Uni- how much?

[LotsOfBalloons]

So my eldest is in yr 9 and I have 2 kids.

Fibancially we have stretched ourselves to manage music lessons, swimming etc.

Both are at a grammar school and are expecting to do uni.

I'm starting to get The Fear. Our income isn't high for a number of reasons and we haven't got capacity to save beyond 100 a month we save for car issues/etc. We don't do expensive holidays, have old cars etc.

A threads I was on suggested needing 30k for uni. That's so way beyond us.

I was wondering if people could let me know what they do need (ie don't come and tell me you've bought your child a house etc as not relevant!)

I went before fees were introduced. I know they have loans now (I'm already anxious about them leaving in debt but I know its how it works now) but do the loans cover enough?

My child is keen to work too but there aren't Saturday jobs like there used to be and noo e around here employs under 16s anyway. Having said that, they're autistic and may not have capacity for work and uni at the same time.

But they will only start paying back the debt once they start earning a certain amount a year. And even then it will only be 9% if their salary over that amount. Martin Lewis has some good advice on the mindset you need to accept that this is a manageable and for most students a necessary debt

I think in some cases the loan has to be enough and the student needs to figure out how to make it work if uni is what they really want. Everyone wants to give their DC the best but ultimately uni is a choice that an adult makes for themselves and you can only do what you can do.

My DS has been set on a particular career path since starting secondary school but I have been very clear about how much I will be able to help and that he will need to work if he truly wants it.

I worked 20-30 hours per week alongside my full time degree to manage and although I hope to make things a bit easier for my DC ultimately it is their degree and their career.

@Friendofdennis the question isn't about whether to take the loan *that's a given!) But whether they can survive on that loan.

Some posters think they can. Others say it won't cover basics.

Again it's not about budgeting as such - we can do that and the kids are quite mindful of spending, understand about cooking cheaply. But if the loan doesn't cover accommodation and bills no amount of budgeting makes it spread further.

You say you are low income, in that case your child will be eligible for full loan presumably? I think you'll probably find, if that's the case, they will be more than fine.

We have adult child who has been through Uni, one currently at Uni and another who may go in a few years time. We also have another who has just completed an apprenticeship and is doing really well ( I'm just saying this to show Uni is not essential to do well ). We helped Ds1 with his accommodation which was around £400 a month, probably could have got away with less. he did various part time jobs throughout Uni but in his third job did a lot of voluntary work ( sports related) which has really been essential in helping him to secure jobs in his chosen career of sports journalism. So he did not work much in his third year. My ds3 is currently at the end of his first year of Uni- again we have helped by paying most of his accommodation costs which this year has made things difficult for us. Due to our earnings he didn't get full loan. He has contributed some from money his grandparents saved for him, but he has not been able to get a job. He has some mental health issues / has really struggled in this first year at Uni so we have not pushed him to get a job. he knows he needs to when able. We don't have to help him but think it would be impossible to manage on just his maintenance loan. I am dreading my daughter saying she wants to go to uni in the next couple of years as I feel this would be unmanageable with 2 at the same time although I have just got a better paid job.

I'm afraid that all we can do is share experiences! My DD has finished first year on the maximum loan (actually minimum loan + our top-up but effectively the same). She lives frugally (cooking for herself), is in a mid-priced city, and picked the cheapest room she could. She was fine financially. Next year, her rent will increase, but she is working this summer to build up some savings. (I know that might not be an option for your DS.)

Other posters' DCs' experiences might be different. Accommodation prices both for halls and for private rentals vary massively between universities (even within the same city, for halls).

DS graduated this year, he was only able to get a minimum loan for yearly course fees (9k) plus a small amount for living expenses. So course fees should be taken care of but you have to look up what else he'll get dependent on your income.

For each of his 3 years I've paid accommodation so around £9k a year (on campus, slightly less for off campus but more bills). Plus I've topped him up as necessary, about £450 a term (£1200-1500 a year). So £30k is about what I've spent in the 3 years.

But if DC can work (perhaps during term time and holidays) and use that money, if you are on a lower income then DC may get more loan, if DC can reduce accommodation costs by searching for lower priced places then you could reduce this.

OP @LotsOfBalloons are your combined salaries yours and DH above 60k per year or below?

if the combined income is 60k plus you get £4650 towards accommodation that ranges from 5k-9k per year plus money required for living £60-120 per week in term time approx 40-44 weeks.

So say £6300 for accommodation and £3200 for spends in term time. 12-16 weeks will be at home.

You’ll need just shy of £5k per child per year. ( if you stay with very careful choices for accommodation and not lavish spending on their part)

You’ll save money on bus fares for school, dinner monies, clothes and clubs they will no longer be doing plus food and other bills during term time. This will be a saving of between £1-3k. ( if your kids attend grammars most bus rather than walk to them so maybe the higher level of saving)

So you will need to save starting now about 2k per year.

We feel the same.... eldest just started finished his first year. it is expensive..

9k fees, we give him more than £50 a week... plus his accomodation in London (one meal catered) is £9k.

My DC pay tuition fees from the tuition fee loan (£9,200 per annum).

I pay for accommodation (£800 a month) plus give £50 a week for food so a total of £1000 a month. He works to pay for travel, clothes, books, going out. I was surprised at the cost of halls - and they go up every year. To a certain extent they have to go in Halls for the first year and at £800 a month its not cheap. I estimate I will pay £30,000 per child for uni and work extra shifts to help contribute.

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor yes that was the question of this thread whether the loan will be enough. Quite a few people have said it wont be enough and theyll be "poor as church mice".

