Methods of social enquiry - Financing university residences (ePub)

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - Methods, Research, grade: 63%, School of Political, Social and International Studies (University of East Anglia (England)), course: Methods of Social Enquiry, language: English, abstract: Student life is a very social time and especially living on campus is a good way to meet a lot of people. Unfortunately, being social also means to spend a lot of money on social activities. Meeting friends for a drink or a meal, going clubbing, or going to the cinema are only the most common activities students like to do and should do in order to balance their studies with their social life. However, finances can become an issue, especially for international students coming from countries outside of the EU and the EEA, who have to pay international tuition fees. These fees are more than twice as much as the home fees that UK and EU/EEA students have to pay. Then there is accommodation and other living expenses which are often higher than in the international students` home countries. For several reasons it might be easier for these international students, to opt for university accommodation on campus. It can be easily booked from overseas without having mixed feelings about not having seen the place or having to deal with difficult landlords and complicated UK tenancy regulations. International students are eligible for university accommodation and they are even guaranteed a space. Furthermore, they will easily get into touch with other international students in university accommodation and they will have all university facilities readily available. However, university accommodation might in some cases be more expensive than other accommodation types. Most of all, living in the UK is very pricy since the Sterling is a strong currency and hence international students get less value for their money due to the exchange rate. For all the above reasons, this paper will look at the financial issues concerning students in university accommodation. Mainly it will explore the students` evaluation of the rent they are paying for their rooms.