Cost of Living and University Students

How are students being affected?

• Many students are facing considerable financial pressures because of increases in the cost of living. Since the start of the autumn term (September 2022), 63% report having spent less on food and essentials, with 28% saying they had skipped meals to save on food costs.
• 43% said they had used less fuel (such as electricity or gas) in their homes, 47% had stopped or reduced going out socially with friends, and 9% had reduced their attendance or dropped out of student societies. 6% reported moving back in with their family to save money on rent or bills. 16% travelled to campus less to save on transport and other costs, while 14% travelled to campus more for free energy use there (e.g. heating). 62% said they spent less on non-essentials and 18% avoided buying university supplies they needed for their course (e.g. laptops/textbooks).
• The crisis also risks impacting on young people’s drop out rates. Just under a quarter (24%) of students said they are less likely to finish their degree due to the cost of living crisis, with 4% saying they were much less likely.

Uneven impacts

• Students from lower socio-economic backgrounds were more likely to report skipping meals to save on food costs (33% for those from working class families, compared to 24% of middle class students), and moving home with family to save on rent or bills (10% vs 4%).
• Students have been turning to parents (45%) and/or other family members (10%) for additional financial support (overall, 48% gained support from one or both of these sources). However, this appeared to be an option less often for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, with lower proportions of working class students receiving additional support from their parents (38% vs 48%), or other family members (9% vs 12%).
• Looking at students in their second year and above, 57% said their financial situation was worse this academic year (since September 2022) compared to the year before (September 2021 to Summer 2022), including 16% saying it was much worse. The proportion saying it had worsened overall was higher for students from working class (66%) than middle class (54%) families.

Where are students going for support?

• 27% of students overall had gotten a job or taken on more hours to make ends meet, 11% had received support such as hardship funds from their university, 4% had taken out additional private loans and 2% had used a food bank or other charity support.
• Only one third of students said they had not needed any additional financial support due to the rising cost of living.

Government support

• The government’s energy support scheme has been one of their key elements of support for households during the cost of living crisis. The scheme has given every household in England, Wales and Scotland £400 to help with energy costs, paid to individuals via their energy company. If someone’s landlord received this payment from their energy company (either as their rent is all-inclusive of bills, or because their landlord sells energy onto them from the energy company) they should have passed this £400 onto the individual’s household – including for students.
• However, 40% of students living in private rental accommodation in these nations said they had not received this payment from either their landlord or their energy company, with a further 8% unsure whether they had received the payment.