A lot of stress and no new clothes

- Students often live with a lot of stress. I can tell that it’s affecting my quality of sleep, that I don’t treat myself to things, that I can’t fully relax, says Ingvill Statle Skjørten (23).

She is a music student at Barratt Due Institute of Music and has not had steady income next to her studies for the past three years. Skjørten’s situation is illustrated by a recent SSB-report (Norwegian central statistics office), which compares living-, working-, and studying conditions across Nordic cities.

With a median cost of living at 10,400 NOK, Oslo students lacked 2,900 NOK with regular student loans in 2016. The difference between living costs and student loans was therefore the highest in the capital, compared to other Norwegian cities. The numbers were collected in 2016, but the authors of the report hold that they are still relevant, because changes in the conditions that are highlighted, are expected to happen gradually over a longer period of time. Since 2016, the level of student loans has increased. In the same period, the consumer price index has increased. Housing costs in Oslo have also risen.

Spends a lot of time on work and studies

Oslo is also one of the cities where the majority works in addition to their full time studies. One of them is Peter Mork (25), master’s student in general literary studies at the University of Oslo. He’s currently on temporary leave from his part time job as a bartender, but he is saving money through summer jobs and freelance work for film production companies.

- It’s very time consuming, so it’s not something you can do all the time, he notes.

Mork says that in the intense work periods there is not much time left over for studying, but that in total the work does not affect his effort in his studies.

- I think I spend a lot of time on both work and studies. Ideally, it shouldn’t be an obstacle in order to do well in school, he says and acknowledges that it is easier to manage daily life with a flexible study programme, and that many are probably not in the same situation as him.

- Working in a bar or on a film set is something completely different from sitting in the library, but I would have liked to have a job that is more relevant to my studies, he says.

Worsened by the Corona crisis

The SSB-report shows that Linköping in Sweden is the city in the selection with the highest percentage of working students who think their job is relevant for their studies. It is also the city where the fewest students are working. On the opposite side of the spectrum we find the Norwegian and Finnish students. The majority of the working students in these countries report not being able to afford studying without an income on the side.

This is concerning for Idun Kløvstad, leader of the Welfare Council in Oslo and Akershus. She points out that the job market for students have worsened since the numbers from the SSB-report were collected.

- We’re in a completely different situation in regards to access to part time jobs since the Corona crisis hit us, than we were four years ago, according to her.

Mork, who is on temporary leave, acknowledges that there might be a time where he will have to live more frugally.

- Would you have been able to afford studying without working on the side?

- In that case, I would have to make a lot of changes in my everyday life, he says.

More at school than at home

Skjørten is among those who have been able to get by on only the student loan scheme for a longer period of time. On questions related to how she makes it work, she emphasises that she often has to sacrifice quality for price.

- For example, I would like to be more environmentally aware, but financial concerns trump it, so I would rather buy cheap than buy ecological, she says and adds that she also does not buy new clothing.

- Buying one clothing item makes a serious dent in my personal finances, so I almost never do it.

Despite the effort it takes to make the money last, Skjørten has made a choice to not apply for a steady part time job so far.

- I wanted to get as much out of my time as a student as possible, she says and describes a programme that requires a lot of independent effort.

- For the last three years I have spent more time at school than at home. I have some friends at school who have had steady jobs on top of this. It seems demanding, and definitely affects how much you get out of the study programme.

Andreas Trohjell, leader of the Norwegian Student Organisation, makes a connection between working hours and studies based on the new SSB-report and drawing on findings from earlier this year:

- There were also recent numbers from SSB that shows that too much paid work comes at the expense of studies, he explains.

On the question of the difference in living costs between Oslo and the other Norwegian cities, Trohjell emphasises that the development in the capital is alarming, but other Norwegian cities also stand out:

- Oslo stands out in Norway. At the same time, the three Norwegian cities stand out among all the cities that are included in the report. The solution to this is first of all to raise the financial support, he concludes.

Reliant on luck

Skjørten says that she put an upper limit on rent at 5,500 NOK per month, and she feels lucky to have found a room, via friends and acquaintances.

- It has become enormously more expensive to rent in just the last couple of years. There is a huge difference just from when I moved out from home four years ago, she says.

According to the Rental Market Survey 2019, the prices in the rental market in Oslo were close to 1,000 NOK above the national average for price per square meter in 2019. So far this year, the prices have continued to increase.

Kløvstad presents faster expansion of student housing as the most effective measure for closing the gap between the level of the student loan scheme and Oslo students’ living costs:

- Access to student housing will affect the monthly budget significantly for the individual student, she says and clarifies that it is also important to increase the student loan scheme by attaching it to the basic amount of the National Insurance Scheme.