UCAS guide

You have your offers. Now compare the money.

Before you choose firm and insurance, see what each offer means monthly.

Why offers look the same but aren't

When your offers arrive, they look similar. Tuition fees are £9,250 at almost every English university. The degree title is often identical. The prestige difference feels hard to measure.

But the monthly financial reality varies enormously. The difference is not in the fees — it is in the cost of living in each city, the cost of accommodation at each university, and what your maintenance loan leaves you after paying rent.

A student from a household earning under £25,000 comparing UCL (London) with the University of Sheffield will find a difference of £673/month on their monthly balance. The loan is higher for London, but the accommodation costs are vastly more. The net result is nearly £700/month less to live on in London.

Over a 3-year degree, that difference is £24,228. Most students do not know this before they choose their firm. Most wish they had.

How to compare your offers

The SalaryDex calculator lets you add up to 5 universities and see your monthly balance for each, side by side, based on your household income and accommodation preference.

Add each of your offer universities and set your household income. Your monthly balance for each appears instantly — what you will have left each month after accommodation, transport, and food.

How to use the calculator for offers comparison

  1. Set your household income in the dropdown.
  2. Search for your first offer university and add it.
  3. Repeat for all universities you have offers from.
  4. See the monthly balance for each, colour-coded.
  5. Check the summary bar for best and worst value.
Compare your offers →

What to look for beyond the monthly balance

The monthly balance tells you how comfortable your finances will be. It does not tell you everything. There are other factors worth weighing alongside the money.

Graduate job market

Which cities have the strongest job market for your field? Some cities offer significantly better starting salaries for specific industries.

Placement year outcomes

Universities with strong placement programmes often produce higher graduate salaries, which offsets higher undergraduate costs.

City livability

You will live in this city for 3 years. The quality of life, social scene, and personal fit matter beyond the financial calculation.

Course quality

The most affordable choice is only the right choice if the course is also good enough. Check student satisfaction scores alongside the financial data.

Financial data is one input to the decision, not the only input. Use it to rule out unaffordable options, then choose from the affordable ones based on everything else.

The firm and insurance decision

Your firm choice should be your genuine first preference — the place you most want to go if you get the grades. Your insurance should be a university you would genuinely be happy to attend, not a safety school you would resent being sent to.

The financial rule: Your insurance should cost the same or less per month than your firm choice. If your insurance costs significantly more, reconsider which is firm and which is insurance. The grade risk may push you to the more expensive option.

Use the Firm vs Insurance comparison in the calculator to see the financial difference between your two choices, and what it means if you miss your firm offer.

Compare firm vs insurance →