Exclusive: 'Living as a student has never been so expensive': The cost of going back to university is rising

This year again, many students will be heading to university hungry. According to the annual survey by FAGE (Federation of General Student Associations), unveiled exclusively this Wednesday by the EBRA group (of which our newspaper is a member), the cost of going back to school for a non-scholarship student no longer living with their parents will increase by 2% in 2025 compared to last year. This increase is consistent with the findings of UNEF, whose annual survey published in mid-August reported a 4% increase in the average cost of student life over one year. After housing , food remains the second largest expense. This year, FAGE estimates the average monthly budget for food at 207 euros, a 2% increase compared to 2024.

"Living as a student has never been so expensive, and food has become the number one variable in budget adjustment," laments Maëlle Nizan, president of Fage. "Ultimately, one in five students doesn't get enough to eat. Depending on what they have left, some have to skip meals or make do with pasta every day..." she continues.

These deprivations affect both the quantity and quality of meals. Hence, a frequent renunciation of meat, fish, as well as fruits and vegetables. This food insecurity has serious consequences: "It jeopardizes their health and their academic success. Some do not continue their studies because they can no longer stand having an empty stomach," notes the president of FAGE. The first victims: non-scholarship students who no longer live with their parents and international students.

The cause: inflation. "This year, food prices are increasing by 1.4%," calculates UNEF in its survey on the cost of student living. Furthermore, in some university towns, access to supermarkets is limited without a car, forcing students to shop in small, high-priced supermarkets.

Another problem: in rural areas or small towns, students don't have access to a university restaurant. This means they can't get one-euro meals in university restaurants if they're scholarship holders, or pay the standard 3.30-euro ticket. "This is particularly the case for students in health and social care programs who study on remote campuses without a student life service," explains Maëlle Nizan. To help them, the Minister of Higher Education introduced a prepaid card last February worth 40 euros per month for scholarship holders and 20 euros for non-scholarship holders, which can be used in food stores and restaurants. This scheme has been granted to 100,000 students in areas where affordable dining options are more than a 20-minute walk or public transport ride away. "But the amount of this aid is paltry," Maëlle Nizan criticizes.

And for those who have a nearby university restaurant, it's not always possible to go there, due to lack of time between classes and long queues at peak times. "It's urgent to rethink timetables to relieve congestion in university restaurants and offer students a real lunch break," insists Maëlle Nizan. Furthermore, while some university restaurants are open in the evening, this isn't the case everywhere. "And today, many CROUS are struggling with their budgets and don't have sufficient funding to provide these services," she adds. For its part, UNEF adds that "faced with chronic underinvestment in its network, the CROUS is forced to increase the price of cafeteria menus."

To change this situation, the Fage is calling on the government to open up access to one-euro Crous meals to all students and to develop agreements with other public catering establishments, such as university hospital restaurants, to guarantee healthy food at affordable prices. However, in an unstable political context and with tight budgetary constraints for 2026, it's hard to believe that new measures will be announced.