International students often can face economic difficulties due to problems in their home countries, mental health challenges and the fact that their visas prevent them from working over 20 hours a week. They do not get student finance like UK students do, so in some cases they entirely self-fund their educational journey. The cost of living crisis has made this harder and an increasing number (one third) of Russell Group universities now have food banks to support students in need.
UK universities have nearly 2.75 million students, according to a 2022 survey. 22% of them are international students and 16% are from outside the UK. We interviewed one of these students, Joanna Idowu.
Joanna has had to resort to crowdfunding to raise money after a family relative, who was originally helping with her tuition fees, was no longer able to do so. She said: “Crowdfunding was a last resort. I am only allowed to work 20 hours a week, which I do as a recruitment assistant.”
International students – why study in the UK?
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is the organisational body in charge of applications for most universities across the country. In a survey post-Covid it was found that UK universities have a good reputation with 77% of the international student population in the UK. 61% feel that UK universities have high-quality facilities and resources open to their students.
Social media and TV are strong factors in attracting international students to study in the UK. Students regularly post their university lives on social media and this shows the good side to studying in the UK, almost ‘romanticising’ UK life to those abroad.
Idowu has spoken about information available online showing the UK’s education system has such a high reputation abroad. She is warning people to think it through before coming to the UK, publicly discussing the reality and her struggles on her social media channels.
International students are restricted by their visas to 20 hours’ work a week to support themselves, with no family in the UK. This can make studying and keeping up with assignments increasingly difficult, impacting their mental health. According to a 2022 survey, 47% of international students are struggling with their mental health.
Due to these working restrictions, 69% of international students had financial concerns for their studies. The resulting stress may impact their ability to complete assignments. In addition the student visa fee has now gone up by 35%.
Joanna Idowu’s experience
Seven out of 10 young Nigerian people are disillusioned by life in their home country and are willing to leave the country to study. This is known as the Japa syndrome, a Yoruba word that emerged after the 2023 elections. It means young people want to “to run, flee or escape” due to discontent. This took X (formerly Twitter) by storm.
Idowu said of her decision to leave Nigeria: “The socio-economic situation in Nigeria is really bad. It made me worry for my and my family’s health.”
Facing the reality of her situation in the UK, she said: “The whole experience was very stressful and overwhelming. It had a great impact on my emotional wellbeing. I was really stressed under a lot of pressure with time and money. I had to be strong and positive because I believe in myself and my goals.
“I am not going to let financial difficulties stop me. It was so difficult but I didn’t let it get to me.
“My faith really helped me and kept me going.”
Idowu said of the response to her appeal for crowdfunding: “There were a lot more positive comments than negative. A lot of people reached out to me to tell me I was courageous.
“Almost 500 people donated and followed my situation. I am so grateful to them. I owe them for life.”
As a message to other international students struggling with finance, she said: “Please stay positive. Push through. You have got this!”
Providing support
Idowu spoke to Central Bylines about her plans to release a podcast as part of her studies. She wants to bring together other international students who may be suffering alone in financial difficulty and raise further awareness of life for international students, especially those coming from Nigeria. She has recently shared online the plight of other Nigerian-born students just like her, who are struggling to fund their studies in the UK and are setting up Go Fund Me crowdfunding pages to help.
To hear more about Joanna’s educational journey check out her Instagram where she is documenting her journey.
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