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

500 is extortionately a lot! I had the highest loan amount as a mature student (£8700) and that covered all my rent, all my bills, all my food and all of the trips.

Ok you win!
I worked Sundays as a retail manager. I actually really enjoyed it.
But this is just a view sharing forum. Each to their own!

Dd gets nothing, I can't afford it on disability benefits.
Obviously maximum loan though and no fees as we're in Scotland.
Her BF was the same and he got his Masters last year.

A student on 500 a month will also have to budget though. You can learn to budget without living in poverty. Work place skills are useful but students can get them just by working in the summer holidays. They don't need to work in term time too.

Starving no…. 🙄
Budgeting, developing work place skills, getting away from your studies for a bit, earning a bit of cash…… some value to be had there is my only point.
Yes I’m sure there are more demanding courses. OP asked if it was a lot. I think it is!

On alcohol? Probably have some drinks at home first, £10 should pay for a cheap bottle of wine plus 2 pints in a student bar

They shouldn't need to buy clothes, sim only costs like a fiver a month, travel is optional as is entertainment. I would say £300 is enough for £50 a week on food plus £100 a month spare for "fun". If travel is required for his course then that is different or if you want him to come home every fortnight and pay £100 for a train ticket then contribute a bit more

Noone would normally say a you have a "really nice lifestyle" on a minimum wage.

There are plenty of degrees that are more time consuming than a law degree. My DD has no time for jobs except for the summer holidays. I don't think starving is particularly valuable life lesson either.

STEM and health professional courses often have way more hours involved and tbh may well not be able to work in term time but everyone can work in the holidays!

Paying all accommodation costs plus £500 a month? That should give him a really nice lifestyle, full time works on minimum wage probably only earn around that!

Wow, that’s a lot! 😳
Have seen posters comment that some courses don’t allow time for jobs. I don’t buy that. I did a law degree and held a job throughout uni and worked all my summer holidays to boost the coffers before start of each term. People are much more frugal when they are spending money they’ve earned rather than given! Teaches a very valuable life lesson to feel a bit broke at uni and have to prioritise finances.

I used to get a £4/5 bottle of wine and neck it at pres then walk to the club get there before 12 for free entry and maybe have one in there or bat my eyelids at the lads 🤣
It definitely isn’t my idea of a good time now! Looking at this thread, my parents were really harsh, but also this seemed to be the norm amongst all my peers too regardless of background?

https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/fees-and-finance/financial-support/cambridge-financial-support

Cambridge will GIVE (not lend) every single student £3500 a year if their household income is less than £62500 a year. This compensates somewhat for the ban on jobs. Realistically, when I was at Cambridge, I was so timetabled (I did a STEM degree) that I could only work summer holidays.

It wasn't me as I didn't mention how much I got. However, I got £100-£110 per week. My accommodation cost £50-£60 including bills so let's say I had £50 for everything else. This was 30 years ago! I managed, but I worked in the holidays as it wouldn't have covered the clothes or going out I wanted.

@StrawberryJellyBelly Yes, the discussion has been all over the place, and I am guilty of that too. It's a slow work day for me today!

My DS says he is in the middle of his group, some get much less, some way more. His flatmates are international students who order Deliveroo nearly daily, so I feel a tiny bit sorry for him as he cooks at home all through the week. But it's good for him to learn. Also, he eats tons as he plays a sport. I am always amazed at how much he eats.

It's rent that cripples students. Luckily my daughter in a city where rents are half what would be paid in the University town that I live in. She pays £400 a month plus bills. So, she has to find £6000 a minimum before any food or travel costs.

Likewise (30 years ago):

tuition fees - £0
accommodation £28 a week
full grant £1700
scholarship £1000

I also did bar work in the holidays

How would you recommend one spend a going-out budget of £10 per week?!

I think you should be more shocked at how little some students are getting given how much everything costs nowadays. A poster above got nearly as much as students today get 20 years ago.

I think you’ll find there are others on the thread who think 500 is acceptable and are already supporting their child with this amount (and more) to live on.

Personally I think the Op should/could give more if she feels her son would have the standard of living she’d like him to have and she can afford it.

My belief is that there’s no glory in making a child’s uni life hard just for the sake of it, that there are plenty of other ways to teach life lessons without deliberately making something difficult for them.

Wow so 20 years ago you got £8,500 a year?!

No wonder so many ppl on here are clueless if that’s the frame of reference.

My DD is self funding and gives herself a budget of £100/wk and usually doesn’t spend that much. She works all summer to have the funds to do that. Her rent and fees are covered elsewhere.

She is at uni in the SE in a fairly expensive city but doesn’t have any transport costs as she got herself a bike to cycle everywhere (quicker and better for her health!!)

You can't compare Uni costs of today, with that of 20 years ago...
My tuition fees were paid by the Govt...DS £28,000
My accommodation £40 pw ...............DS £200 a week
My living costs £5,000 bursary a year Ds -none!
My Loan £3500 a year DS 4500.
It's clear thats costs have soared whilst the funding available has remained virtually the same.

It sounds about right. My DD is in quite an expensive city too and I think she budgets for £100 a week for food, going out, occasional item of clothing etc Most weeks that is fine, I think.