Paying uni fees- anyone done it?

[homebythesea]

We are planning on paying DS fees come September (yes I know it's not advised by Martin Lewis etc etc,). I just wonder what the process is- do we get an invoice from the Uni and if so when?

[Emochild]

I don't understand why you would unless you had to but it's up to you

I had to pay first year of my current degree course as I had part done a degree when I was 18 and couldn't get full funding

On enrolment I declared how I was paying, was sent an invoice and it had to be paid by mid November in full for the year but it probably varies by uni

If you contact the finance office of the uni they will be able to give you specifics

[AgentProvocateur]

I'm letting mine take loans (for living - in Scotland, so no fees) and I will pay them off at the end of their four years. They don't know this yet. I'd like to think they're learning about budgeting by doing it this way, but I suspect they're partying at the start of the month and existing off porridge at the end of it!

[homebythesea]

Thanks Emochild. We can afford it and don't want DS to have any debt. I also have a moral issue about taking public funds when we can afford to pay.

[homebythesea]

AgentP - we thought about doing it that way too, but doing PAYG will suit us better. His "allowance" will be similar to a full maintenance grant so he will need to budget for his everyday expenses!

[ChopsticksandChilliCrab]

We get three bills per year; Dec, Feb and June.

[scaryteacher]

We can either pay in full up front (and we get a small reduction in the fees because we do this), or we can pay in two instalments in September and January.

I put it on my credit card then pay it off, as the fee account is linked to ds and I can't access his details without him there.

[homebythesea]

That's interesting about the reduction- I will ask if that's a possibility at DS place (if he gets there!)

[Floralnomad]

When we paid for DS the reduction was so minimal it was laughable but that may vary from uni to uni .

[ChickyDuck]

My parents kindly did that for me OP. No reduction or anything, so I received an invoice each term which I forwarded onto them. I could also log on to the student portal and pay online, so we often did it like that as it was easier than faffing with paperwork

[homebythesea]

Interesting that it's termly- I assumed it would be upfront for the whole year. If you take the loan is it for the whole year? Strikes me that paying termly is better if there's a possibility of dropping out mid year ( which of course I hope doesn't happen!)

[ChickyDuck]

No, the loan come termly too.

[ChickyDuck]

*comes

[AtiaoftheJulii]

The loan arrives termly.

The universities get paid the fees from the govt 25% in term 1, 25% in term 2, and 50% in term 3 (to encourage retention), so it would imo be cheeky of them to not at least offer installments to individuals.

[homebythesea]

Ah, makes sense!

[Needmoresleep]

Home, DS' university had a session for parents of new students. This included a talk by the bursar, or whatever the university equivalent is. He gave a long list of ways to pay, even arrangements for paying cash using a specific bank branch. He stressed that it was important for parents to pay directly, not via the student. Presumably to ensure the money reached them. This seems one aspect of University life where Universities will speak directly to parents.

[Emochild]

Op at my uni once you have completed 4 weeks you have to pay for the year

Termly payments don't necessarily mean you don't pay for the full year if you don't complete the full year

[homebythesea]

needmoresleep was that session on drop off day or at an open day? emo that's useful to know Thankyou

[Needmoresleep]

Home, drop off day, though at a University with a high proportion of overseas students, so the first time many parents and students had seen the place. They therefore offered a series of talks (on things like medical, welfare, payments, careers services etc as well as a welcome and the inevitable requests for donations) and tours.

I liked the idea that some students might pay cash. It might take up a lot of luggage space especially somewhere where fees for a year's Masters Degree can be over £31,000. But the point is that overseas students do pay fees, that for good reasons Universities prefer to get the money directly from parents rather than risk having to chase students, and so a University would almost certainly be happy to answer questions.

This is the extract from DS' university website:

If you have not paid in full before or at registration then you will be placed on a termly payment plan. You are expected to pay 1/3 of your fees on each payment date.
Payment is due on the following dates:
28th October 2015
28th January 2016
28th April 2016
You will be sent a payment plan notice outlining when and how much to pay.
Some individual students and nationality groups will have exceptional circumstances and a different payment plan can be arranged, in such cases the plan must be agreed by the Fees Office. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.


There is quite a lot more about different payment methods. Plus a small incentive to pay early by getting a credit for use in University outlets.

[homebythesea]

I think I may be weeping too much to attend anything like that on drop off day

[SecretMcSquirrels]

Weeping not allowed until you are on the way home!

[Needmoresleep]

It was rather a gentle drop off...30 minutes walk from home, so no weeping. And questions from the very diverse group of parents were interesting. Not just how to pay using cash, but some worried American parents terrified at the prospect of their DC ever having any contact with the NHS, despite best efforts to reassure them.

[LoanMumorother]

home - I have NC for this . Everyone says we are bonkers for paying DS's fees up front. I don't want him to have a debt. Also - given that the loan repayments in general are not going to repay the debt - well why not pay for your own. I find it hard when people say - don't pay because you will ace the system and not have to pay it back. (Ah - I do not mean everyone - I just think that those who can afford to , probably should ). May not have said that well. I just don't find working the system to pay nothing back a palatable thing.

[LoanMumorother]

Oh and btw re process - you get the forms and just say £0 pounds - i.e. you still have to fill out the forms

[LoanMumorother]

Fees def termly.

[homebythesea]

Do you mean the student loan company forms? I assumed we wouldn't have to deal with them at all