Five days a week, the sky is pitch black when George, a first-year student at Liverpool John Moores University, wakes up for work. No buses are available at that time, so he leaves the house at 2.45am to walk the 3.7 miles (6km) to work for his 4am shift.
He has a quick sit-down before he begins a four-hour shift collecting items around the supermarket for delivery. Depending on whether he can afford the £2 fare that day, he will get a bus, or retrace his steps back to campus. Then it is time to go to lectures.
Unsurprisingly, he feels exhausted, and sometimes struggles to stay awake in his morning lectures. “It leaves me tired and unable to concentrate. It’s hard studying along with work, but the main reason I’m here is to achieve my degree,” he says, explaining that he struggled to find other work with enough hours closer to campus. “I drink as much coffee as I can.”
The 29-year-old from Cardiff receives £11,720 between his maintenance loan and a grant from the Welsh government. But after paying his £188 rent each week for a studio flat in university accommodation – the mature student was reluctant to share with hard-partying students a decade younger for a slightly lower rent – he still needs to work 20 hours a week to make ends meet.
“The figures speak for themselves. There’s no question – you’ll have to get a job,” he says. “People always say students’ favourite food is rice and pasta, but I didn’t realise it would be rations.”
Costs have had difficult consequences for the engineering student, who takes medication for anxiety and depression. After an unexpected dentistry bill, he was unable to pay for his prescription. “I’ve gone without meds for a couple of weeks because I’ve been unable to afford it,” he says, adding that the university’s wellbeing team is helping him to look into further financial support.
He hopes to be able to buy a bike soon for the commute. “Building up to payday, after work I’ve walked home because it’s a case of either getting the bus or eating, as dramatic as that sounds.”
The full-time student is far from alone in struggling financially. In a recent UK student survey half (49%) said financial issues were affecting their diets, while 55% said they were affecting their mental health. Save the Student’s 2023 National Student Money Survey found that the declining value of maintenance loans meant that on average, loans were falling short of covering living costs by £582 a month, up from £439 last year.
Despite economic pressures, maintenance loans in England increased by just 2.8% in 2023-24, to offer a maximum loan of £9,978 outside London. Scotland increased its financial support offer by £900, to a maximum of £9,000, while Northern Ireland increased its offer by 40%, for a top rate of £8,136. Wales has stepped it up to £11,720 between loans and grants, a 9.4% rise. As well as loans and grants, universities also have hardship funds available to those facing unexpected financial problems, but this is usually a lump-sum emergency payment rather than sustained support.
Jasmine, 20, a psychology student, is working overtime as a pub chef in Leeds to keep up with costs. “My friends who get financial support have a lot more time to be in the library doing uni work. There’s a bit of a divide – we’re having completely different times here,” says the second-year student at Leeds Beckett University. She does not see how getting an internship will be viable, since many are unpaid. “It’s getting a lot harder to see uni as accessible for people whose parents can’t help them.”
Jasmine is on a 22-hour contract, but lately she has been working closer to 30 hours a week. She receives close to the maximum loan available to those studying outside London, but it is largely swallowed up by the £628 she pays each month for rent and bills.
She is unsure how she will cope with the impact of longer hours once deadlines begin. “Towards the end of last year … It was a massive source of stress. I was worried that I’d hand work in late or not be able to do it at all. It’s one of the main things that impacts my mental health,” she says. Jasmine adds that her student mentor has advised her about university hardship resources and funding, but she has not felt the need to apply yet.
“I wasn’t expecting to be so stressed about money so fast. I got the freshers’ experience that everyone describes – a week or two going a bit mad. But moving up north, everyone says how cheap it is … That’s not true any more,” she says. “Everyone describes uni as a bit of a break before real life. That’s not how me or friends would describe it.”
Orla, a second-year student at Queen Mary University of London, is worried that, with piles of reading for her law degree, she may not achieve the marks she is aiming for. She works about 20 to 25 hours a week as a receptionist, involving a one-hour commute, up from 12 hours when she began the role last year. “It hugely impacts my [learning] – I can’t go to lectures,” she says, explaining that she misses at least a third of lectures each week. “I miss so much content, I constantly feel like I’m on a backlog to catch up.”
As she studies in London, she receives a higher rate of student finance. But her £6,485 loan does not even cover half her rent – more than £900 a month, before bills. “You get a London premium, but it’s so insufficient,” she says, explaining that her parents provide some financial help. “Living costs in London are extortionate.
“I’m paying £9,250 a year and I can’t concentrate fully on [my degree]. It feels like I’m not going to be able to succeed in the way I’d like. I’m concerned for the future. I can definitely feel myself slipping.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We are supporting universities to help students who are struggling financially by making £276m available this academic year, which institutions can use to top up their own hardship schemes. This is on top of increases to student loans and grants.
“Many universities have done a good job to support students who are struggling financially through a variety of programmes, and we urge students who are worried about their circumstances to speak to their university.”
A Welsh government spokesperson said: “We understand the extra pressures on students due to the cost of living crisis. Our grants and loans for students have increased each year, with Wales having the most generous student support in the UK. The rate of maintenance support available to full- and part-time higher education students from Wales has increased by 9.4%.
“All universities in Wales have hardship funds in place to help all students in financial difficulty, and have put extra cost of living support in place, which includes: crisis grants, free or low-cost food, free period products and free access to sports and activities. Anyone who’s struggling financially should contact their student union or student support services.”
The spokesperson added that the Welsh government had recently provided additional funding of £2.3m “to help address the impacts on students of rising costs”.