PhD on London (living)
======= Date Modified 04 21 2009 16:21:24 =======
PhD In London :-)
Hi All,
I'm applying for a PhD at the UCL and am wondering about the costs of living. I was told I would get 15500 pounds the first year
1. Do all PhD students also have to pay a fee every year?
2. What exactly are residence halls? What do you share with others? I'm not exactly a social type. Is it easy to have your own accomodation that you don't have to share?
3. I read most people try to avoid traveling because of the costs. The PhD I'll be doing will involve going there every work-day. What accomodation is the best?
4. How much does health insurance cost?
5. Do PhD students try to save for a pension?
6. What are the general work rules of a PhD? Can you easily be fired? Are you entitled to holidays? etc
Thanks for any info about doing a PhD in London.
Jackson
Until someone with actual experience of doing a PhD in London comes along, i'll answer to the best of my limited ability...
1. Your fees will be being paid on top of your £15,500. This is your maintenance and is just for you to live on (and buy books etc).
2. Halls of residence are a collection of individual rooms with a single bed and a table, sink etc. They usually have shared bathrooms although I believe there are some super swish halls now with en-suites !!!
3. I would suggest getting accomodation as close to your college as possible. It takes a long time to travel around London in the rush hour. Cycling can work well.
4. Why do you feel you need health insurance ? You will be covered by the NHS.
5. Why bother. If you are still young, leave it till you're earning.
6. You'd have to really try to get kicked out. No holidays are allowed - you are here to LEARN !!!!.......(no, of course you will get holidays)
p.s. brace yourself.....London is REALLY expensive ! ...but a total hoot !
It will probably be a toss up between renting somewhere near, and cost of renting. E.g. if your uni is in chelsea, then you prob will have to live further away and travel cos the rent would be way too expensive (unless you want to live in a garage, and then it would still be too much).
I save for a pension - cos I am sad (and also cos I'm lazy and if I save up now, I might be able to quit work when I'm 30, ok more like 55 but hey, you never know!)
You are entitled to holidays, but in my experience noone notices if you are there or not, so I never tell anyone I am going away lol. - depends on your uni though.
London is generally unfriendly, miserable, grey, dirty and smelly - but that's coming from a country bumpkin who has had to move here and hates it!
1. Are you a 'Home' student? If so, your funding should also include coverage of fees. But you'd be better off checking the terms and conditions of the award. Also check if you meet the eligibility criteria.
2. Some halls of residence are catered, some are self catered. They range from a twin room sharing with another person, to studio type flats. Most commonly they will be single rooms. In all case, you would have access to bathrooms, kitchens and laundry facilities on sight, but how many people share those will vary from hall to hall.
UCL has limited places in its halls of residence. If you want to get a place then make sure you apply by around January/February if you are starting the September of that year. UCL students are also entitled to apply for places in the University of London intercollegiate halls (http://www.london.ac.uk/accom.html). The UoL Housing service is a good place to start looking for non-halls types of accommodation (http://housing.london.ac.uk/cms/)
3. It's not true that most people try to avoid travel because of the costs - quite the opposite, as it's usually the rental costs that force people to travel! Yes, travel in London can take a long time, but it's not always best to live as close as possible. Firstly, to live close to UCL will cost a lot more than living a bit further out. Living somewhere in zone 2-3 will give you somewhere nicer and more spacious. Secondly, unless you never plan to do anything social, you will probably end up getting tubes or buses at some point, so it will probably work out cheaper to get a student travelcard (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/seasontickets/2913.aspx).
Also be aware that distance and journey time are not exactly correlated. The best thing to do is live somewhere with a good direct bus/tube root. You might live somewhere that isn't that many miles away but if your journey requires you to make 2-3 changes, it will take ages. Use Journey Planner to work out possible journey times from different parts of London to campus (http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk) or Walk It to estimate times on foot (http://www.walkit.com/cities/london/).
4. If you're a UK student, you don't need it. If not, I have no idea I'm afraid.
5. Ha ha haa. Ha ha ha. No. *IF* you have any money left over, I would suggest just putting it in regular savings. You never know when you might need it.
