Fees and Finance
How will I be able to afford to study at Oxford University and Magdalen College?
The University recently announced the details of the 2012-13 tuition fee charge for UK and EU students. These details can be found on the University's Student Funding web pages. Prospective applicants are naturally anxious about the costs of a university education. Magdalen aims to ensure that if you are offered a place at the College, you should not be prevented from taking up that place or completing your studies for lack of funds. Consequently, it offers a wide range of financial support, details of which are set out below.
Potential applicants from outside the European Union should look at the section of the website dedicated to overseas students.
What costs will I incur?
Firstly, there is a University tuition fee for 2012-13 of between £3,500 and £9,000 depending on household income. But substantial help is available for UK and EU students to meet the cost (see below, under ‘Financial support available’). Secondly, all Oxford colleges also charge a tuition fee. But if you are a UK or EU student, the government pays this sum (provided that you meet certain residence requirements). Lastly, there are living costs. These can be broken down into various categories, as follows.
Accommodation
The daily rate of an undergraduate room for 2011-12 is £19.93 at Magdalen. Terms are 59 nights each, so the cost per term works out at £1,176. The charge for College accommodation includes weekly cleaning, heating, electricity, bed linen (changed weekly), telephone port, and Ethernet connection, and represents outstanding value for money. Many of Magdalen’s rooms are situated in buildings of great beauty and architectural importance, and have stunning views.
Food
Inexpensive meals are available in College - breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Hall, and lunch in the Old Kitchen Bar. There are also kitchen facilities throughout College accommodation. Most students eat in Hall or the Bar once or twice a day, and cook the other meal or meals for themselves. Between £8 and £9 per day for food is average, and the cost for a 59-night term would be approximately £530. Student catering charges from October 2012 are under review.
Other living expenses
The quality of Oxford’s libraries – estimated to hold over 11 million books and other printed items – means that most books needed by students are readily available. Magdalen’s own library is well-stocked (often with more than one copy of the books that are most in demand) and will almost always buy a book that you need for your studies. This limits the amount of money you will need to spend on books. As Oxford is a relatively small city where most of the University is concentrated in a small, central area, you can walk or cycle to most places, including the Iffley Road sports facilities. This means that you need incur almost no travel expenses within Oxford. In terms of other living expenses, Magdalen’s students spend their money much as any other young people do – clothes, societies, sports, pubs, clubs, the theatre, the occasional meal out. An average termly cost for other living expenses would be approximately £600.
The University estimates that in 2012-13 the average total livings costs for an Oxford undergraduate living for 26 weeks of the year in College accommodation is approximately £7,600. Although this may sound expensive, you will find that it is very affordable. Further details follow, but to give one example: if you are an English student eligible for public support starting University in 2012-13, and your residual household income is less than £25,000, you may be entitled to receive a Government Maintenance Grant of up to £3,250 together with an Oxford bursary of up to £4,300 in that year – £7,550 in total, which does not have to be repaid.
Financial support available
There are various sources of support to help you meet these costs.
Government Support
For those entering university from the academic year 2004-05 onwards, the Government has been providing means-tested grants to UK students from low-income backgrounds. Furthermore, the Government also provides money from the Access to Learning Fund, which can be used to make substantial grants to the College’s students. In addition, the Student Loans Company provides loans for the University tuition fee in the case of both UK and EU students and for maintenance costs in the case of UK students. For further information, see the University’s web pages on Student Funding.
Financial Support from the University
The University's tuition fee for 2012-13 is accompanied by a generous financial support package, based on household income, for all students in the UK and EU excluding students in Wales. Please see the University's web pages on Student Funding for further details on tuition fee waivers. Students in Wales entering University in 2012 will pay the same tuition fee as current students because they will be able to access a grant from Student Finance Wales to cover the cost of tuition above the current level.
Oxford bursaries
These are a joint University/College venture for UK and EU students. A bursary will be awarded to those whose household income is below a certain level (the figure for most eligible students for 2012 is £42,600, however, students from Wales are subject to slightly different arrangements to allow for the financial support available from the Welsh Assembly) and will be calculated on a sliding scale. For details of the bursary support package you may be eligible to receive, please see the relevant page for where you live on the University's Student Funding pages.
Financial support from Magdalen
Magdalen is able to offer an increasing amount of financial support to students in financial need. In the academic year 2010-11 over 170 awards were distributed by the College to undergraduates totalling just under £124,000. This money came from a number of sources including the Junior Members’ Fund, the Rent Relief Fund, and the College’s Student Support Fund.
Magdalen also gives a huge number of Scholarships, Awards, and Prizes. These are awarded for academic excellence and range from £40 to £350. In addition, all Magdalen students are entitled to a substantial Travel Grant if they wish to undertake travel which has a direct bearing on their course of study, and all undergraduates are now entitled in addition to a Research Grant for projects related to their course, thanks to the contributions of old members of the College to the Annual Fund. The College also awards a small number of grants for travel that is less directly concerned with the course of study. Finally, Magdalen awards its students a substantial amount in Vacation Study Grants every year.
From this it will be clear that you should not be put off from applying to Magdalen College for financial reasons, whatever your household income.