University in Lampeter - the order of things

Hello again -

As I continue my adventure in figuring out how this relocation is going to work I am coming up with more specific questions.  I am accepted to U of Wales, Lampeter campus.  I am a "mature" student (love that designation!) - but will be traveling with 1 med size dog and eventually my cat will join me.  So - how do I find a place to live before I get there?  It doesn't seem economically sound to make 1 trip just to house hunt - which will cost quite a bit, but rather to arrive about 2 weeks before school starts and find a place that way.  Then I can move myself in and set myself up (banking, phone, learn my way around) and my animals will join me later.

Do I find a room to rent cheap while I find a place in Lampeter? 

Also - aside from student loan assistance I will be getting, how much money does everyone recommend coming over with (other than, as much as you can come up with)?  How much can I expect to pay in housing, utility, phone deposits up front?

I won't have a car in Lampeter, at least not at first, but it sounds as if I can get around comfortably via my feet, and public transport.  Is this right?

Any answers and otherwise pertinent information greatly appreciated.

M.

Not sure if I can answer all of your questions, but I'll have a go at it.

So - how do I find a place to live before I get there?  It doesn't seem economically sound to make 1 trip just to house hunt - which will cost quite a bit, but rather to arrive about 2 weeks before school starts and find a place that way.

It seems to be difficult to find a place to live too far in advance of when you'll actually be moving over, as estate agents aren't always that interested in helping. If you can afford to, you may be better off just coming over a few weeks before your course starts to find somewhere to live.  For now, I suggest finding out about the different areas and which types of places seem to allow animals, then focus in on those types of properties when you arrive. Websites like rightmove, upmystreet, or findaproperty.com might be helpful. Or if you're a friendly person looking to share, you could check on spareroom.co.uk to see if any allow pets.

Also - aside from student loan assistance I will be getting, how much money does everyone recommend coming over with (other than, as much as you can come up with)?  How much can I expect to pay in housing, utility, phone deposits up front?

As a uni outside of London, you will need to show at least 5,400 pounds in order to have a successful visa application.  Apart from that, your university's international office might give a better estimate on how much will be needed.  This amount also depends on your lifestyle of course, and what luxuries you decide to keep/ditch.  Returning to student-hood, I had to lose my weekly massages and monthly haircuts

Apart from that, here in Nottingham, up front for housing we had to pay: a deposit equal to 1 month's rent (£425),  a £200 application fee to the agency, and a £50 fee for our Guarantor.

Utilities- Never paid anything up front, just got bills sent every 3 months or so, but it seems like you can change your energy providers quite easily.

Phones- I'm on PAYG, which works out to just buying a phone, and topping up somewhere between £10-15 each month to get all the free texts/web/minutes. So no deposit there either, unless you decide to do a monthly contract, which I'm not too familiar with.
 

I won't have a car in Lampeter, at least not at first, but it sounds as if I can get around comfortably via my feet, and public transport.  Is this right?

Don't know about Lampeter specifically, but I find public transport in the UK in general to be much better than that in the states.

I have a friend who studied in Lampeter, and apparently it's quite isolated and doesn't have great public transport links. He had a girlfriend in the US at the time, an apparently it sometimes took him longer to get to London for his flight than it did to get to where she lived in the midwest and took at least 3 changes of buses and trains. Of course, this is 'bad public transport' for here, but sometimes compared to where you're coming from in the US, it's still more than you're used to!

5400 lbs in the bank for a successful visa application?  Now this is some conflicting information - I have a friend who studied at Cardiff and he only had to show $1,500 in the bank (he was using student loans to pay for schooling, as I will be) - and the UK border agency website says you have to show proof of monies to cover living expenses, which could include evidence of student loans available to me, as I understand it.

Have I missed something?  Your post is very helpful, and I thank you, even if you have elevated my heart rate at the moment....

M

5400 lbs in the bank for a successful visa application?  Now this is some conflicting information - I have a friend who studied at Cardiff and he only had to show $1,500 in the bank (he was using student loans to pay for schooling, as I will be) - and the UK border agency website says you have to show proof of monies to cover living expenses, which could include evidence of student loans available to me, as I understand it.

Have I missed something?  Your post is very helpful, and I thank you, even if you have elevated my heart rate at the moment....

How long ago did your friend study (and was it for less than 6 months or more than 6 months)?

The new Tier 4 student visas were introduced in November 2008 and they have very strict financial requirements on them. The visa can be refused for something as trivial as not sending in the correct type of bank statement (it either has to be original (company letterhead) or signed and stamped by the bank)!

The absolute minimum you need to show in order to the get the visa is: 1 year of tuition in full (which according to the Lampeter website is £10,719), plus £7,200 for study in Inner London or £5,400 outside London. So, that's a minimum of £16,119 ($26,340) that you need to show you have in order to get the visa.

To prove the funds you either need an approved US loan, either a private or student loan, (the evidence of which has to be in a specific format) or you need to show that all the money has been in your bank account for at least 28 days before the date you apply for the visa.

See here for info on the financial requirements (and how to apply): http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/studyingintheuk/adult-students/can-you-apply/money/how-much/

5400 lbs in the bank for a successful visa application? 

It doesn't have to be in the bank, you just have to show that you will have access to that amount, using evidence such as: Bank statements, Loan information (in some specific format for UKBA), or Scholarships. 

The actual amount you'll need to show in your bank account depends on how much of the ~£16k that you've not already accounted for through loans/scholarships/bursaries/etc.  Some people choose to cover everything through loans, meaning they don't have to have anything in their personal bank account.