to think that £500 a month is enough for a child at uni

I am in Scotland, so funding slightly different (no fees...)
Mine get £250 a month, plus what I can afford to help them out with such as new pair of jeans, a supermarket shop a few times a year etc.
They both work part time in term easily doubling that money, then really boost with summer and Christmas jobs.
No cars.
Rent paid for by Student Loan - and that was the budget when they went hunting, not the posh en-suite halls etc.

One about to graduate with a predicted First Class Honours -so it cannot have harmed him that much.

I am amazed how much some of the flatmates get - £3-800 a month, an expensed car, rent paid etc etc. Seems almost a fear of young people having to live life on a budget - whereas I (and one of my lads agrees!) there is benefit to realising how frugally you can live...

I should add: both of mine have also travelled in the summers as well to earn their money - so have done well on summer travel as well. They have taken jobs in Italy, France and Austria.

Omg I’m so shocked at how much students are getting these days!
I used to get a big shop done for me before every term of all store cupboard things beans etc, then £30 a week. I used to budget it as £20 food £10 going out. I was always skint, but less skint than most of my mates unless they were just pretending?
My food shop atm is about £30 a week so I’d probs give my kid about £50 a week? If they want new clothes etc they can get a job. Maybe if they did medicine or something where they couldn’t realistically work too then I’d be more generous. I did business studies so had plenty of spare time hahaha but was too lazy to work so was happy being skint!

Oh, you are the only person to say this! I have been busy trying to convince people that my son isn't a spoilt brat getting £500 in London!😄

No where near enough. Mine had £600 a month and that was years ago

DC lives off £100 a week. Thats for food, transport, socialising, gym, phone, educational needs. At his Uni, Gym is £20 a month.
He affords living costs by working during his summer and easter holidays. He would struggle to work during term time due to lecture and seminar hours.

We pay his accommodation of £900 a month (room in shared house).

Tuition fees are loaned.

I have a few years yet before I have to worry about it. Best get him saving while he's still in school and il definitely expect him to work in some capacity!

Give me strength 😂😂😂

we aren't classed as international for the purpose of tuition fees, so not really

Ah ok. I did think it could perhaps be that.

I’d say £500 is totally fine! I had similar when I was at uni - accommodation and fees covered and I got a weekend job to pay for food etc for the first 2 years and worked like crazy full time in the holidays to save for going back to uni. In my final year my weekend job fell through and the only jobs I could get impacted on my lectures/studying so my parents gave me £250 a month for food. It felt like a fortune to me at the time and was more than enough! This was over 10 years ago so I’d definitely say £500 now is more than reasonable.

No, free membership is included.

DC don’t have loans and also receive £500 pcm

we also pay for:
• accommodation
• travel
• phone
• shop at start of each term

they’re both at “posh” unis in the south. Bothe feel like they’re somewhere in the middle of their peers. Neither richest or poorest few.

one thing I was told by friends who’d been there was you can always increase the money but it’s almost impossible to cut back without ill feeling and your discretionary spends (e.g. buying them some clothes or a food shop) are also easy to withdraw as time passes.

my DC in 2nd year receives less of the occasional top ups that their younger sibling receives as they’ve got more used to be managing a budget and being independent

I was replying specifically to a post by @Lentilweaver about London. I replied as I know several who studied there in recent years/are currently studying there, personally and professionally (like the student from another country I mentioned).
Own DC are not at London universities.

@Lentilweaver Same, no ensuites here! One is talking about it but have explained the reality and they would have to work and save up the summer/s before the academic year to pay for it.

TBF I had a private studio flat at university but this was back in the day (when you either qualified for a grant, or your parents paid for all your maintenance!). And I managed the budget myself. My parents gave me a set weekly allowance to cover everything, and I worked weekends and holidays. Though I did leave with a large overdraft!

It's more than we have after mortgage and bills to feed a family of 4 for a month. I'd be thrilled if I had this much just to spend on me!

This is a lot of money
My two have far less and are living quite happily at Uni.
Enough to do activities, go out and eat.

That’s what we pay on top of rent
Also pay for a few things we previously paid phones ,contact lenses
Big shop at start of term and the odd bit of essential clothing

The onsite sports and pool centre is free for students

I'd double check that because thats highly unusual

In my thread I had already explained that I will pay phone and car expenses - petrol, parking permit, insurance. The onsite sports and pool centre is free for students, the hopefully occasional dental and prescriptions will be paid for by me, glasses sorted when she is home and she has her job during holidays to top up fun money. The £11.50 a day is just for food, which as I said we can top up on the uni card if needed, which I think is fine. She'll stock up on toiletries and clothes when she's shopping with me. She isn't being cut loose, it's just daily expenses for term time. I certainly don't spend anywhere near £320 a week for our current family of 4 at home on food and drink.

It’s a real worry how out of touch so many people are.

It’s not just food though is it? Laundry is super expensive. Phone, travel, gym, sports clubs, clothes, toiletries. That isn’t mentioning any socialising.

If you and your partner if you have one earn more than £65k combined then he will be getting £4.5k which doesn’t cover rent at any uni! So unless you expect him to get a job (see posts about zero hours contracts and flexibility with study ) you will be funding him more than food!

I’ve no idea how people afford more than one dc. Feeling rubbish because we won’t qualify for a loan due to earnings but I don’t have £1500 plus accommodation spare for my 3 dc to go to uni at the same time (didn’t plan twins 😩)

@FunnysInLaJardin

he and his pals will be living on cheap pints and pizza no matter how much cash you give him OP

Not all students are in london

I had a thread last year and others seemed to have the same experience @Jarstastic We are also S Asian! Yes, tutoring and TA does pay better and looks better for their CVs so now they plan to stick to that. DD also did museum guiding.

No en-suites here for anyone, though I am sure DS would have liked them. I was glad for him to share with 40 others in halls as I think it builds character.

Seems quite easy to pick up work doing event waiting/waitressing for corporate hospitality. And bar work at least.

Young people I know in London have not had issues picking up these sorts of jobs. One even came from a south Asian country on a student visa and was doing this sort of work within 2 weeks and got himself to Hampton Court using 2 types of public transport which I was rather impressed with. Within a few months he was working as a runner at a London restaurant most on Mumsnet would have heard of. Actually thinking about it, these days a lot of restaurants and cafes seem to have a lot of south Asian students working in them these days.

Anyway, tutoring probably is not quite as physically hard and pays better?!