Is your university town too expensive to study in?

With A Level results just around the corner, tens of thousands of students will soon be deciding where to go to university.

And while the key factor in that decision will be the quality of education available, the cost of living while studying should also play a part in students' choices.

"This is a big decision," says HSBC Youth Manager, Lucy Payne. "Students' primary consideration will be what and where they want to study, but they must also keep one eye on their cost of living.

"When I was studying we all wanted to get as far away from our parents as possible, but these days the increasing cost of rent, food and transport mean you really have to think about your income and expenditure if you don't want to struggle for three or four years.

"A student's biggest regular expense is rent and, with the escalating cost of property and rent, you could be paying upwards of £100 a week for a room in a shared house, depending on where you live. Ask yourself whether your student loan and a part time job are going to cover that and leave you enough to enjoy your student life."

"It's really tough for students when they first start university," said Lucy, "Many students are moving away from home for the first time, making new friends and going through some pretty big changes. They suddenly find themselves having to manage large amounts of money at the beginning of the term when they get paid their loans and have to budget.

"Working out a budget might not sound like a fun way to spend your free time, but HSBC has plenty of resource to help students make this less of a chore. HSBC has specialist student advisors in branches up and down the country, 95 % of which are within two miles of the top 100 universities in England and Wales."

To help students get to grips with their finances, HSBC has developed a student website, talkingmoney.hsbc.co.uk providing advice and an interactive online service to all students, irrespective of whether you bank with HSBC or not. The site is designed for students and recent graduates to share their experiences online and advise on a variety of issues including courses and the work involved, the worries over student accommodation, finances, banking, budgeting and part time work.