6. Rules depend on the department/group in question. It's hard to get fired - don't try it! Entitled to holidays yes. Research council funding often stipulates up to 8 weeks/year, but the reality is that rarely do people take more than 3-4 weeks. Otherwise you might not finish your PhD in time.
As a lifelong Londoner, I have to disagree and say that I find London an exciting, stimulating and endlessly fascinating place to exist (ok, it's a bit grubby in places). But there are probably almost as many perspectives of London as there are people here, so go and visit and see what you think. I guess it will depend on where you live at present.
Sneaks, I didn't steal your hat - I have my own! ;-)
======= Date Modified 05 Aug 2009 08:39:34 =======
Pretty sure that you are covered by the NHS while here studying.
Any international students out there care to confirm ?
Relative to other leading European and Western cities, London is a bit smelly, dirty, stressful, and unless the sun is shining, it is grey and miserable. But everyone gets used to this and the positives of the city often outweigh the negatives, but as soon as you leave for a long period of time and then return, the negatives smack you in the face and once again you have to habituate yourself with your surroundings. Doing a PhD in London is a great way to experience the city on the cheap, but on £15k a year you'll have to strictly budget. I wouldn't necessarily recommend pursuing an academic career in London though (simply the pay is too poor unless you want to continue living a student-type life).
1. Do all PhD students also have to pay a fee every year?
As said below, it depends if you're an international student (if so you'll have fat fees to pay). If you have UK/EU status, your fees will be covered in standard funding.
2. What exactly are residence halls? What do you share with others? I'm not exactly a social type. Is it easy to have your own accommodation that you don't have to share?
Halls are just student accommodation. In London, the quality varies immensely. When I did my Masters I remember visiting some utter dumps, and that put me off student accommodation for good, since then I've opted to rent a private flat. However, all the leading colleges have built nicer student accommodation to attract international students - last time I looked it cost between £78-£120 per week. You will probably have to share a self-catering flat with 4-6 people. Look at UCL's own accommodation or UoL's accommodation pages. UNITE also provide private student accommodation.
3. I read most people try to avoid traveling because of the costs. The PhD I'll be doing will involve going there every work-day. What accommodation is the best?
A number of UoL halls are located next to UCL or very near.
Get an Oyster card and a Young Person's Railcard Card (if you plan to travel outside London).
4. How much does health insurance cost?
You can buy private health insurance, and/or I think most students on long courses get free treatment on the NHS. Most EU countries have reciprocal arrangements.
5. Do PhD students try to save for a pension?
Generally no, you won't have enough money to do so.
6. What are the general work rules of a PhD? Can you easily be fired? Are you entitled to holidays? etc
Holidays are normally 6-8 weeks - this will be outlined in your regulations. You can't be 'fired' by your university, because you are not employed, and therefore, also have no protection under employment law rules. It is possible to have your registration terminated, but this never really happens.
I did my undergrad at UCL and loved it! London is expensive though. If you want to be near college you will need to be in halls. As a grad student you would probably be better off going for a self-catering place. Otherwise you will need to rent further out and come in by bus/tube/bike. I started out using the tube then when I worked in London I switched to the bike - much more flexible. For UCL a lot of people rent in the cheaper areas of north London. You will probably have to houseshare as rents for single occpancy flats/studios are high. You can get bedsits in the same price range as house chares but they are very small and facilities (i.e. small cooker/sink in the corner) are very basic. I had two different bedsits in London though and I quite liked the cosy self-contained feel of them. They might suit you if you don't want to share and don't mind being a bit cramped.
Loot is a good source of rentals - you have to call and view really quick to get anything decent though.
======= Date Modified 05 Aug 2009 13:52:14 =======
Hi I have spent 2 yrs at a Hall for lack of other options, and will continue to live in another hall for the coming yr. Advantages: all buills paid, affordable, other students around,. Disadvantages: smaller than a flat, and may not suit most people. Suits me fine for I have very little social needs!
Costs, for me comes to £112/week including bills etc for a single room (was ensuite these 2 yrs, now shared loo) and self catered, sharing kitchen with 5 others.
I use oyster (£36 per month for bus, and around £60 for tube and bus both)
Havent got any insurance or pension dreams! Dont get me started on how much I work to earn money to pay my tuition fees (international), I am sick of my own story, the forum here surely is! :-)
Good luck!
