MONEY: Looking after the pennies

One of the most useful life skills that you will learn at university or college is how to organise and live on a budget

Students are money-stretching experts. You'll become one too, picking up tips from veterans such as checking the reduced items section in supermarkets and buying clothes at charity shops. How many clothes do you need anyway?You can also save money by restricting your social life to events organised by the students union. Alternatively, use only clubs and pubs that give student discounts.

If you are not used to managing money, be very careful at first. Some students go mad when they see loans in their bank accounts and forget how long it has to last. All you need to do is draw up a simple budget: make a list of your incomings and outgoings – what's left is yours to spend. You probably won't have three equal terms – the summer one is often shorter – and expect to spend more in the first term when you have books to buy and subscriptions to pay. If you do run into trouble, try to sort it at once. There are financial counsellors in student services and most banks have student officers.

OUTGOINGS

The largest will be for accommodation (unless you live at home). This will vary according to whether you go for full board, self-catering, single room with en suite facilities or shared room (you can save £10-£15 a week by sharing). Costs vary but a single room with most meals could be £70-£120. Expect en-suite facilities to add £10-£15. Self-catering rents could be £40-£50. Some fully catered halls cost over £120.

Next comes a contribution towards tuition fees. This is means-tested (it depends on your family's income), and it is estimated that 50 per cent of students pay nothing; the rest pay part of or the full amount. (The most anyone will have to pay in 2002/2003 will be £1,100.)

Other expenses are difficult to estimate because needs and tastes differ so much: some students feed themselves for £15 a week; some don't go out much.

INCOME

Everyone's situation is unique. Students get different contributions towards tuition fees from local education authorities. Some already have savings. Some parents cannot afford to help out much. Some of you might be lucky enough to get a sponsorship or bursary.

* LOANS

Official student loans are means-tested and come in different amounts. An additional hardship loan of £500 may be available.

Banks also offer loans and overdrafts. Watch penalty charges for going over the limit!

* GOVERNMENT BURSARIES

Eight thousand Opportunity Bursaries are offered to students from families whose income is below a certain level. You would need to be currently at a school or college which is taking part in the Government's Excellence Challenge programme. Bursaries are for £2,000 for students under 21 whose family has little or no previous experience of higher education.

* NHS BURSARIES

Payable to nursing students and those on certain courses related to medicine. Amounts vary depending on the course.

* OTHER SCHOLARSHIPS

Many institutions award their own scholarships for students on specific courses or sometimes for those with the best entry grades.

* CHARITABLE TRUSTS

Make small payments to students in need.

* SPONSORSHIP

This is an arrangement whereby an employer gives a student a tax-free sum of money (on average, about £1,500 a year) and pays a wage if the student works for them during vacations.

* GRANTS FROM HARDSHIP FUNDS

These are administered by universities and colleges and given to students depending on circumstances. Payments can be up to £3,500.

* PART-TIME WORK

Most students have term-time jobs. Universities and colleges ask them not to work more than 12-15 hours a week. Most institutions help by reserving jobs on campus for students or by operating job shops to put them in touch with employers.

A GUIDE TO BUYING TEXTBOOKS

The average student on a UK Higher Education course will spend around £130 a year on textbooks. For students studying sciences, law or business, this average is more likely to be around the £200 mark. Many textbooks are now in the £30-£50 bracket so buying three or four books a term can easily set you back over £100. To make matters worse, the price of textbooks is currently rising at around 7-8 per cent per annum, a trend that looks likely to continue for the immediate future.

However, the good news is that there are some very real savings to be made on what is a vital part of your planning for your course. Having the right books is still an unsurpassable means of ensuring that you have the tools you need to complete your course successfully, so investment here is essential.

* Getting the right books

Your tutor/lecturer should issue you at some point with a recommended reading list. This will contain books that are considered to be either essential or useful for your course. Reading lists come in all shapes and sizes (watch out for the lecturer recommending his or her own book!), but there should be some indication of what are essential purchases (often called core books or primary books) and some indication of what are "nice to have but not essential" (often called secondary or supplementary reading).

Before you rush off and buy all the books on the list, make sure you are clear about what is essential and what is nice to have. Check also that the book details are correct and up to date – many reading lists can be several years old and you may find that prices and availability have changed.

* Buying your books

As soon as you have decided which books you want to buy, a little more research can save you quite a bit of money. If possible, try to get your reading lists before you leave home for university or college – many departments will be more than happy to post reading lists to you (you'll be getting a ton of stuff from them anyway).

Buying books online from an internet bookseller can save you some serious cash and you also have the benefit of getting your books before you get to your place of study. Swotbooks.com works with UCAS to offer an online bookselling service to students and has access to every book currently in print in the UK (over one million titles) all at discounted prices.

Many universities have a bookshop on campus, usually owned by one of the large bookselling chains such as Waterstone's or Blackwell's. The booksellers there will be very happy to take your money on expensive textbooks, but you will find very few discounts available on those core titles. Frankly, academic bookshops have little incentive to discount textbooks that they know you will have to buy! The internet bookseller, on the other hand, has far lower overheads and can offer the discounts that many students will find attractive!

