£1,000 rent for uni hall of residence
STUDENTS are being forced to pay record high prices for university accommodation.
As more students than ever are awarded university places north of the Border, an investigation by The Scottish Mail on Sunday has found living costs have never been higher.
Accommodation fees have increased by up to 5 per cent in just one year at some of the country’s top academic institutions.
Meanwhile, the cost of the cheapest rooms has risen by as much as 45 per cent in only three years.
A basic single bedroom in a selfcatered student hall can now cost up to £750 per month – considerably more than a private let.
Parents can expect to pay more than £1,000 per month for their child to stay in the top ‘catered’ accommodation at St Andrews University.
The university charges the highest student hall fees in Scotland. A premium room in the catered wing of Whitehorn Hall – which opens next month – costs £9,156 for nine months (£1,017 per month).
Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh charges students £640 per month to stay in a single, en suite room at the Christina Miller Halls.
Dundee University’s Belmont student flats, Stirling University’s Willow Court and Aberdeen’s New Carnegie Court charge just under £600 a month for similar rooms.
A single en suite room in a shared flat at Glasgow University’s Queen Margaret Residence costs £583 per month and Strathclyde University’s most expensive student accommodation, Chancellors and James Young, cost £548 for a similar room.
Elena Semple, vice-president of NUS Scotland, said: ‘It’s no use for students to get to university just to be priced back out trying to keep a roof over their heads.
‘Every institution must pull its weight to ensure university isn’t just the preserve of the wealthy.’
A St Andrews University spokesman said it has sanctioned a £70 million investment in 900 new places in halls of residence to ease pressure on the private rental market.
He added: ‘We have trebled the size of our accommodation bursaries to ensure students from all backgrounds have access to the full range of accommodation.’ Latest figures show 28,970 Scots – 4 per cent higher than last year – have been offered places at a Scottish university.
‘Trying to keep a roof over their heads’