Overseas study (Part 1)...Costs involved

I'm a musician...an opera singer to be precise. Up until two months ago I was in London doing some independent study after dropping out of a Masters of Performance at the Royal College of Music (RCM)...(I'll explain more of that later)...Before arriving at RCM I was a full-time chorister for Opera Australia. It was a great job, one of the rare full-time jobs one could get as a classical singer in Australia. Like many young singers, I have aspirations to become a principal artist and I wanted to give it a real go so I decided to leave the chorus.

Royal College of Music

I was told by a number of people that if I wanted to be taken seriously as a soloist in Australia  (especially at Opera Australia) I would need to go overseas and get more experience, specifically through a college. These music colleges are prestigious institutions with long standing reputations, with celebrated alumni of the likes of Dame Joan Sutherland, Peter Pears, Alfie Boe, Gerald Finley and many more. I had it on good authority that they would be comparable to the Young Artist Programmes (YAPs) offered by our state and national opera companies here in Australia.

My fundraising booklet for Sydney

I did a lot of fundraising to get over to London. It drove me nuts, but I did it because while it was crazy and ridiculously exhausting, it was also incredibly rewarding. That, and I really needed the money to go! I calculated a cost of approximately $125,000 to cover the two years of tuition, accommodation and living/other expenses. Now, it might sound a little excessive, but let me break it down...

Tuition

Royal College of Music International student fees x 2 years = £39,240 ($60,972~ AUD)

(This number is based upon my yearly fees of £19,620 not taking into account inflation)

Accommodation

Let's assume you decided to live on your own at somewhere like Goodenough College or Victoria League for the two years.

Goodenough College 

£159 per week (1BR) x 104 weeks 
= £16,536 ($25,680~ AUD)

Victoria League

£129.50 per week (1BR) x 104 weeks 
= £13,468 ($20,920~ AUD)

Living/Other Expenses

Annual student oyster card (Zone 1-2) x 2 
= £1,632 x ($2,534~ AUD)

Average food allowance of £100 per week x 104 
= £10,816 ($16,792~ AUD)

(includes groceries, modest eating out & drinking)

Average music related expenses over two years 
= £5,500~ ($8,556~ AUD)

(includes concerts, texts, scores, coaching, summer schools etc.)

Initial flight from Melbourne to London  
= $1,885~

Return flight for London to Melbourne  
= £1,070~ ($1,662~ AUD)

Flight home from London to Melbourne 
= £645~ ($1,001~ AUD)

Initial UK (Tier 4 student) visa application fee
= £394 ($613~ AUD)

Sundry expenses for two years = £3,000~ ($4,659~ AUD)

(medical, clothing, travel, emergency funds)

If you add up all the red highlighted numbers you'll get $124,354~

Now, of course, these numbers are approximate figures and I'm sure you could do it cheaper if need be. I know of a number of people that didn't raise anywhere near that amount and they survive, if only just. It requires a lot of discipline, running a tight ship by not travelling around too much, keeping your outings to a minimum, shopping mainly at Poundland/Iceland for groceries, limiting your music expenses, etc...essentially you'd need to save every penny. 

(NB: This estimate is also based upon the assumption that you will not be employed during this time and solely focus on your studies.)

My point is this..it's not financially easy living overseas, especially in London, and it's definitely better to over budget than under when initially planning. Begin fundraising as early as possible, apply for scholarships, enter competitions, do anything you can to save as much as you can because you're going to need every cent!

My next blog will look at different avenues for fundraising so please stay tuned...