Buying second-hand is another option that has its attractions, but there are some serious pitfalls to be avoided. While you may save some money, be very careful that the title you have bought is the edition that you need. In some subjects, notably law, computing and the sciences, new editions of major textbooks come out almost every year, so your second-hand title may be seriously out of date and pretty worthless. Swotbooks has a second-hand books section with more than 35 million books, but, if in doubt, the best bet is to buy new.

As for the future, look out for some exciting developments in electronic books (e-books). Books or even parts of books in a digital format (a bit like MP3 files) that you can buy online and download to a PC or PDA (personal digital assistant). Swotbooks is working with UCAS to make this a real option for students, so watch this space!

David Taylor, Chairman/founder, Swotbooks.com
taylor@swotbooks.com

CASE STUDY

Anthea Atwell

Anthea Atwell, 21, just graduated with a BA in English from King Alfred's College, Winchester

As a result of her work experience, Anthea is working full-time for a year and applying to medical school.

"I worked throughout my time at college. My parents paid my tuition fees but I did not want to ask them for any more and I also wanted to avoid borrowing.

I had two jobs and worked for three days a week on average and full-time in vacations. I needed money. I had moved in with my partner and had to run a car as well as manage my living costs, so I decided to be very organised.

I did college assignments and reading as soon as I was given them and in term time went out only on Friday and Saturday nights.

I had one job doing administrative work at Lymington Hospital near my home. I made patient appointments for outpatient clinics and was responsible for getting medical records and test results ready for them; this could involve ringing labs and tracking down records held at other hospitals. I also worked on the reception desk. My manager was really helpful. She has a student daughter and was very good about arranging my hours to fit my college timetable. The second job was as a health care assistant on a cardio-thoracic ward at Southampton General Hospital. It involved basic patient care and I loved it. I was able to work evening and weekend shifts there. Both jobs paid just over £5 an hour, so I earned over £100 a week in term time."

CASE STUDY

John Walters

John Walters, 24, just graduated with a BA Entertainment Design Crafts from Teesside University. John had more than average course expenses since he was constantly buying new materials for practical work. Nevertheless, his expenditure on other items could act as a guide to what you might expect.

ANNUAL INCOME
* £3,400 student loan
* £700-£800 bank overdraft.

"My loan arrived in three equal instalments but I had to budget for rent according to whether it was a 12- or 15-week period. (I shared a house, and landlords charge rent during the Christmas and Easter vacations.) I realised half way through my first year that I was going to have to budget! From then on, I set aside the rent money first, then worked out how much I could spend on other things. Luckily, I had no tuition fees to pay."

EXPENSES
* Rent £30
* Food £25
* Cleaning materials, toiletries £5
* Course materials £10-£20
* Clothes and entertainment £10 plus.

"I graduated with one year's overdraft plus my student loan to repay. I couldn't work in term time because my course demanded eight to ten hours' work each day. I only ever worked for seven to eight weeks in vacations and managed to clear my overdraft each year. Where I did economise was on social life. Apart from the odd night out in Newcastle or Middlesbrough, we had a brilliant time very cheaply by having lots of parties in student houses and flats."

SOURCES OF INCOME
* LEA fee contribution up to £1,100
* Student loan £2,320-£3,905 (more for London students)
* Parents
* Bank loan up to £1,500
* Part-time employment. Say 12 hours a week at £5 an hour
* Hardship loan up to £500
* Payment from Hardship Fund at university/college discretion
* Sponsorship £1,000-£1,500 on average
* Scholarship £500-£1,000 on average
* Award from charitable trust: a few hundred pounds

TIPS

* Open an account with a bank that has convenient cash dispensers. You don't want to spend a fortune on fares every time you need cash.

* Before you open one, compare the freebies and charges at different banks. Do you want a student railcard (useful) or a cheap overdraft facility (also useful)?

* Don't rush to buy every book on the reading list. Wait until you see which ones are really essential. Are the second years selling some of theirs cheap?

* Don't enrol in too many societies at the freshers fair or induction programme.

* Enthusiasts will try to lure you. All societies charge subscriptions – and you can always join later.

* If you're going into self-catering accommodation, get a good cook book – and practise! (Unless you could already give Jamie Oliver a run for his money, that is.)

FURTHER INFORMATION

* Financial Support for Higher Education Students – Guide for 2002/03
A booklet giving details of loans and other forms of student support is available in England and Wales from Local Education Authorities, the Department for Education and Skills (0800 731 9133) or the National Assembly for Wales Higher Education Division (02920 825 831); In Northern Ireland, from the Department for Employment and Learning (02890 257708).

* The DfES website, www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport

* Welsh Assembly, www.learning.wales.gov.uk

* Northern Ireland, www.delni.gov.uk

USEFUL BOOKS:

* The Grants Register, Macmillan.

* Sponsorship and Funding Directory, Hobsons.

* A Guide to University Scholarships and Awards, Trotman.

* Students Money Matters, Trotman.

* Student Life: A Survival Guide, Lifetime Careers.

* PLUS any good student cook book. Most supermarkets produce one.