Sixth-formers underestimate costs of living

New undergraduates are naive about the cost of student life, according to a NatWest Student Money Matters Survey of 673 sixth formers. It compared their predictions with actual expenditure on going out, food, alcohol, cigarettes, rent, books, clothes, utility bills, public transport and music as reported by 2,069 undergraduates in Sheffield, Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Exeter and London. Sixth-formers anticipate paying Pounds 87 less per month than the average amount actually spent by students.