Average course costs for full-time higher education are the same across England: £10,133 for each academic year. This breaks down as follows:

• £8,354 for tuition fees
• £709 for travel
• £1,070 for books, equipment and so on.

The estimates below are for new full-time students living and studying in England. The figures show the maximum amounts available, then an indication of what our ‘average’ student might be entitled to (a student with an average household income according to the Office for National Statistics, undertaking a 39 week course).

Potential income from loans and funding each academic year is up to £20,879 for London (our ‘average’ student gets £17,450) and £18,497 for the rest of England (our ‘average’ student gets £14,370). This is made up made up of:

• Tuition fee loan (up to £9,000 depending on the cost of your course – £8,354 for our ‘average’ student)
• Maintenance grant (up to £3,250 depending on your household income – £934 for our ‘average’ student)
• Loan for living costs away from home (depending on a number of factors, up to £7,675 for London – our ‘average’ student gets £7,208; or up to £5,500 for the rest of England – our ‘average’ student gets £4,335)
• Loan for long courses (depending on a number of factors including the length of your course – for a 39 week course, £954 for London or £747 for the rest of England)

If you live and study in London, you should expect your total average expenditure to be £23,521 each academic year. This breaks down as follows:

• £10,133 for course costs
• £13,388 for living costs (£6,143 for rent, £1,956 for food, £316 for household goods, £65 for insurance, £2,074 for personal items, £1,524 for travel and £1,310 for leisure).

Our ‘average’ student’s income from loans and funding each academic year is £17,450, so you might need to find £6,071 on average every academic year to cover the shortfall between your expenditure and income from loans and funding, as well as funding to cover the long vacation.

If you live and study in England but outside London, you should expect your total average expenditure to be £22,189 each academic year. This breaks down as follows:

• £10,133 for course costs
• £12,056 for living costs (£4,834 for rent, £1,956 for food, £316 for household goods, £42 for insurance, £2,074 for personal items, £1,524 for travel and £1,310 for leisure).

Our ‘average’ student’s income from loans and funding each academic year is £14,370, so you might need to find £7,819 on average every academic year to cover the shortfall between your expenditure and income from loans and funding, as well as funding to cover the long vacation.