Giving Compass' Take:

• According to a survey by a student finance website in the UK, the average rent for housing accommodations for students is £131 a week, which leaves very little to live off of after. 

• What are some programs that can help find alternative student housing? Is it possible for scholarships to provide housing stipends? 

• Read about how working-class students in the U.S. face poverty. 

Average rent for student accommodation totals £131 a week, eating up nearly all of a typical maintenance loan or grant, even before a typical £509 in upfront letting fees and deposit are taken into account.  The survey, by student finance website Save The Student, claims that the average award leaves a typical UK student with only £8 a week for all other living costs such as food, travel, and toiletries after the rent has been paid.

"The fact that the maintenance loan barely covers students' rent is shocking. Students are forced to get a job at the expense of their studies or rely on their parents who may struggle to support them," says Jake Butler, operations director at the website. So how do students cope financially? Here, three explain how they have tried to keep the costs down.

Fiona Scott is studying social science in Edinburgh and decided to move back home owing, in part, to the financial difficulties she faced. It means the 20-year-old now faces a commute, by bus, of up to two hours to get to lectures and classes five days a week.

Some 44% of students struggle to keep up with rent, according to the Save The Student survey. Nearly half (45%) of respondents said their mental health suffered as a result. Almost a third (31%), like Fiona, said their study risked being affected.

Read the full article about stress based on your living situation by Kevin Peachey at BBC.