Lulla - there are some useful tips and links in this article http://www.independent.co.uk/student/student-life/finances/how-to-help-manage-the-costs-of-university-life-2338027.html
HTH
Thanks - very helpful Bella. Being used to shelling out cash for kids' education since nursery years one kind of feels obliged to extend this to uni years anyway. It was my impression that albeit more expensive, making a few sacrifices in terms of quality of accommodation might be worth it. Would be good to know that it's possible to be comfortable with clean and safe accommodation. I guess proximity of campus/faculty is key in terms of saving on tube fares. I also read somewhere that London uni life is 'good value for money' - UCL website I think - referring for example to the fact that if you get a student job in london you might get paid more than if you had part time work in other parts of the country.
How does your sister find it in terms of student mix at Kings? In terms of nationalities - one does wonder whether due to fees and cost of living you mostly get primarily very rich and brainy overseas students, predominantly from just a few countries?
I studied in Newcastle (5 years ago now) and my sister is currently studying at Kings in London. From what I can see she is finding it a lot more expensive than I did and she has a lot less disposable income to live off, however fees are a lot higher now (everywhere but particularly in London such as Kings) To compare, I paid the top end newly decorated for student accommodation because I was funny about sharing bathrooms etc and I paid 70 p/w plus bills for a room in a brand new 4 bed house living with 2 others in the nicest area. She is living in a mid-range place close to the tube but absolutely tiny and is paying 135 p/w plus bills. She also has to pay for Tube every day, whereas in Newcastle you could get student passes for the Metro which worked out significantly cheaper.
Having said that I think that a name like Kings or LSE will do more for your CV and getting a job afterwards than many other regional universities. Unfair yes, but thats just the way it is in the UK, certain universities 'red bricks' are much more favoured and many of these are in London - Kings, LSE, Imperial, SOAS, etc. I had a very hard time getting a job doing what I wanted at the time (I studied Law which is super competitive and snobby in particular) and if I could go back and re-choose I probably would have tried harder for one of those top London universities. It is even harder and more competitive now coming out of university getting a shot at certain jobs. There are some very good regional universities too, Durham etc. but it does depend what you want to study.
Despite the cost my sister loves studying and living in London.
Good Luck
I wondered whether EW ladies have some advice or comment to offer on this. Currently considering University choices and wondering just how much more expensive studying in London is in practice. Was thinking Kings or LSE. I know that accommodation costs must be undoubtably high but then other big cities are not cheap either. If you have just gone through a similar thought process and have either chosen or discarded a London Uni for your DD or DS I would appreciate finding out what you decided in the end and why. If definitely more expensive, to what degree?
Any other considerations also welcome.
TIA