Help! Feeling very dozy (re student finance and 2 kids at uni)

[Mayqueene]

Hello

Would a kind mumsnetter please explain to me (very, very slowly and simply) how parental contribution/maintenance loans are worked out when a family has 2 kids at uni, and 2 still dependent at home. I've read the student finance info several times till my brain hurts and still don't understand.

I'm just trying to work out roughly how much loan both kids can get, and how much we will contribute-our income is around £60000 so obviously too high for any grant.

If anyone can help, they will earn my eternal gratitude. I consider myself quite bright....... but student finance has me weeping with frustration.

Thanks very much in advance.

[SCOTCHandWRY]

Where is the UK are you? That will affect the answer!

We are in a similar situation - 2 at Uni, 2 younger kids, income way over the the level at which you just tick the box that says "don't bother assessing our income, just give us the minimum loan" (in Scotland, that level is household income of about £36k).

In Scotland, that means each DC gets a living cost loan of £900 and something a year and if there are additional DC, they only raise the income threshold for a higher loan by £1000 per DC at Uni (so our DC still only get £900 year each). We are required by law to support them through Uni (which we do anyway). Was a big shock to us (just before DS1 started Uni!) to find our income meant no LOAN (effectively anyway, £900 is almost nothing). Of course, we are happy to accept no grants (they are rightly targeted at those who need them), but LOANS should be available to all students!

In England, I think the non-assessed loan is a bit higher. Other parts of the UK, I have no clue.

We have just re-mortgaged to pay the £1000+ per month it costs us to support our 2 DC at University (that barely covers accomodation, never mind the rest of it). One is on a 5 year course, the other is on a 6 year course, and DC3 will be at Uni in couple of years, something I'd rather not think about!

[Mayqueene]

Thanks for replying. We're in England, you're right I should have made that clear.
I know what you mean about dreading when DCs 3 and 4 start....

[SCOTCHandWRY]

Fortunatly DS4 is MUCH younger (2!) so we fully expect the others to be self funding for years by the time he is uni age, no matter how many degrees they decide to do !!!

[outtolunchagain]

We are in England , dropped ds1 off yesterday have two ds at home .ds1's maintenance loan( the minimum)is £3575.
The loan for tuition is not means tested so that is covered in full. His accommodation ( almost cheapest ) is about £3500 but some of his friends at his and other Universities are paying over £5k

[webwiz]

My understanding of the system was that if for example you had one child at university and according to your household income you need to contribute £500 to make up the full maintenance loan then if you have two at university it becomes £250 to each of them and they can borrow slightly more.

However I have no idea what happens if you are near the means testing threshold. We have two DD2s at university and they can just borrow the minimum maintenance loan with the rest made up by us.

The student finance website is shockingly bad I can't understand a thing on it.

[Libra]

ScotchandWry - have you seen that they are changing the system in Scotland next year and that there will be access to a loan of (I think) around 4000 pounds for all students each year?

We are in a similar situation to you - I had always assumed that DS1 would be able to borrow money for his living costs at university and was horrified to discover two years ago that we would be paying it all directly! We are also committed to a six-year course (I think I have seen you on the medical student thread) and so have been tightening our belts since the start of term.

[SCOTCHandWRY]

LIBRA, didn't know that - am away to read up about it now! Good news if they actually do it! Still just the £900 each for this year 2012/13 as they have just had the award letters.

Yes, I have been on med student thread - DS1 is a medic, about to start 2nd year of 6 (pos 7 years as it's possible to do an extra year on a research project!), other DS is 1st year of 5 at a Scottish Uni (again, a whole extra year is possible), and DS3 applies in a couple of years and the courses he's looking at are also 5 years (4 if he chooses an English uni).

Quite scary when you add up the cost, and the time scales...

[Mayqueene]

Thanks all

the student finance website is shockingly bad I can't understand a thing on it

couldn't agree more, Webwiz-it's incomprehensible!