north and south in this top 50 list.
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