The average university student was found to spend just 4 hours a week studying and revising in their first year of university, increasing to as much as 24 hours a week by their final year.
Photo: PA
The team at money-saving website www.Codes.co.uk recently surveyed more than 2,000 British final-year university students looking into the true cost of revision, which found that students spend just shy of £400 on their revision each academic year, with food & drink, printing and text books being the most expensive.
When asked why they didn’t study very much in their first year, students cited ‘first year doesn’t count towards my final grade’ and ‘the course was much easier in first year’. Likewise, when asked why they spent so long studying in their final year, the most common responses were found to be ‘I want to graduate with a good grade’ and ‘I want to be able to find a good job after graduation’.
The favourite locations for revising were found to be the university campus library and empty classrooms, with just one in six preferring to do their revision at home.
All those polled were asked to state how much they estimated that they spent on various aspects of their revision in their final year in order to determine which areas were the most expensive. The average student was found to spend the following:
- Revision food & drink - £102.00
- Printing - £91.50
- Purchasing textbooks - £65.00
- Library fines for late returns / lost books - £19.75
- Hiring hardware, i.e. cameras and dictaphones - £17.00
All in all, the top five most expensive aspects of revising were found to cost the average student £295.25, accounting for more than three quarters of their revision outgoings which were found to total £378.60 per academic year. This is far higher than the average cost of revision in the first year which was found to be £55.00.
42% of students favour confectionery whilst they’re studying and an equal twenty seven per cent of students prefer to be sipping on either energy drinks or coffee to get them through the gruelling hours of reading and writing.
Dilusha Hettiralalage, Consumer Savings Expert at www.Codes.co.uk, commented on the findings:
“Choosing to continue your studies after you’ve left higher education is a big step for many, and a costly step for all involved. Tuition fees range from £9,000 to £11,000, and then students have to think about rent and bills as well as having enough disposable income to buy food and drink, clothing and keep up their social life. It’s alarming to see that students are spending almost £400 a year on revising, but it’s all worthwhile in the end, with many hopefully going on to land a good job that pays well and offers them the opportunity to rise through the ranks.”
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