Babyroobs underneath you says its impossible on the maintenance loan...

Sertraline - thanks! It really helps to know that some people have managed it.

@Fruitygal I've pointed out in my posts that we are NOT in a position to be saving £2000 a year, hence this thread! We're nowhere near 60k and there is no way on earth we will have 5k a year to top up....

If you are no where near £60k then you won't need £5k to top up though will you, what do the calculators say?

You keep coming back to the poor comment and the reality is they will have less money than some others because it's a huge spectrum. We top up ours to full loan amounts and pay phones etc. but they both have some friends with tons more money than that.

But there’s not one answer to “ will the loan be enough’. That why people can only tell you about their kids or kids they know.

The amount of the loan varies
costs vary
kids all have different expectations
course hours, weeks and years vary

@LotsOfBalloons No one can give you definite assurances that the maintenance loan will be enough because it depends...as mentioned, several times, your income is the major factor on what loan your children will get then it depends on what city/accommodation they go for.

Accommodation in the 1st year varies significantly - 4k to 9k.

If they get the maximum loan and choose a cheaper city they are likely to get by with minimal help from you. There is a big change in children between yr9 and yr13 so they maybe able to cope with working. Indeed they could consider giving music lessons whilst at University so that would be a great source of income.

I worked all the way from aged 12-18 so I had a good nest egg when I went to Uni. I also worked in term time at Uni and the holidays. It seems to at on Mumsnet no Uni student should work but this is how it was, I didn't have a rich family.

It didn't hamper my grades, I got a super result and have a great career now.

Can you encourage the kids to do this?

How is it always said on Mumsnet - on this thread alone loads of us have said our children have jobs!

DD has just finished her first year, she gets the full maintenance loan at the moment. Before she went last year we sat down with her and worked out how much she would have per week after rent to spend on food etc. She actually ended up getting a bursary of £1100 on top of that so had more to play with than we expected.

She is on the waiting list for an autism diagnosis so work on top of studying was not an option for her, and she doesn’t enjoy going out much. She has ended the year with some of the loan/bursary left over so will be carrying that forward to next year. As she’s under the disability team she has been able to apply for (and be allocated) uni accommodation again for her second year so knows exactly how much that will be costing.

If she were someone who wanted to be out socialising all the time then she probably wouldn’t have had enough money, but as it is she has managed fine on the full loan.

As a parent you are meant to top up to the equivalent of the maximum loan. 12k ish iirc.Loads of parents can't do this so you find it's actually the kids who are on the full loan who end up with more disposable money than others not on the full loan. We paid ds's rent, and he lived off minimum loan which was 4,200 iirc. That's loads plus they're home for about half the year during holidays eating you out of house and home 🙄

@LotsOfBalloons ok so I assume one of you is struggling with a chronic condition and the other working full time in a low paid role. If your family income is £25-£30k per year you’ll need to find either 0 or about £700 per year. See image below. BUT you will save all the bus fares, uniform school dinners and music lessons so maybe better off than you are with kids at uni.

Think you need to calm down as you have nothing to worry about. If your are poor you are helped.

The year is only 42 weeks remember for the first year in halls.

Will they be studying Music or joining any ensembles while there, do you think? I have a friend whose dc earns a decent bit extra doing recitals etc. Apologies if their ASD is a barrier to that, I do understand that not everyone would have the confidence to do it.
I would say, with the full maintenance loan and a careful choice of Uni taking into account accommodation costs your dc will be able to manage. Also, many Unis offer accommodation to students with an SEN for all 3 years, which can work out cheaper while providing consistency . You’d need to research that further, though.

I think you need to work the other way round. You've clearly found out that your ds is eligible for the full loan or very near it, so you know how much they'll have. Work out what your ds's total budget will be and start looking for universities that have accommodation and living expenses within that budget. Maybe start a specific thread here for 'students who are not getting top ups and where they study'.

I'd think in terms of giving 1:1 music lessons rather than a shop maybe?

Get saving now. It’s the only solution. Your eldest has a few years to go plus they can take a gap year after a levels and earn some money to pay themselves a weekly amount.I think estimates of £5k per child top up is about right as accommodation is expensive.
my dd is about to enter 3rd year. She is in london and will get basic loan of about £5k as they get less in the last year. Her accommodation is £12k for a year!
she works 15 hours a week and do contributes

@soberfabulous Yes I worked all that time too - but these days most places wont take you to work until youre 16. I think the law changed and now its ever so hard to employ those under 16/ find work under 16.

As I've said they're autistic so may not be able to work while at uni but should be able to work in the holidays if they can find work they can do.

@Orbitsound I was asking if the full loan and maintenance was enough - this is mumsnet where mums ask other people these type of questions right?
@TUCKINGFYP0 yes that's exactly why I started this thread. Will the full loan likely be enough to cover expenses or will they be the poor kids struggling to eat... and why I wanted people's experiences! Randoms coming on saying "I saved 7k a year" isn't really relevant to those managing on full loans hence the thread.

I wonder if I need to start the thread again and somehow word it differently! I DO want people's experiences of whether someonone on full loan can manage at uni as its been suggested its NECESSARY to subsidise them thousands. Which we dont have.

We will need to look at loans ourselves if so, hence the thread..

I think you need to do the maths yourself OP.

Look at the maintenance loan your DC would receive. Look at the cost of accommodation. If my DD were getting the maximum maintenance loan next year, after paying for accommodation she would have £100 per week that she is at uni left over. You know the standard of living your DC expect. Would they cope on £100pw?

The whole student loan system
Is flawed, but what is an acceptable living standard for a student will have as many different answers as there are students.