University students in England ‘have 50p a week after rent’

University students in England are left with the equivalent of 50p a week to live on from their loans after paying for accommodation, the cost of which has soared by nearly 15% over the last two years, research has revealed, writes Sally Weale for The Guardian.

Maintenance loans, which students take out on top of tuition fee loans to pay for living costs, are now almost entirely wiped out by rent alone, according to a report by the student accommodation charity Unipol and the Higher Education Policy Institute.

With the average annual student rent in England now £7,566 (US$9,100) and the average maintenance loan expected to be £7,590 this year, the authors calculate that students are left with just £24 a year to cover their living costs, which works out at 50p a week.
Full report on The Guardian site