How much does it cost to support DC at university?

[planningtomakeaplan]

I've been skint for years, I don't have any savings. I've just started to earn a relatively decent wage in a job with prospects. (A very average wage compared to loads on here probably)!

For the first time, I'm able to look forward to the future and make some plans.

I expect my DC will want to go to university (they may surprise me! but let's assume for now...)

How much does it cost to support DC through university? How can I budget for this? Thanks :)

It's depend on your household salary. Under £25k a year then you'll need exactly zero (other than providing a bed during holidays and maybe the odd Tesco shop). Over £65k a year you'll be expected to contribute around £5k a year maintenance per child. In between is a sliding scale. (Assuming the system remains as it is now.)

Thanks Titchy :) I'll have a google and see if I can find the scale. So, that's for the fees, right?

How much do people find they're subsidising their DC for living expenses? I remember my own parents helped with rent when I went to university (largely to stop me moving in with my boyfriend at the time, I strongly suspect! )

No, there is a loan for the fees whatever income you have. The sliding scale is for maintenance loan.
How much you subsidise depends on a lot of variables - can dc work a part time job, how expensive is the city there are going to in terms of accommodation. DS accommodation is very reasonable, 1,400 per term and he spends about £300 per month whilst at uni so he 'costs' less than 7K per year which would be comfortable if he were on full maintenance loan. Friends have children at uni in London and that would not even cover their accommodation costs!

Yes Tuition Fee loan available to all regardless of income to cover the Tuition Fees.

A Maintenance Loan is available which is means tested depending on the household income. As it is now if you earn above 25K a year you may have to substitute, top up or help
out your DC with living costs. Similarly teens can also work and save up a little pot before going to Uni and or work part time during attending Uni.

If you can ensure they have basic budgeting, cooking and housekeeping skills before they go it all helps.

@beeswain

No, there is a loan for the fees whatever income you have. The sliding scale is for maintenance loan. How much you subsidise depends on a lot of variables - can dc work a part time job, how expensive is the city there are going to in terms of accommodation. DS accommodation is very reasonable, 1,400 per term and he spends about £300 per month whilst at uni so he 'costs' less than 7K per year which would be comfortable if he were on full maintenance loan. Friends have children at uni in London and that would not even cover their accommodation costs!

If DS wants to go to uni in London he can live with his gran! (Joke - not sure if of them would be at all up for that!)

But I have no idea how I'd afford London. Thankfully, at the moment, DS hates big cities, so London is probably out but I guess it could depend on what he wants to study, right?

DD's a fair few years younger so not worrying about her just yet...

If you can ensure they have basic budgeting, cooking and housekeeping skills before they go it all helps.

Working on this!

They get a bigger maintenance loan if they study in London so shouldn't cost you any more. Fees are the same regardless and everyone is entitled to a loan for fees.

if you are really struggling then they could potentially take a year off between school and uni and work and save some money themselves. And/or get a part-time job during sixth form. this will also look good on their CV's as most jobs involve dealing with public (or at least most of mine worked in shops.....). We found cost of living in the north/wales is a lot cheaper than the south both for accommodation and general living

Ours gets a maintenance loan but it doesn't cover his rent, so we pay the top-up for that and give him £400 per month for food/expenses.

The student loan calculator will give you a quick idea although of course it may have changed by the time your DC go.

www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator

Our DC got the minimum grant based on our income, so around £3,500 from memory.

We agreed to pay monthly phone contracts, car insurance in year 2 & 3 and to cover accommodation. As a guide in the Northwest we paid £128 per week for accommodation in years 2 & 3.

Also they don’t really need cars at Uni unless they you are very well off and are maybe a trainee nurse or trainee teacher who needs one for placement travel.

If money is tight cars are an unnecessary expense when at Uni and a noose around the neck due to regular maintenance costs, road tax, insurance, fuel costs, parking charges, availability of parking near halls or student digs etc etc.

We are low income and dd gets the full whack of loans etc and bursaries. We give her £10 a week pocket money - which is silly really but we’ve always done it and just continued it, we pay her phone which is £20 a month, and we pay for her travel home - £40 ish here and there. We also pay her contact lenses which are £13 a month. We’ve basically said well do those things until she leaves university and has got a full time job. Otherwise she seems to manage well - she’s in catered halls so that took a lot of her money but with the bursary etc she gets about £100 a week and says she doesn’t feel the need to get a job () so she must manage okay!

It is a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string? question as there are so many variables.

In essence, everyone (assuming you are British and not an overseas student) is entitled to a loan which covers the fees (about £9250). You don't ever see that - it goes straight to the University.
Then on a sliding scale, from "parents' household income" being under £25K, the student gets the full loan for maintenance - currently about £9.5K with additional amount if in London, going down to about £4.5K for the minimum loan.
If parents are separated / divorced then it is the income of the household where the student lives, so, if you have a new partner / spouse their income is taken into account, but not the non resident parent.
They don't take into account your outgoings
There is a tiny difference if you have more than one at university, but not enough to impact.

