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Original poster

How much money do you send DC at uni?

122 replies

Scribbydigs · 15/01/2023 21:32

How much money do you send your kids at uni? If you send them any at all?

DD goes to uni later this year (UCL). She's currently doing a year out working to save, but we're all a bit worried about finances. She plans to get a part time job when she gets there too.

OP posts:
Hadtochangeforthisone · 15/01/2023 22:07

It's obscene... whilst rich kids concentrate on studies.. poor kids are holding down part time jobs and fitting Uni stuff in between..

I was a child of the 70s got a grant .. we were all in a level playing field ..

Guess who get the 'firsts ' and the good jobs ?

Hazelbrazil · 15/01/2023 22:07

Most important thing is to go for cheap halls so it doesn't eat the majority of the loan

MissFranKubelik · 15/01/2023 22:10

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Higher education
Chewbecca · 15/01/2023 22:10

Hazelbrazil · 15/01/2023 22:07

Most important thing is to go for cheap halls so it doesn't eat the majority of the loan

This isn’t necessary if the student gets the full maintenance loan (either from SLC or via mix of SLC & family top up), pretty much all hall fees are covered, it will just change the amount they have leftover for spends.

BellaVita · 15/01/2023 22:11

DS1 didn’t receive full maintenance so we topped that up so he could pay his rent.

We also transferred him £65 a week to live off.

Whenever we went to see him, I always took home cooked food for his freezer, top ups of toilet roll/toiletries etc.

UsingChangeofName · 15/01/2023 22:15

Keep in mind, every time this question is asked, people will answer from different starting points.
Some people get a full loan
Some get a min loan
Some say things like "We only send £100 a month, but she also gets £200pm from her Dad and £100pm from Grandparents" etc.

Others say "We only send £X" but then start saying they pay for mobile phones, gym membership, car insurance, and so forth.

Personally, we pay the difference between her rent and the (min) loan she gets at the start of term. We take and fetch her at the start / end of each term (so not having to pay expensive train fares). We send £40pw, from Sept through to June (keep it going at Christmas / Easter). She is self catered.

Lily999888 · 15/01/2023 22:15

KangarooKenny · 15/01/2023 21:39

We paid the accommodation and their mobile phone.

Same here.

Youdoyoubabe · 15/01/2023 22:16

We pay for rent, travel and phone. They get the minimum loan which they can use for everything else. They only started this year but they wanted to go on a field trip which was expensive so got casual waitressing work to save up for that last term. That has worked out pretty well.

The rent, travel and phone is high though, I reckon across the whole year it will be a bout £12k. We were paying private school fees though and so this is less... so we are better off than then.

Awrite · 15/01/2023 22:16

I paid my own way through uni (no grant, just loans) and don't want my children to go through the same.

We are not rich but will pay dd's rent and see how she gets on with her loan.

I've brought her up to be frugal.

She knows she must work in the holidays.

MaverickGooseGoose · 15/01/2023 22:19

I'm sacred about Dts Doug at the a same time.

I worked my way through.

OxanaVorontsova · 15/01/2023 22:20

We top up to full loan equivalent, one in London one not.

ThePoshUns · 15/01/2023 22:21

I pay accommodation and bills. About £400 pcm
No idea if that's enough/ too little

CandleCandleCandle · 15/01/2023 22:24

They gave us their maintenance loan (about 4k) we paid the rent (about 6k) and gave them
£85 per week (paid fortnightly) and paid for phones, travel home, gym, bus pass, things like ball tickets, and two thirds or half of clothes.
One set up a business while studying and the other one got a very part time job.

FortyFiveFitty · 15/01/2023 22:27

DS in in his 1st year, gets minimum loan from student finance and that covers his accommodation in halls (9 months) We thenbsend £400 to live on and buy him a food shop at the beginning of each term - Uni in the North of England.

Qualculator · 15/01/2023 22:50

DC is very lucky to be at a wealthy university which provides generous bursaries, so manages without any parental contribution or a job.

yikesanotherbooboo · 15/01/2023 23:09

Accommodation and phone from us. He has a part time job which pays for his social life .

Namechange72638 · 15/01/2023 23:16

We top up minimum loan to cover rent and then give £500 a month to live on

familyissues12345 · 15/01/2023 23:36

We give 6k a year for accommodation and DS is expected to live off his student finance - he gets minimum, so about £100 a week (plenty)

When he comes home, I send him back with a small shop; enough to tide him over until he can get to the supermarket, and very occasionally send him an Amazon treat (usually chocolate)

UselessExLondoner · 15/01/2023 23:37

Luckily accommodation is covered by maintenance loan. We pay phone bill with decent amount of data. That's pretty much it.

Gardengirl108 · 15/01/2023 23:56

Our DS went to uni 2016-19, he got minimal loan, so we paid for his accommodation plus £80 per week (idea being £40 for food/washing and £40 for fun stuff) he didn’t have additional travel costs. We also covered £10 pm for his mobile bill and £20pm for his house insurance. He sent us his student loan money when it came through 3 times a year as partial payment. The arrangement was on the proviso that if he needed more cash than we were giving/subbing him, he’d get a part time job. He never did. He also promised to let us know if he ever needed anything or got in financial trouble - BEFORE he used an overdraft. He asked just once in the 3 years, when he’d miscalculated a DD if he could borrow £20, so that worked out well. We’d also do a little food shop for him if we visited or when he came back home, to top up. He finished uni with ‘only’ his student debt (plus his degree 😉)

TimeToFlyNow · 16/01/2023 00:42

Nothing, mine gets the maximum loan and also works 20 hours a week

Nat6999 · 16/01/2023 00:57

My parents gave my brother £40 a week when he was at University (90's) He lived at home & didn't qualify for a maintenance grant, that had to pay for his car & anything else he needed, he also worked at Sainsbury's filling shelves 2 nights & Saturdays.

Linnet · 16/01/2023 01:03

Nothing, my dd worked full time all last summer and saved every penny. Her student loan pays for her student halls accommodation and she buys food out of her savings. She also got a small bursary which she added to her savings. Bus travel is free so travel around the city if she needs it doesn’t cost anything and same again if she comes home for the weekend.
She’ll be going into 2nd year in September and will need to find different accommodation which might cost more as it might be a flat so bills possibly won’t be included in the rent or she might go into private halls which are more expensive than where she is just now. Her plan is to come home for summer and work and save so that she can afford rent and bills etc.

IncyWincyGrownUp · 16/01/2023 01:10

She’s entitled to maximum loan, which covers her rent with about £1.5k to spare over the year.

I pay for her mobile, and send her £50p/m for an Aldi shop. Her dad sends her £100p/m towards it too.

She has a part time job which pays for everything else.

From time to time we’ll send her some bits and bobs from Amazon. Last time it was a big stash of loo rolls, a massive jar of chilli flakes, and some tights. An odd box of stuff, but it is what it is!

WhatDoIDo1999 · 16/01/2023 01:10

I’m not sure what I’ll do. DD will get minimum loan but I wont be able to afford to top her up to what maximum would be. Complex situation.