Hey everyone!
School is fast approaching and anticipation must be rising. I felt that summer would never end; I couldn’t wait to move to England and start college. Even this year, my bags are already packed. My friends are back at college or helping with sorority recruitment. Makes me jealous 😉 Who knew I would ever be so excited for school to start and for summer to end!
Before you do head off to England for the BIG move, I have some important information to share about finances, budgeting, and getting a job. As a disclosure, some of the information such as the number of hours that visa students are allowed to work will be from my own research and not personal experience as I do not need a visa.
Let’s start from one of the first things that you will want to do when you get to England: Open a bank account. I suggest using Santander. It is located on campus near the library so it is very convenient. The people who work there are familiar with both student and international accounts and needs. As my neither family or I have recent history in the UK, I was unable to open a standard account, but they have an international student account which works perfectly fine. The only difference, from what I remember, is I have to pay a £5 monthly account charge. Cards in the UK have Chip and Pin capabilities. My bank in the USA has just started to introduce them, so you may have experience with them already. In case you don’t, the card has a chip implanted on the front that is read when inserting the card usually into the bottom of a card reader as opposed to swiping. The chip adds another layer of security which is always a bonus.
Next thing that you will want to figure out is how much you want to budget for each month. I budgeted myself about £500 per month for food, drinks, nights-out, clothes, supplies, and travel. This number does not include accommodation because that is paid in three different segments. Further, it does not include tuition because that is paid in two segments. This money has also been enough for me to buy a sports park membership, pay for dance Saturday School lessons at GSA, and for my driving lessons. Surrey has created a budgeting page here: http://www.surrey.ac.uk/currentstudents/money/Costs%20and%20Budgeting/costsandbudgeting.htm to give a more in depth look at expenses in each section.
If you need to make money while at school, students studying on a tier 4 visa have restrictions about how many hours they can work. From my research, last year students could only work 10 hours a week, but from August 3rd students can work up to 20 hours a week. For more information: http://ukcisa.org.uk/International-Students/Study-work–more/Working-during-your-studies/Can-I-work/. The minimum wage is a bit different from America; there are different minimum wages for different age groups. For people under 18, the minimum wage is £3.87. For people aging 18-20, the minimum wage is £5.30. Finally, For people over 21, the minimum wage is £6.70. Source: http://www.minimum-wage.co.uk/. If you know that you want a job, the University is hosting a Student Job event during freshers week. For more information on the event check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/events/425515080983713/ .
After your first year, you will likely want to leave university hosted student accommodation and move in with your new friends. For many this will be early information, but it is always good to be prepared. Most houses will require a guarantor: Someone in the country who agrees to pay the rent if the tenant is unable to pay the rent. As I am international, that was not really possible. There is a relatively easy option though to surpass this obstacle. My housing simply required me to pay the last 6 months of the rent before moving in.
Here are just some quick things to be aware of so you are financially sound. Get excited! School is fast approaching and it is going to be amazing. Get ready for a life changing experience.
As always if you have any questions, feel free to email me.
Holly
