My one-year postgrad degree will cost me £30,000 and leave me struggling to buy a home

At 45, James Fenneberg is going back to university for a postgraduate degree, and anticipates it will cost him around £30,000 in fees, renting, travel and materials costs. James is studying a postgraduate degree in environmental architecture at the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London, starting in September, but worries the cost of the degree will lead to him struggling to buy a property in the south of England, where he wants to live. Though he will get a student loan, it will only cover around £13,000 of his fees – and he’ll be left repaying the cost for up to 30 years, at a rate of 6 per cent on all his earnings over £21,000. Shorts It also won’t cover his living costs and so bar a £5,000 bursary, he will be left dipping into inheritance he received from a family member – which he’d previously earmarked for a house purchase of his own. He plans to work during his degree if he can, and hopes the qualification will allow him to find employment as a designer focused on climate change. He says the course is “unique”, which is why he is not considering studying in a cheaper city. But he is still concerned about how the burden of the debt and upfront costs will affect him in the future, highlighting the dilemmas many who take on higher education debt face. James currently lives in Thurrock, Kent, but will have to move to London for his qualification, which will cost him around £1,000 a month in rent and bills. He’ll also have to shell out for a travelcard for the tube and material costs for the course. Though he has around £150,000 after the sale of a house he inherited from family, he estimates that he will have £110,000 at the end of the year, once extra costs such as food and other spending are accounted for. The average sale price in Kent, where he currently lives. is around £400,000, so buying with a £110,000 deposit would require a mortgage of £290,000, likely meaning he’d need an income of above £60,000 to purchase on his own. He was working as a self-employed gardener on the minimum wage prior to deciding to return to university for study. “These costs ultimately mean I have less money to buy my own place and reduce monthly bills using a bigger deposit,” he said. “It’s also money I could put towards buying a car which I need. And the stress of having less security. I haven’t factored in the costs of a pension, investments, holidays, or possibly children.” He is concerned that “home ownership may just not be for me” due to the high costs that come with studying at university in 2026. James’s one-year master’s budget Tuition fees = £15,600Rent including bills = £12,000 a year (roughly £1,000 a month in the capital)Zones 1-2 annual travelcard = £1,788Materials = £1,000 Estimated total for degree = £30,388 for the year Food = £4,200 a year (£350 a month)Other costs = £3,000 a year (£250 a month) Overall total = £37,588 for the year Costs for university students up to £12,595 difference in rent The dilemma James faces, highlights the wider financial choices facing students this week as thousands are due to receive their A-level results. According to SpareRoom data, accommodation costs vary dramatically depending on where students choose to study. Students in Huddersfield pay an average £484 a month for a room including bills – around £17,438 over three years. At the other end, students near the University of Surrey in Guildford pay £834 a month, or around £30,033 over three years. That makes the difference £12,595 before other living costs are taken into account. The University of Sheffield offers one of the cheapest options for students targeting a top 20 university. Ranked 12th, it has average room rents of £533 a month, equivalent to £19,196 over three years. After Sheffield, the cheapest top 20 university cities are Liverpool (£556), Leeds (£572), Nottingham (£584) and Newcastle (£594). By contrast, outside London, the most expensive top 20 university cities are Edinburgh (£834), Oxford (£814), Cambridge (£796), York (£744) and Bristol (£730). In London itself, the average room costs £979 a month, meaning a three-year degree could involve £35,246 in rent alone. Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom, said students going through clearing – which is the official system used to match students with open course places, primarily for those who miss their grade requirements, apply late or change their minds – should consider the cost of living alongside university rankings. He said: “Students going through the clearing process in August need to consider the huge variation between the cost of renting in different parts of the UK. “Although maintenance loans will usually cover rent, where you choose to study can drastically affect the debt students end up with after they graduate and enter the workplace.”