The uniquely difficult challenges for international students usually begin with finding accommodation. The tight timings of the visa allow little time to see rooms IRL before making a decision. This, naturally, makes it harder to avoid scams, dodgy flatmates and mould infestations. And that’s before you even consider the price. Recent research by Deloitte found that the average rent for inner London was the highest among European cities, at 33.8 EUR/sqm, compared to Paris’ 31.3 EUR/sqm.
“Finding the flat was so stressful that my nose kept bleeding,” says Sunjoo Jung, a recent graduate of an MA in Fashion at the Royal College of Art. She initially moved from South Korea for the Graduate Diploma in Fashion at Central Saint Martins, an intensive one-year course to prepare designers for further study. “It took a month and a half to find a flat, so I was studying and doing the viewings after class, then working in my Airbnb.” When an Airbnb bedroom in zones one and two costs, on average, £180 per night, the urgency to find a permanent place only increases.
“Finding the flat was so stressful that my nose kept bleeding.” – Sunjoo Jung
Even once your housing is somewhat secure, the challenge of trying to make London feel like home remains. Art director and graduate of MA Fashion Communication at CSM, Cayetano García Sahurie, grew up in Peru before moving to London for the course. “Family is a huge part of our upbringing,” he says, “so not being close to them or not having this familiarity in a city which is very cold and very individual rather than collective can be a challenge.” A report this year from the Belonging Forum found that 35% of Londoners reported feeling lonely compared to 28% in the rest of the UK and, for international students, different time zones can exacerbate this loneliness.
“When I arrived in London, I was really shocked. I had an idea of it, but having to live here and pay rent is a different experience.” – Miki Matsuda
One of the biggest adjustments for students who migrate from vastly different economies isn’t just rent; it’s the cost of basic necessities. Miki Matsuda, now in her second year of MA Fashion at CSM, first came from São Paulo, Brazil, for the CSM Graduate Diploma, where the cost of living is around 60% lower. Even with her previous experience living abroad in Japan, she found that no amount of careful planning could truly prepare her for the reality of London: “When I arrived here, I was really shocked. I had an idea of it, but having to live here and pay rent is a different experience.” The gov.uk website currently recommends that international students have £1,334 for costs outside of their fees per month in London. But, with the most expensive metro fares in the world, an added NHS surcharge of £776 per year for international students, and average rent prices of £2,129, this figure doesn’t feel up to date.
“[I had to avoid classmates at lunchtime] so I wouldn’t have to spend £10 on lunch, which was the cost of my food for 10 days back in India.” – Tuhin Chandra
Fashion photographer Tuhin Chandra was the first in his extended family to travel outside of India, let alone to move away. “I had literally no idea, not even an abstract one, of how it would be,” he says. While his experience studying MA Fashion Communication at CSM was positive, “life outside the university was really tough.” While adjusting to his new lifestyle, Tuhin began avoiding classmates at lunchtime, “so I wouldn’t have to spend £10 on lunch, which was the cost of my food for 10 days back in India.”
“When you don’t come from a rich background, it’s twice as hard to live here as it already is. You can’t work full time as an international student, so it’s really hard if you don’t have a lot of support from your family. It’s almost impossible.” – Miki Matsuda
Given that international student fees tend to be over double the cost of home student fees in the UK, there is an assumption that all international students come from wealthy backgrounds. But, as both Tuhin and Miki point out, this is not the case. “When you don’t come from a rich background, it’s twice as hard to live here as it already is,” Miki says. “You can’t work full time as an international student, so it’s really hard if you don’t have a lot of support from your family. It’s almost impossible.” This leaves students without savings to rely mostly on their scholarships and bursaries. However, take the MA Fashion at CSM, for example, and the highest course-specific award available is for £37,280, which still falls short of the current tuition fee of £41,010 across two years.
Finding a job in fashion at the end of your studies to pay for these debts is far from guaranteed, a fact that looms over most international students. For Miki, “The visa adds a lot of pressure because you know that you have a time limit. Even with the graduate visa”, which lasts two years and permits you to work, “it is not 100% sure that you’re going to find a job, and it’s even harder to find a job that’s going to sponsor you. To stay here, it’s almost impossible. So you always need to think, ‘What’s next? What am I gonna do?’ And always have a plan B, and C, and D…”
The fear that the two-year graduate visa – granted to students who successfully complete their degree and pay a further fee and NHS surplus – doesn’t allow enough time is echoed by Moroccan writer and recent CSM MA Fashion Communication graduate Hajar Agrad, who adds that “as an international student, it’s not an option for a lot of us to go back home” if they want to continue a career in the industry. “So we have to make it here or try another fashion capital.”
“It’s ironic because being a student should be about experimenting and sometimes failing, but I felt like I didn’t have the freedom to fail.” – Sol Seo
What seems like all-encompassing pressure inevitably affects your creativity and work, but it’s important not to let that feeling take over. Sol Seo moved from South Korea to obtain the CSM Graduate Diploma. “Knowing I paid a lot for tuition, I felt like I had to produce impressive results, which made me play it safe instead of taking risks,” Sol says. “It’s ironic because being a student should be about experimenting and sometimes failing, but I felt like I didn’t have the freedom to fail.” Now that she is in her second year of MA Fashion at CSM, her advice for other international students is, “Don’t be afraid of failure. You don’t have to be perfect.”
Despite the challenges of navigating accommodation and costs in London, Miki found that making friends came easily, especially with other international students. “Everybody comes to London with the same idea. We are all alone and all experiencing the city for the first time.” Indeed, experiencing all that London has to offer outside of the classroom while forging new friendships is part of the appeal of studying here, but, as Miki observes, “you can have a good balance between school and socialising – but maybe not enough sleep.” Sol concurs, “Juggling socialising, university work, and the cost of living was tough, but connecting with people who shared my interests gave me a lot of inspiration.”
“London gives a lot, but it takes a lot.” – Hajar Agrad
For Cayetano, though his social life changed, moving away brought clarity to his sense of self as he explored a new landscape. “Living in London has allowed me to understand where I’m from, and to understand how important my national identity is, and how important my queer identity is. London gives a lot, but it takes a lot.” And for Hajar, whatever challenges the city poses, the inspiration that she finds people-watching makes the move worthwhile. “It’s such a cliché to say this,” she says, “but it inspires me to be more open with myself and my ideas.”
Bringing it back to the reason so many fashion students are drawn to London despite the myriad of obstacles, Hajar adds, “You see fashion all around you, and I love that about London.”