How on earth are we supposed to afford dd going to university

[Butby]

Dd got an offer from Lincoln uni for adult nursing. She was hoping to get somewhere local to avoid accommodation costs but didn't get offers locally.

I want her to be able to attend but doing my sums now, I work ft earning about 20k, my dh is self employed turnover 24k 2014/2015 which was a bad year.

I think we'd only be entitled to nhs bursary about 3,500 and maintenance loan of 2500. We don't have the money to top this up as have a few debts etc and she runs a car which she pays from from a part time job, and she's been told she will find it a challenge to work whilst studying and placements.

Does this sound at all doable? feeling very depressed that we've never been able to afford to put money aside for this before

[FuckyNell]

the maintenance loan sounds low, are you sure it's right? My dd has a loan of £5500 approx and we aren't entitled to any grants.

She could use her bursary and grants for living and the loans for accommodation and fees.

Well done your dd!

[Butby]

The gov.uk website says if you qualify for an nhs bursary you are only entitled to a reduced maintenance loan of £2324.
Just been reading another thread and many parents are paying accommodation and topping up £500 per month gulps

[DigestiveBiscuit]

Yes, we gave ds and dd £500 per month to pay for rent, bills and food. I went to work to earn it, as I can earn more than them - they would only get minimum wage jobs, if they were lucky. Dd does not have the health to do a degree and work part time. (I am a carer to another disabled dd in the holidays, so have never been able to work since she was born)

[blobbityblob]

Don't student nurses work as HCA's on the staff bank? Can choose your shifts and fit them round studies. Might be something to look into.

[GreenShadow]

£500 / month top-up! Is this in London?

We end up helping DS pay his rent at the end of each term when his maintenance loan has run out (so maybe £500 a TERM) but that is all. He doesn't work during term-time (he does in the Summer holiday) but then I would say he isn't exactly a big-spender.

[titchy]

Halls at Lincoln start at £3500 a year, so she'd have about £200 a month left over for food, travel etc. Tight but doable, especially if you send her the odd Tesco delivery.

[lcoc2015]

And she may need to get rid of the car - most full time students don't have the means to run a car!!

[Headofthehive55]

Keep the car, lots of place,ent scan be hard to get to. At strange hours.

[Fuzz01]

I studied nursing on a bursary was just short of 6000 (diploma course about 10years ago) With the bursary and maintence loan assuming thats a yearly thing she should manage. Theres always overdrafts and travel expenses for placement get reinbursed. She would just need to had receipts in at the health sciences dept.

[DurhamDurham]

Our 18 year old started her adult nursing degree and she had to give up her car. She gets similar to what is predicted your daughter will get. We top up her money with £100 a month direct debit into her account and also pay her phone bill and fill her fridge up when we visit.
She's loving it, especially when she's on placement. She would struggle to hold down a part time job when she's on placement as she was doing 13 hour shifts on the ward.
We've had to make a few sacrifices to be able to give her £100 but we've adjusted now so it doesn't feel too bad.

[228agreenend]

watching with interest.

I have a Dc year 11 so have 2 1/2 years before uni, but have nothing saved. How much will,it cost me per month for everything. £200, £500 per month etc. I'm panicking that we should be saving, but the budget is tight at the moment.

[DigestiveBiscuit]

My advice to 228agreenend is to look particularly at the Northern universities, where accommodation costs are on the whole, much lower than London!

[Mumblechum1]

DS is in a "cheap northern city" (Liverpool) and his accom is £6k pa 😞
I pay his rent plus £400 a month on top

[GinandJag]

We've only ever given our children £50 per week. They have manage on tuition fee loans and maintenance loans, topped up with earnings from summer jobs.

[DurhamDurham]

We hadn't saved a penny as weren't in a position to. Our daughter has had to make full use of her bursary and maintenance grant plus the £100 we can give her. She's become a dab hand at cooking from scratch and we bought her a slow cooker, it costs very little to make a casserole so she's had to develop a taste for that!
We live in Durham and she has gone to Northumbria uni, she could have lived at home but chose to move to Newcastle, she is closer to all the hospitals she might get sent to on placement.

Good luck to all parents whose children are going to uni, it's a big step. Both our girls have moved out now so there's just me and my husband at home now. Far too tidy and quiet for my liking

[SwedishEdith]

We've only ever given our children £50 per week. They have manage on tuition fee loans and maintenance loans, topped up with earnings from summer jobs.

That seems pretty standard from people I know as well.

[Butby]

Well I have a little hope that it's doable now anyway, she's been advised to keep her car and have been advised to pick up bank work particularly on uni study weeks. My dd isn't really a tin of baked beans girl though, she's currently at college and also works 20 hrs per week in a well known fast food restaurant. I pay for her mobile, gym and give her About £40 per month and pay for college meals and the odd new bits of clothes so she's used to having money in her pocket. Hope she can adjust to budgeting.

[redhat]

But she'll be a student. She won't be expecting a car, gym membership and new clothes as a student surely?

[GingerIvy]

Hope she can adjust to budgeting.

It's part of growing up and being an adult, IMO. She'll have to adjust.

[Butby]

No, she won't need the gym but she was advised shed need the car as she will be doing various shifts at placements. I only buy her odd item of clothing here and there she pays for everything else herself

[24balloons]

I could be wrong but I thought the government were going to change the way student nurses were funded to be the same as other students. I remember there were some protests so I am not sure if it went ahead?
I'm afraid budgeting is a big part of student life these days though it is tough if there is no time for a pt job.

[AvaCrowder]

What did you do as students?

We managed without cars, gym etc. if you would like to pay for that, fine. If you can't that's fine too.

[ClarenceTheLion]

Won't she need the car for a nursing course? I know my friend has to work all over our county and can arrive/leave at unsociable hours. It would be a pain in the arse to have to sort out public transport.

[Butby]

Yes she's been told she needs a car for the placements

[rightsaidfrederickII]

I did a calculation on the student finance calculator, and it reckoned £5963pa in maintenance loan, plus the NHS bursary estimator says £2,794 (assuming 44 weeks attendance). Perhaps I've missed something, but it would be worth double checking!
www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator
apps.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/SGUBursary/

Don't forget, in addition, that your costs will go down when she leaves - you'll no longer be feeding her, paying her bus fare to school, paying for the long, hot showers that most girls of that age favour, buying her toothpaste etc. etc. That money (less any child benefit etc.) can be put towards her living costs, at the very least.