London is one of the most exciting and rewarding cities to live in in the world! It is much cheaper to experience living in London as a student with the large range of discounts available on almost everything, from public transport to theatre tickets.

Your living expenses will depend on your choices and although London can be expensive, there are opportunities to get the best out of London on a limited budget.

You need to ensure that you have sufficient funds for your fees and that you have enough money for accommodation, food, travel, books and other living expenses. The information below is intended as a guide only, as living costs will vary depending on your individual circumstances and lifestyle.

As a broad estimate of the funds needed to live to a reasonable standard in London, we currently estimate that students should allow approximately £1,265 per month for living costs, in addition to tuition fees.

Living expenses will depend on the type of accommodation you are staying in. Price increases and unexpected expenditure should also be taken into account. Students arranging initial short-term accommodation on arrival in London need to budget for this too.

You may also wish to consider additional initial arrival costs such as accommodation deposits, utensils, clothing, etc.

At King's, our student advisers are on hand to offer you free confidential and practical advice.

If you are experiencing problems with your funding or are worried that you will not have enough money to cover all your costs, Advice & Guidance in Student Services can help you to manage your money and review your budget. You can contact the advice team via email or telephone. Full information about the Student Advice service can be found on their webpage.

Advice and Guidance also have a team of trained Money Mentors to who provide peer support to students on money matters. They can help you to make the most of your money, whatever your budget.

King’s have also teamed up with Blackbullion to offer you free online resources about budgeting, saving and investing. Learn how to be in control of your money and sign up today using your King’s email address.

If you are a new student, you can register with Blackbullion before you enrol using the code NEWTOKINGs. You can update your account with your King’s email address once you have enrolled which will allow you to access all of the activities and tools.

Prospective students considering King’s can set up a temporary registration using the code MONEYSMARTER with any other email account which will help you to prepare for coming to university.

Further guidance on living and studying in London can be found by visiting the Student Budget Calculator. You can also view what funding could be available to you as a Home or EU student using the Student Finance calculator.

If you are an international student, you can take a look at the British Council's Study UK webpages for more useful guidance.

International students requiring a visa to study in the UK are required to demonstrate that they are able to meet the total costs of their study. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have sufficient funds in place to cover all your expenses before you arrive.

UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) requires students to have a budget of at least £1,265 per month in addition to tuition fees. In order to apply for a Tier 4 visa, you will need to show that you have £1,265 for each month of your course, up to nine months. For example if you will be enrolled on a course lasting nine months or more, the maximum amount that you will need is £11,385.

As part of visa requirements, if you are a non-EEA student you must ensure that you have sufficient funds for tuition fees and living costs for the full duration of your course.

Travelling around London on public transport can quickly become an expensive business but there are ways to reduce costs.

The Student Oyster Photocard can give you a 30 per cent discount on travel within London on trains, underground, buses and the Docklands Light Railway.

Find out more about the Student Oyster Photocard can be found on our website.

Information on travel fares can be found on the Transport for London website.