In terms of what students need to spend - halls, or other rented housing varies hugely in different places - not even directly a north / south divide (though that comes in to it)...some places like Bristol are notoriously expensive....some places (like Liverpool) generally have a low cost of living but for some reason, flashy and expensive halls of residence. It is worth factoring in to decisions.
Self catering seems to cost about £45- £50 less than catered, although you will still need to spend £20-£25 on groceries .
Shared bathroom tends to cost about £40 - £50 less than an en-suite.
Of course these are generalised figures, but you can see how making different decisions really impacts on how much money they need.
What your dc see as "needs" rather than "treats" has a massive impact on how much they need to spend too - I read posts in the University groups about people "needing" £££ for coffees out / getting their hair done / meals out / nails done / gym membership / taxis / etc etc etc. All fine if you have a high income, but you can save a packet if you view things like that as a treat.

Then, most students work. Some work during term time. Some work at home in the holidays. Some do both.
Some do a year out before going and can save thousands.

A lot of universities do apprenticeships where you get paid a full time wage whilst you study. I depends on what course you want to do! That could be worth looking into

I don't know how helpful this is as it's been almost 10 years since I was at university!

But my parents paid my rent for me which was £300 and then they gave me £160 a month towards household bills, food, car maintenance, car permit, petrol. That alongside the maintenance money you get from the government I did absolutely fine and didn't live in my overdraft... I didn't have a clue about how to manage money though.

You'll find if you earn under a certain amount within your household they will get a grant. Just be aware this is based on the household, so if you have a boyfriend that lives with you, his income counts too whether or not he contributes to your children.

I mean thinking about it, she sounds a bit jealous to me.

It really depends on the rent your child will need to pay. London uni accommodation can be expensive, to get more bang for your buck a lot of Londoners head to the Midlands. Your child may be able to get some part time work but this will depend on the type of course. Some people work through sixth form or the summer holidays in order to save some money. Your child will need to put down a deposit for accommodation and this is required before the first loan payment arrives, roughly £200 -£500. This will happen again in year two but the deposit for halls has not been released as yet. They will also need to kit themselves out. You can minimise this by taking as much as possible from home. It does not have to be brand new. Watch out for pans depends on the types of cooker available.

If you are able to save a few pennies ahead of time you could help out with the first shop, grab spices, sauces, and basic ingredients, top up their laundry card and maybe stash a fund if they need to make an emergency trip home. Get a train/coach card. Both worth their weight in Gold.

I would also recommend purchasing a laptop with accident cover and also contents insurance, if this is not already included in rent.

The costs for first child threw me a little when I totted it all up. Just over £1000. 😪

DS get minimum loan. I brudget to top that up by about 7k per year. However that leaves him v comfortable. He could manage on less

Are you in England OP? Wales (and I think Scotland) have different finance arrangements.

When I was at uni my mum was a single parent of 4 with a very average income so I paid for all my living costs and rent from my student loan. She would buy me a Tesco shop every couple of weeks. My fees were paid directly to the uni.
For my own DC we are saving into stocks and shares ISAs for them both with the hope of making it to 10-12k for each child. This is supposed to be their money to support their living costs at uni, or whatever equivalent training they choose to take.
I'm 36 and have a long way to go in terms of paying my student loan off. I'd like to reduce this burden for them a little.

Student housing here is about £200/week so even max loan isn't going to cover that plus living. I'd start putting a little bit away now, and encourage your child to get summer jobs once 16 and keep some aside for university. Maybe even take a gap year to save up more. This will require a lot of motivation and self discipline on your child's end. However uni is not essential for most jobs and maybe a vocational route or other type of apprenticeship may suit.

Student housing here is about £200/week

Which reiterates the point about choosing your shortlist of Universities carefully.
My dc, in a lovely shared house is paying £100pw, inclusive of bills.

Our DD was in halls for her first year, she now shares a hovel with 7 other students.
We paid her 2nd year rent upfront for the year to avoid the potential,of having to cover the rent of another student not paying. IIRC, it was about £5k
She works part time in a pub and has savings from a summer job.
She has a student railcard linked to her student bank account.
We never have to top her up financially.
She is as tight as a gnats chuff

For maintenance loan figures, look at this and see where you fall. Scroll down the page until you get to the table with all the amounts in

www.savethestudent.org/student-finance/maintenance-loans.html

Accommodation varies wildly in cost. Durham is collegiate (you apply to a college within the university) and they have a basic set fee for catered or self catering. Then either an increase or decrease if sharing, size of the bed (small double costs more) and en-suite. Ds is in his first year and paying £6335 for the en-suite room for the 30 weeks of his course. That is room only. No food.

Warwick on the other hand has anything from around £80 pwk for shared bathrooms to £200 pwk for top end en-suite. Tenancies are around 40 weeks ish.

If money is a squeeze then factor this in when looking. Also know that a lot if not most students use their overdrafts because they have to, or they also work. Pretty much all student bank accounts offer overdrafts.

Ds spends £30 pwk on food from the supermarket but is a meat eater so that costs quite a bit. Your food shop is also dependent on the size of the fridge space in your kitchen and how close your supermarket is (too far for Ds he has it delivered fortnightly). Depending on the course you could be buying books or nothing at all.

Depending on the age gap of your children you could end up paying out for 2 at once.