How do you afford Uni if you are only just managing before?!

[Mum2Teens]

I have name changed for this, sorry!

My DS is 17 and very bright, wants to go to Uni next year, which I am thrilled about BUT

We also have 2 primary school age children, I work part time and husband full time, we bring in about £30K on paper including tax credits and we just about manage to have a reasonable lifestyle, nothing flash, not much in the way of holidays etc but ok.

I realise DS can get loans for tuition fees but I hjave no idea how we will afford to pay for accommodation, food, spending money, books etc. Its scaring me to death already and I feel I can't possibly be the only one...surely?

Does anyone have any ideas? There isn't the option of staying at home as there are no Unis anywhere near here.

[gerontius]

You get living costs loans as well. And grants depending on your income (I think you do get a partial grant for 30k). And your DS could get a part-time job during uni to help pay for some of it.

[webwiz]

The maintenance loan is meant to cover living costs - DD1 has loans for tuition fees and living costs.

Here's the link for student finance that should give you more information.

www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance/Applyingforthe firsttime/DG_171539

DD1 is with a temp agency while she's home for the summer and she's managed to get a job at a factory packing beauty products as she works full time she is getting plenty of money.

[Mum2Teens]

Thank you al so much! That link has really set my mind at rest as it looks like he COULD get about £3-3.8K per year maintenance loan as well as the tutor fees. PHEW.
Thanks for all the advice. he is struggling to find work here at the moment, gets a FEW meagre hours in a restaurant as its pretty bad here, but am hoping he will find something once he goes off

[zerominuszero]

The whole point of the traditional student loan (that everyone gets, even if they're rich) is that it pays for accomodation, books, food etc.

If your child tries very hard, in theory it doesn't have to cost you a penny. Obviously in practice it might be different, but I went to uni in Manchester and got very little from my parents, if anything. Although it did help that I didn't have to pay tuition fees. But nowadays aren't fees just bunged on top of your student loan anyway so you don't pay them up front?

[webwiz]

Yes zerominuszero the tuition fees go straight to the university at the start of each year but the student has a loan for them.

Mum2Teens DD1 found that more work was available once she got to 18, DD2(17) has the few hours in a restaurant type job as well but she'll be doing the rounds with her cv again as soon as we get back from our holiday.

[Ineed2]

Can he swim?? if so get him on a National Pool Lifeguard Course , swimming pools often use students as casual staff and the pay is reasonable and they are open for weekend work too.

[scurryfunge]

Any relatives in a University town where he could cheaply rent a room?

I will be encouraging DS to defer for a year or two and find a job where he can save towards the cost.

I had several part time jobson the go as a student also which helped.

[Swishswish]

He will get about £3000 a year to pay for accommodation as well as his tuition fees. Depending on your income he could get a grant of more.
Also some universities are quite generous when it comes to bursaries. I hear Lancaster/Manchester are always handing them out (well maybe not, but they are quite generous)

[Bonsoir]

If you don't live in an area where temporary jobs are easy to come by, encourage your DS to go to university in a city where there is plenty of work - that way he can stay in his university accommodation in the holidays and work.

[amothersplaceisinthewrong]

The mainteance loan does not cover all the living costs - it might pay for the accomodation but nothing else.

[slm1401]

My son has just finished his first year at uni and he's now (finally) realised that he needs a job as well as the student loan to manage to live and pay his bills. We started off paying his rent but it was such a struggle (with 2 teenage girls too) so he's now got a job but it took him months for him to realise!

Perhaps set your son's expectations that the loan will cover fees and rent and then he'll have to get a part time job to pay for his food and living costs (mobile phone, bus fares, etc.). Uni is rarely full time - my son only did about 20 hours a week max for most of last year so he's now got a job as a fundraiser in a call centre and can work from 14 hours a week upwards and £6 per hour too.

Good luck!

[sunnydelight]

It sounds really harsh but not everyone can afford to go to uni straight from school. I still vividly remember the day I received my acceptance letter and my mum was in tears as there was just no way my parents could afford to send me. We didn't live in the UK - there was no grant option and no money. I defrered my place, worked for a year saving every penny I could, then started the following year. I waitressed evenings and weekends and worked during the holidays when other students went off grapepicking or to the US for the Summer. Not a hard luck story, just reality. I never resented my parents - why would I, if they had the money they would have given it to me cheerfully but they didn't have it.

[tokyonambu]

A maintenance loan for 2010/11 is 4950, more in London, although if you're getting a grant as well you can only borrow less.

In principle, this only needs to cover ~28 weeks a year, on the assumption he will be living rent-free at home during the holidays. How true that assumption is is, of course, another question. University accommodation is paid for just for termtime; non-university accommodation probably ends up being rented 52 weeks per year.

I'm returning to university at the end of this month for three years to do a PhD (I'm 45) and I must confess that I am ashamed of how many opportunities I had at university 1983-6 I passed up, mostly through being 18 and stupid. We were left money by a maiden aunt which means that we can fund the children's university fairly easily, but I'm still going to encourage them to defer a few years, on the grounds that a three year opportunity to study a subject you love in depth amongst other people in a similar position is something you might not be ready for at 18.

[mumeeee]

DD2 started uni las year. She got £4999 maintenance laon and a tuition loan on top of that. The tuition loan was paid straight to the uni and the maintenance loan went to her. She's in London so her Halls cost £5000 for the year ( in 2 installments). We paid for that as we had some money saved. She paid for everything else out of her maintenance loan which included living costs and any equipment she needed for her couse. She has now got a job and has just moved out of hall and is house sharing with her friends. She is paying all the rent over the summer. We will contribute in September but she'll still pay something towards rent. Laons do not cover accomadation and food nowadays.

[MmeRedWhiteandBlueberry]

Check those loan figures, Mum2Teens.

DS is getting a maintenance loan of just under £5000, in addition to a tuition fee loan. (Central London - not sure if that makes a difference). This will cover the cost of his accommodation, which is the biggest single cost.

We have not declared our income as our joint income puts us into the high earner category. If you have a modest income and you are willing to declare it, he should be able to get a much bigger loan.

[mumeeee]

MmeRedWhiteandBlueberry. That is the amount for London and what DD2 is getting as she is in Kingston Upon Thames and counts as London. It is less outside London. Her firend who is going to Cardiff is getting arounf £3950

[violethill]

As your children are all school age, I would return to F/T work to maximise your earning power - tbh a parent working P/T is a bit of a luxury in this day and age.

And your dd should expect to work P/T to finance herself too.

It's a struggle these days - no doubt about it