College upkeep: students pay €6,000 a year

STUDENTS are paying an average of €6,000 to keep themselves in college every year, research has found.

The latest cost of living survey showed that students at University of Limerick (UL) spend an average of €164 a week on rent, food, travel and socialising, higher than the €151 average of the five colleges surveyed.

The lowest-spending students attend University College Cork, where the weekly average outgoings were €130.