Living costs at 20 of the UK’s ‘top’ universities revealed

The University of St Andrews is the cheapest place to study out of the “top” 20 universities in the UK (as ranked by the Complete University Guide), according to a report.

The findings, compiled by price comparison website MoneySuperMarket, declare that freshers starting at university this year will find the cheapest halls at the University of Cambridge and the cheapest car insurance in Bath. Overall, however, St Andrews comes out on top as the most reasonably priced.

At the other end of the scale, the area around Imperial College London was found to be the worst for car crime, while Leicester students were most at risk of theft from their home - factors that lead to higher insurance costs. London and Oxford topped the chart for the most expensive places to live as a student. Students attending universities in London are more likely to pay higher accommodation costs, the report states, backing up findings from a separate report published earlier this year.

Kevin Pratt, insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: “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.”

View the full results here