Study in London: universities, costs and careers for international students

What it costs

London is the single biggest budget decision in UK study - go in with the real numbers, not the brochure ones.

• Tuition for international students: roughly £18,000-£30,000 a year for most bachelor’s and master’s courses, with LSE, Imperial and UCL at the top of that band and medicine and dentistry far above it
• Living costs: budget £1,300-£1,800 a month. A room in a shared flat runs £800-£1,200, university halls £900-£1,400, and a monthly zone 1-2 travelcard around £160 with the 30% student discount on the Oyster photocard
• Proof of funds for the visa: the Home Office requires tuition for the first year plus a set monthly maintenance amount for up to nine months at the London rate, which is higher than the rest of the UK - check the current figure, held for 28 consecutive days
• Compulsory costs on top of tuition: the visa application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge for every year of your course, which buys you full NHS access
• Scholarships: Chevening (fully funded master’s, for applicants with two years’ work experience), Commonwealth Scholarships, the Said Foundation and university awards such as the Queen Mary Principal’s Postgraduate Award or UCL’s Global Masters Scholarship

Life, safety & culture

The most international city in Europe, and the easiest place in the UK to find your own community.

• Everything is in English, so there is no second language to learn before you can work, study or deal with an office
• African student societies, Nigerian and Ghanaian churches, and food shops selling everything from egusi to injera exist in most boroughs - Peckham and East Ham are the best known
• Safety: like any large capital, London has areas and hours to be sensible about, especially around phone theft - but campuses are well policed and night transport runs 24 hours on several lines at weekends
• Healthcare: paying the Immigration Health Surcharge gives you the same NHS access as a UK resident - register with a GP in your first week
• The trade-off is space and money: most students share a flat far from campus. If a big-city experience is not what you actually want, Leeds or Coventry will give you more room and more savings

How to apply & the bureaucracy

Two different routes depending on your level, and a visa process that is fast when your paperwork is in order.

• Bachelor’s: apply through UCAS (up to five choices, one application). The main equal-consideration deadline is late January; Oxford, Cambridge, medicine and dentistry close in mid-October
• Master’s: apply directly on each university’s website, usually from September for the following autumn - popular London courses fill early, so apply before Christmas rather than in spring
• English proficiency: typically IELTS 6.0-6.5 overall for bachelor’s and 6.5-7.0 for master’s, with a minimum in each band. Some universities accept a WAEC/NECO or national certificate taught in English instead - always check the country-specific page
• Once you accept an offer and pay a deposit, the university issues a CAS. You then apply for the Student visa online, book a biometrics appointment and, for most African nationalities, provide a TB test certificate from an approved clinic
• Allow three to eight weeks for the visa decision and apply no earlier than six months before your course starts