St Andrews crowned cheapest of nation’s top universities
Famed as the starting point of Kate and Will’s royal romance, St Andrews has taken the crown as the cheapest place to study out of a list of the nation’s best universities, according to research from MoneySuperMarket.
With freshers’ season fast approaching, the comparison site looked at the country’s top 20 universities and analysed factors such as the cost of car and home insurance, crime rate, cost of accommodation and price of a pint in each location.
St Andrews took top spot, while west country establishments Exeter and Bath ranked in second and third place.
Expensive London institutions LSE, Imperial and UCL offer the priciest experience from the elite list, along with Oxford University – famous names all used to topping the tables for academic prowess.
Kevin Pratt, insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, commented: “Our research found that St Andrews gives undergraduates the best deal on living costs. With the average graduate debt expected to reach a mountainous £44,000, savvy money management has never been so important. While tuition fees don’t change hugely between the elite institutions, what students pay for rent, bills and a pint will vary hugely.
University Challenge
St Andrews secured the crown by ranking first for cheap home contents insurance at £85 a year. It also had the lowest crime rate for car and home crime. Cultural Cambridge boasts the cheapest in the top 20 for campus accommodation at £100 a week, Durham students will benefit from the cheapest pint at £2.10, and Bath for the cheapest car cover (£680).
Students attending universities in London are more likely to pay higher accommodation costs, while the most expensive pint for students was around the University of Surrey – an eye-watering £5.25.
University crime capitals
The MoneySuperMarket research also looked at which of the top 20 universities ranked worst for car and home crime claims. It found Imperial College London ranked worst for car crime when analysing car insurance quotes in the location, with a rate of 16 claims per thousand – compared to 2.1 in St Andrews. Birmingham was also revealed as a hotspot with a rate of 14.9 per thousand.
As far as ‘theft from the home’ is concerned, the University of Leicester was named as the worst, closely followed by Oxford, with rates of 38.7 and 35.2 claims per thousand, respectively.
Kevin Pratt continued: “For many students heading off to university, managing their own finances for the first time and budgeting successfully can be one of the harder challenges. The cost of living has shot up considerably over the past few years, so students need to be extra careful to not fall into financial difficulty.
“Shopping around for car and contents insurance will help freshers seek out the cheapest deals – while of course not taking a car, especially to big cities, will be a cheaper option. Knowledge of local crime rates will also ensure students take the appropriate precautions to keep themselves and their belongings safe.”