Others here who have done the PPL whilst students include Aerbabe
Very nice of you to remember, FNG.
No, it's not easy studying full-time as well as doing a PPL, but in some ways it's easier than working full-time and doing same. Why? Because if the weather's good and you have no lectures/lab work, you can escape to the airfield for a few hours.
How to pay for it? There are no short cuts. If you try and save a few pounds during your training, you will pay for it many times over later. I was fairly lucky in that my university has a temping agency on campus, so I was able to work for ca. 10 hours a week at £6-7 an hour, and fly almost every other weekend. There wasn't always work available, so I also ate very cheaply and didn't socialise every night. I seriously lived pretty much on Tescos value pasta, value tomatoes, cheap veg from the local greengrocer and the occasional bit of meat when it was reduced. I limited myself to one night out a week & took say £10 with me in my pocket and left my wallet at home. It sounds terribly boring, but: a) you soon get used to it; and b) you forget all about it when you get airborn.
It took me about (not having my logbook to hand) 18 months and 55 hours to get my licence.
Good luck.
