Want to know how to make £7,000 disappear within seconds? Visit the cashier’s office at the university, give them your credit card, sign the receipt and voila: your tuition fees are paid.

This is the annual tradition for Norwegian students. It may not be a pleasant affair, but in order to get their degree, this is the price they have to pay. But why does it hurt so much? Every year, Norwegian students who study abroad are given a loan and a grant from the Norwegian government. However, the amount they receive does not even cover tuition fees and rent. This means that the students are either dependent on their parents to give them money or that they must find a job in order to survive. If you belong to the last category, you are struggling.

My flatmates and I belong to the strugglers. The feeling of not having enough money is a familiar story: afraid to open the next bill, frightened of the doorbell (it might be the TV-licence people), economising on shopping and evenings out. Why are we here when we can’t really afford it? Is it really worth it?

Thomas is a 2nd-year journalism student at London College of Printing. He decided to go to London rather than apply for a journalism course in Norway, where places are very limited. And he has no regrets: “I never really wanted to study in Norway. London is the place to be; it is the place where everything happens. It’s perfect for me as a journalism student.” He knew that moving to London was going to cost a lot of money, so he worked for one year in order to save up. “I could have asked my parents for help, and I know that they gladly would help me out, but this is something I want to do all by myself. At least I know that if everything goes wrong, I can ask them for money.”

This is how most of us feel. We know that our parents can help us out if we need it, but we want to prove to them that we can make it ourselves. Thomas thinks he is lucky, because “there are lots of young people in Norway who would do anything in order to study in London, but they just cannot afford it. My parents pay my flights home to Norway and my insurance, and that alone amounts to quite a lot. I know several people who had to leave after the first year because they didn’t have enough money.”

Norway, the “welfare state”, has social policies based on equality. This does not, however, apply to those who want to go abroad to study. Most Norwegian students abroad, especially in the UK, could never have gone without backup from their parents. They need at least £3,500 extra every year.

Besides working in Norway between terms, Marthe Hagen, a 2nd-year business student at City University, also works in London. “It feels like I am in a vicious circle. If I don’t work I can’t afford to live here, and when I work I don’t get much time to study. I just want to go on a holiday and relax like normal people. In Norway I have two jobs, and that’s really hard. I have thought a lot about whether it really is worth it, and yes, I think so. I have a great time here in London, it has so much to offer. Just too bad I don’t have the time and money to take as much advantage of it as I would like to.”

The pull of London seems somehow irresistible. One way or another, Norwegians will always find a way to study here. It must be the air.

Astrid Mannion is a 2nd-year journalism student at City University, London

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