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.

You really won't need to take out a loan yourself.

No one can say for definite yes it is enough, or no it is not. There are far, far too many variables at play - namely location and preferences. And who knows what thing will cost in 4+ years!

If you are nowhere near £60k then you don’t need to try and top up by £5k, so that’s not an issue.

Dd went and graduated a year ago. She said that the students on full loans had much more money and better accommodation than people like her - minimum loan due to family income but no top up from us/minimum as we still had other dc, huge mortgage and SE living costs.

@dontletmedowngently That is SO helpful, thankyou. I know the disability team/ support will be another stage and was aware they could sometimes help with accomodation. That will be another thread nearer the time! And yes I dont really think my child will be the one spending 100s on alcohol.

@Saucery oh wow I didn't know that about SEN accomodation for the 3 years. That would be fantastic. Navigating shared houses will be anightmare for them, although as someone said much can change!

@PermanentTemporary Giving music lessons would be a fab idea. Do people pay 18 year olds? They would certainly be good at that. Or tuition in general might be an avenue.

@sashagabadon As I have repeatedly said we aren't in a position to save and wont be giving them 5k a year. London universities I think are just a blank no for us.

The question really is whether they can survive on the full loan and quite a few are saying its just not possible - hence me wondering and this thread. I'm relieved that some are managing it. I obviously needed to make this clearer in the OP than I had!

If they'll get the full loan they should manage ok. Ours got the minimum and we paid what was required to cover the rent, plus about 300 a month for food/extras. I also bought their bus pass and stocked their cupboards when we visited.

I don't think what we contributed was as much as they'd have got with full loan. Both went to uni up north so rent wasn't extortionate. They worked full time in holidays and that money went towards their own holidays/festivals/clothes.

@LynetteScavo Thanks thats ever so helpful - if in your experience it would leave £100 a week then that is more than fine. Thankyou so much :)

@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?

OK, sorry, I tried to say it's a very difficult question to answer with the amount of variables but I'm not sure you're understanding me** and now you seem to be getting a bit snippy. Some would manage, some wouldn't.

I give DD £75/month. She is in London and is quite frugal. She doesn't drink and cooks all her own food from scratch's

She worked while in the 6th form and saved all the money. She still has the same job and works in the uni holidays if she has time. She also gets a £2k grant every year from her uni.

(For clarity we wouldn't get the full loan - but it isn't 5k to top up to it either!) However even with the "top up" amount it would get to a "Full loan" and the Q is is that enough. I

Paying for example "the rent plus 300 a month" is going to be much more than those with a "full loan" get as even earning 60k plus the expectation is to top up 5k, and "rent plus 300 a month" is far more than 5k!

OK I'm going to add some numbers because you don't seem reassured yet (not entirely surprising!)

Ds pays £183 a week for accommodation, so that's a lot to an old gimmer like me but only pays for 10 weeks a term, 30 weeks -that's £5490 a year. He's on full maintenence loan, which is just over £9400, so he has about £4000 left after that. That's over £100 a week for food and everything else if he wants to spend it all in the university terms. He works all vacation every vacation so far.

There are universities where he will need to pay for more weeks but perhaps less per week. That's what you need to look for.

I still pay for his phone - frankly I don't actually know how to stop doing so! He doesn't spend much on clothes - mostly charity shop stuff - but I did buy him a university branded jacket as a present. There aren't any book costs or extras in his case because he's at a posh uni who have amazing libraries and facilities.

I'd also say that children are aware or should be aware of your financial status. If you're not rich they should know that - that's being part of a family. I was proud of managing most of my money myself as a student and not being a burden. I certainly managed to have fun.

@LotsOfBalloons it would just be the usual Uni Halls, so they will have to adjust to sharing in flats of 6 or 8 or whatever, but that will be something you have plenty of time to discuss with them and help them prepare for. Once they know where they would like to go you can start to look at the pastoral and SEN support available there.

