Expenses

If you're planning to go into HE, make sure you know what it'll cost! The 2 types of financial costs you'll face are tuition fees and living expenses.

Tuition fees

Tuition fees help cover university or college costs, such as lecturers' salaries and maintaining buildings. You should be able to get a student loan for fees to pay for these.

• For full-time students in 2009/10:

  From September 2006 universities have been able to charge tuition fees for full-time HE courses. They can choose how much to charge, up to a maximum set by the government.

  Exactly what you are charged depends on the university or college you attend, your course and where in the UK you study. Check your university or college prospectus to find out the tuition fees for your course

  In 2009/10 the maximum tuition fee you can be charged is £3,225 a year.

• For part-time students:

  There's no regulations on how much you can be charged for part-time study – so fees are very different from one course to another. Speak to your university or college to find out how much they charge. Make sure you find out how much the fees are likely to rise over the length of your course.

Living expenses

You'll face all sorts of living costs as a student. Of course, these will be higher if you live away from home, and higher still if you're studying in London.

These are some of the things you'll probably be paying for – think about what these might cost:

• accommodation – this will probably your biggest expense. (Even if you live at home you may be expected to contribute some money to household expenses.)
• food
• household bills – gas, electricity, water rates, phone, TV licence, contents insurance (some of these are covered by your rent if you live in a hall of residence)
• clothes
• travel
• socialising
• leisure and sport
• study costs – such as books, materials, field trips for your course.