Penarth students have spoken about the financial realities of university life, with graduates from Stanwell School now studying in Bristol and Birmingham describing how rising living costs affect their day-to-day spending.
The University of Bristol and the University of Birmingham remain popular destinations for A-level leavers from Stanwell School and St Cyres School. To explore the real-world impact of the Welsh student finance system, two former Stanwell pupils shared their experiences.
Tash Collinson, 20, who is studying English and French at the University of Bristol, said living away from home means constantly thinking about money.
"I regularly think about how I’m spending my money and make a conscious effort to choose places that have student deals. I do not buy things randomly; rather, I reflect on how much I really want them."
Bristol is regarded as one of the most expensive cities in the UK, and Tash said she wished more attention had been paid to living costs when choosing a university.
"I think there should have been more emphasis on exploring the cost of living within the university cities of choice during sixth form. I wish I had considered more rental prices in Bristol."
She said many students struggle to maintain a good standard of living, adding: "The rent swallows a huge amount of my loan, and then living and recreational costs take up the rest."
To help cover costs, Tash works part-time and sells clothes when she is home in Penarth.
"All of this helps make living a bit easier in a very expensive city," she said. "I know lots of people who do need to undertake part-time work to live."
Annabel, 20, who studies Medicine at the University of Birmingham, also works part-time at a pharmacy when she returns home to Penarth during holidays.
She said the additional income gives her "a little bit more leeway" with spending but noted that work can limit other opportunities.
"Working part-time can limit students' opportunities for boosting their personal career prospects; for example, they might have to turn down networking activities."
Annabel said Birmingham was one of the cheaper university cities and gave her more financial freedom than some of her Penarth friends studying elsewhere, although she still had to pay a £600 deposit on her student house.
When it comes to day-to-day spending, she said: "I didn’t really cut back on anything major, but did smaller alterations. I tried to make food shops cheaper through buying reduced items and not buying brands."
Despite those efforts, she added: "There’s never much left over at the end of the year that could go into savings."
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