Finance

If you have any questions or worries about finance whilst studying at Corpus, feel free to contact the JCR Academic and Access Officer or any of the JCR Welfare Officers.

Costs in Corpus

For the academic year 2017-18, below are some of the costs you may wish to consider:

  • Accommodation:
    • Average rent: ?1,444 per term (30-week lease)
    • Lowest rent: ?1,117 per term (30-week lease)
    • Highest rent: ?1,771 per term (30-week lease)
    • Academic vacation rate: ?19.60 per night
    • Non–academic vacation rate: ?33.49 per night
    • Guest room rate: ?45 per night
  • KFC (Kitchen Fixed Charge):
    • 30–week lease: ?190.66 per term
    • Extended lease: ?247.85 per term
  • Catering:
  • These prices are rough guides depending on what you choose
    • Breakfast: £1.50–£4
    • Lunch: ?3–?5
    • Dinner: ?3–?5
    • Formal Hall ticket: £10.50
    • Formal Hall guest ticket: £13.65
  • Miscellaneous:
    • Accommodation deposit: £150
    • Gym key deposit: £20

Information about Tuition Fees, College Fees and general living costs can be found on the main College website here.

College account statements

At the beginning of each term, you will be emailed your “College Account Statement.” This bill covers all your charges that are due for payment by the date shown. Generally this will be your:

  • Room rent for that term;
  • Kitchen Fixed Charge for that term;
  • Catering charges for the previous term (except on your Michaelmas bill);
  • Electricity charges for the previous term (except on your Michaelmas bill);
  • Deposit (a one-off charge at the beginning of your first term of residence in college accommodation);
  • One third of your College and University Tuition Fees (minus any contribution or loan from a Student Loan Company.)

N.B.: Electricity meters are read on the first weekday following the end of each lease period to calculate your electricity charge and to ensure you are not charged for any electricity used by Conference guests etc. The date shown on your bill will be the date the electricity charge was added to your account, which may be quite a bit later than when the meter was actually read.

Around week 4 and again towards the end of each term, you will be emailed another College Account Statement. These are for information purposes only, so that you can see any charges you have for the previous month in order to budget effectively and so that any queries can be investigated quickly.

At the end of the year you will receive your “Final Account Statement”, which generally contains the following charges:

  • Catering charges for Easter term,
  • Charges for damage to the fixtures and fittings of your room or for missing items from your room.

If you have graduated, your Final Account Statement will also include a refund of your deposit, or what is left of it if you have damaged items in your room.

College account payment

Payment of your College account must be made to the Finance Office. You can do this in a number of ways:

  • Debit card;
  • Credit card (please remember that a surcharge will apply);
  • Inter-bank transfer.
  • Cheque (please put your name and account number, found on your bill, on the reverse of the cheque).

Details of the College bank account will be on your College bill.

You will have to pay your College Account Statement by the first day of each Full Term. Your Final Account Statement has to be paid by July 31st.

Statements that remain unpaid for two weeks will incur both an administration charge of ?30 and an interest charge. You may also find that your University Card stops working so that you can’t add to the amount you owe College. If your account remains unpaid you may be asked to leave College accommodation or may be prevented from taking up residence in College accommodation in the following academic year, until the account is settled in full.

If you have any problems with paying your bill, or think that you may have problems in the future, you should first of all, speak to your Tutor, and you can also email the Tutorial Office as soon as possible.

University cards

Corpus uses a cashless card system in Hall and the bar where your University Card can be used to pay for food and drink. This card is also used to pay for Formal Halls, meaning you can still eat and socialise even if you are short of cash!

It can be tempting to think of this cashless system as “fake money” though, so remember when using it that you will have to pay College back the following term. You can keep an eye on what you have spent by logging into UPayChilli or when purchasing items in Hall.

UPayChilli

You can use the UPayChilli online system to check your account balance or view statements of everything you have purchased in college for the past 6 months. You’ll need to create an account in order to do this, and also in order to make online formal bookings:

  • Click here to create an account
  • Enter the Affiliate ID for Corpus, ?95?
  • Enter your User ID i.e. your account number
  • Create an Account
  • Log-in & Book. Look for the drop down menu in the top right hand corner of your screen and go to ?Events?.

Note: A common mistake is to try to use your CRSid to log in, you have to type out your full email e.g. abc123@cam.ac.uk

Graduands pre–payment

Some time ago the JCR and college agreed that final-year students would find it easier to pay their College bills in time for graduation if the catering charges for the Easter Term were to be pre-paid.

The prepayment is individually calculated for each graduand, and is based on the charges incurred in the Michaelmas Term. In addition, it will include contingency money (?120) to allow for unexpected expenditure, and heating and electricity charges. Those proceeding to their degrees are advised to pay cash in advance for any Club, Society or similar dinners they sign to attend, since such meals will not have been taken into account in arriving at the required final term pre-payment. Final detailed bills should be ready for dispatch by mid-July and, of course, any credit balance will be refunded then.

The prepayment will be charged in two instalments: half the amount at the beginning of Lent Term, and the second half (with any necessary recalculations) at the beginning of the Easter Term.

If any part of this arrangement is causing you any concern, please discuss with your tutor as soon as possible.

Insurance

The College’s general insurance policy covers items provided by the College for the use of undergraduates in residence. The College cannot accept any responsibility for undergraduates’ personal property.

Therefore, you are strongly advised to insure all your personal possessions for the time you are at College. Your parent’s household contents policy can be extended to cover you whilst you are at University. Otherwise, it is not difficult to arrange separate cover, at a modest premium, from an organisation specialising in student insurance.

The College’s insurance also does not cover any items you may leave in storage or in your rooms over vacation periods. If you are leaving belongings in the store room, it is worth checking that you are covered for personal possessions in “secure storage designated by your College authority during a vacation”. It is also highly recommended that you store your items in waterproof plastic storage containers.

Available Funding

Student finance provides tuition fee loans and maintenance loans. Those currently eligible for maintenance grants will be able to apply for expanded maintenance loans covering the amount previously awarded. This will be repaid under the same conditions as the rest of your loan. You may still be able to apply for other grants from the government. More information is available here.

The Cambridge Bursary Scheme is available for eligible UK and EU students and provides a non-repayable grant of up to £3,500 from the University. More information is available here.

The College can also assist if you are in financial difficulty. You can talk to your Tutor about any concerns you may have. It’s best to do this sooner than later so that financial worries don’t cause undue stress while you’re trying to study.

The Student Advice Service provides a huge list of internal and external financial websites that you might find useful.

Finance queries

If you have any questions about finance or the charges and fees in Corpus, please email the Finance Office. Alternatively, the Finance Office is located in A-staircase (room A5) and is open 9am–4pm, Monday to Friday. The Finance Office is closed for lunch from 1–2pm. You can also contact the Finance Officer on 01223 3(38005).