COULD YOU LIVE ON 50p A WEEK?
Could you live on 50p a week?
It sounds unrealistic, but it is the reality faced by students attending university today.
Take the average accommodation costs from the average maintenance loan in the UK, and students are left with just 50p, a figure widely reported by the student accommodation charity Unipol and the Higher Education Policy Institute.
And for Leeds students – whose accommodation costs are higher than the UK average – the situation can actually be worse.
“The cost of living crisis has hit student bank accounts hard,” said Dr Sarah Richardson, Educational Engagement Manager at Leeds. “And the reality is that the hardest hit are those less advantaged students, particularly those without family or personal financial support.”
A planned 2.5% increase in the annual maintenance loan (which is used by students to cover accommodation and living costs) from September 2024 represents another successive year of real term cuts. On graduation, student debt is now greater than ever before.
Gas and electric prices have been astronomical, food prices have gone up and last year I was using a community pantry.
Efforts to widen access to higher education and to support students at Leeds are needed now more than ever.
That’s why ground-breaking schemes enabled by donor support are more impactful than ever.
Your gifts to provide scholarships and to support sector-leading access programmes, financial, academic and wellbeing support – and soon, a brand new Student Success Centre – give individuals the opportunity to thrive at Leeds, no matter their background.
Could you live on 50p a week? Thanks to you, those in need might not have to.
Could you live on 50p a week?
It sounds unrealistic, but it is the reality faced by students attending university today.
Take the average accommodation costs from the average maintenance loan in the UK, and students are left with just 50p, a figure widely reported by the student accommodation charity Unipol and the Higher Education Policy Institute.
And for Leeds students – whose accommodation costs are higher than the UK average – the situation can actually be worse.
“The cost of living crisis has hit student bank accounts hard,” said Dr Sarah Richardson, Educational Engagement Manager at Leeds. “And the reality is that the hardest hit are those less advantaged students, particularly those without family or personal financial support.”
A planned 2.5% increase in the annual maintenance loan (which is used by students to cover accommodation and living costs) from September 2024 represents another successive year of
real term cuts. On graduation, student debt is now greater than ever before.
Gas and electric prices have been astronomical, food prices have gone up and last year I was using a community pantry.
Efforts to widen access to higher education and to support students at Leeds are needed now more than ever.
That’s why ground-breaking schemes enabled by donor support are more impactful than ever.
Your gifts to provide scholarships and to support sector-leading access programmes, financial, academic and wellbeing support – and soon, a brand new Student Success Centre – give individuals the opportunity to thrive at Leeds, no matter their background.
Could you live on 50p a week? Thanks to you, those in need might not have to.
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