I sort of gave a summary of Leeds, but I can expand on that. It's up in the north of England (historically the industrial part, the "poorer" part). [As an aside, England has a north-south divide, wherein the South is considered wealthier and the North is looked down upon slightly - it's a stereotype that is less and less true these days.]
Leeds is in the county of Yorkshire which is very scenic once you get out of the city, beautiful countryside and lakes and areas for walking. Lots of great pubs in Yorkshire (The Star at Harome for some of the best food and drinking). I would recommend exploring this area if you do attend the university. Back to Leeds itself; it is your average modern city with all the conveniences associated with that "stigma". It does somewhat cater for students, supporting the populaces of two big universities. Transport is fine, shopping is fine, clubbing is fine, you get the picture. The local football team used to be good but is now in the second/third division after they went bankrupt. Oh, the glory days of Leeds United.. Heh. One thing Leeds has going for it is a great haute cuisine dining scene: Anthony's is a brilliant (expensive, though) starred place, then you have the Piazza by Anthony which is meant to be incredible (not had a chance to visit it yet), there is a wonderful Sichuan Chinese place called Red Chilli which is truly authentic, The Ellington, The Bird by Vineet, L'Enclume is close, Sous le Nez, Kendell's Bistro, No 3 York Place, Akbar's, Aagrah, Chaopraya, Fuji Hiro.. the list could go on, but those are probably the places in the city itself with many more out in the towns in the Yorkshire Dales.
http://www.anthonysrestaurant.co.uk/ <- worth checking out.
It's very diverse with many ethnicities being represented - Asian moreso than most. The traffic at rush hour is just as frustrating as anywhere else in this country. Links to London are good via train and coach. Crime is bog standard, it's not massively dangerous but being careful is always a given in more rough sections of the city. The local accent can be tricky to understand as a non-native. But, since you'll be at uni there, most of the students will be from everywhere else in the country so that probably wouldn't be a problem. Leeds has the usual smattering of museums, landmarks, culture, etc. (read the Wikipedia page, it's way more thorough than my memory and knowledge).
How expensive is it to live here? London is hugely expensive, Leeds is less so. It's hard to express the cost of living as a simple thing. Rent for a student will be approx. £250-400 a month (depending on location and the quality of your accommodation), a cinema ticket costs ~£7.20, milk is 50p for a pint, bread is 80p for a loaf, a bus ride starts at around £3.00 (getting a bus pass from the university will make that cheaper and less of a concern); it's not as expensive as Norway but it's not *cheap*. You can learn to find bargains and shop on a budget. Drinking (I know what this means to students) can be cheap too with pubs offering happy hours and deals. What else would you like to know on this particular subject and I can answer the specifics?
My advice would be to ask the university about rent prices and if they can offer help in that regard and also read the Wikipedia entry on Leeds all the way through to learn the facts and ins and outs.
As for the country, England; to me it's home and I love it overall. I doubt I could bring myself to ever leave permanently. I may hate the current government and disagree with many things that go on - taxation is way too high, blah blah - but it has beauty and great cities and has culture and history. There is tons to see and do and visit. The countryside is splendid and unspoilt, the coastlines are amazing. Then you have London, a truly global city, which is a jewel in itself. I could rave about England for hours. Yes, it's moderately expensive but not mind blowingly so. It rains a fair amount but it's a temperate climate that never gets too hot or too cold. It's green outside of the major metropolitan areas. There are some nice beaches around the country to enjoy in the summer. The food, despite its reputation, is wonderful - who could hate fish and chips as a national dish? The culture is deep and ancient, it's diverse, it's cheap to travel to Europe, it has great homegrown ales.. everything you could ever find special.
* ixesha shrugs
Good luck with the research.
/ 
), they only cover academic fees, but as it's free, that means they won't pay a single penny.