As a previous "poor as church mice" student. It was HARD, and I mean HARD, on me and my parents.
Depending on the course there are lots of extras to factor in. Textbooks, literature subscriptions, class trips, etc. it's amazing how 4 textbooks can cost £200 second hand.
I did a science/medicine based course at a northern Russell group Uni (as it was cheaper living costs) and still ended up with £30K+ debt plus a huge £3k overdraft, and I was lucky in that I finished just before the £9K tuition fees started and had a summer job at home.
"Getting by" just doesn't cut it. You miss out on a lot of Uni life and opportunities, all which builds a CV.

Was it worth it? For me undoubtedly yes, I couldn't do my job without my degree and I've nearly cleared by debt. That said, I don't think my parents would have been as supportive had they known the true financial implications.

The system in England is horrific. I would get your DC to really analyse what they want to do, because for that amount of debt, you really have to want the degree!

@PermanentTemporary Thanks that really helps a lot - even at a uni with longer terms / more rent that helps put it into context and there is a bit of wiggle room. Thankyou :)

(And apologies to those posters who felt I was getting snippy - I think I was getting fed up of repeating myself in general in response to those telling me to save more (I cant) or just top up X amount (we can't) I obviously didn't word my OP as accurately as I could)

So I've just googled 'Sheffield University accommodation costs' and a self-catered room with a shared bathroom can be had for just under £4800 a year for 42 weeks. So that's less than my son is paying. Sheffield is obviously an excellent University.

The thing is that I would say that all the UCAS choices your sons make need to have manageable costs, because you only get to pick the best accommodation deals if it's your first choice.

Sarebear Oh that is sad as that's likely our situation. What would have helped? did you work in the holidays?

I havent even factored in trips and the such.

If your children will get the full maintenance loan then yes they should be able to do it - with sensible budgeting. Nearly all student also work - be it during summer or term time. There are also differently priced accommodation available. Are there any local universities so they could stay home?

Additionally many universities offer hardship grants or academic awards (i.e some universities that are not Russell group universities, but still very good, will offer academic grants/awards for students achieving 3 As. This would probably need some research to see who do. Kent uni use to a few years ago).

Also, if you do not get the full loan, the expected top up is exactly that 'expected'. It doesn't mean as a parent you need to top up. Trust me plenty do not - either because they cant and sometimes as theyre unwilling. And students, like normal households, live massively varying lifestyles, so some frugally and some out on the lash every night.

Good luck x

Course expenses are something you can ask about on an open day - DD studied humanities and bought only bought 1 book her entire degree, her uni had digitalised most of the resources so there was no problems with the library only holding one or two copies of important reading.

Thanks Time again - Its great to know it is "possible" which was my main question. And then if they can work then they can have money for the more fun things, rather than needing to to survive.

Pink Frogs - Thanks yes good idea I hadn't thought of that and will bear that in mind. How times have changed! I remember part of my week was traipsing to the libraries to get my books for that week's essay. Much easier if its online.

Ds is studying computer science and so far there are literally zero extras.

A friend of mine's son did computer science and is already earning really well in his mid 20s. Way to go :)

Whoops sorry not quite true - I bought him a laptop for sixth form which he is still using.

Yep I worked in the holidays and during my 2nd year (couldn't during my 3rd as I was on placement + lectures).
Like I said, it depends on the degree, I did a highly competitive science/medicine so it may be different in other areas. A lot of my peers had parents who were highly successful (dentists, surgeons, optometrists, etc.) so they didn't bat an eyelid when it came to extra costs whereas I cringed at the suggestion of ordering pizza during study groups.
Uni wasn't bad (I came out with a degree!) it just was very limited for me

That's what we did as well. Also, DS worked in McDonalds during the (long) holidays to build up savings. He took the tuition fee loan and the minimum maintenance loan as that was what our income meant he got. He learned to budget and we had a fixed outgoing by paying his rent rather than subsidise his lifestyle

Also I meant to add, when I went as a 'poor student' I actually took a gap year and worked in pizza hut for a year to save some money. It was tough explaining I hadn't spent my gap year travelling around India or volunteering in Mozambique but the money I earned in that year really helped (and I got to eat a lot of pizza).

Ds1 got the full loan. He is in London and for the first year had a budget of £35 a week after rent and bills. He saved money. His costs have gone down since then (cheaper accommodation).

If they are sensible with money they will manage fine.