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.

Im amazed that anyone thinks a 90 minute commute is reasonable for university, I think that would be horrible.

Re Warwick i was told the maths and computer science teaching there at least was top notch.

And I've just checked Birmingham accommodation costs because ds and I both loved the campus! The cheapest accommodation is £96 a week or half what my ds is managing ok on.

My DS goes in September and will get 6k ish maintenance loan, accomodation fees are about 4.5k so he will need to work as we are just not in a position to sent him much more at the moment. He's working to save up and he's got his child trust fund too.

Is it actually a thing? I chose a uni I could commute to from home as I couldn't afford accommodation on my own, it never occurred to me that my parents should or would pay for it. Noone I met at uni was any different unless from pretty well off families. I went to a very good university too.

I had a weekend job throughout that supported me, and took whatever loans I was eligible for.

Moke - many people don't have the option to stay at home if they don't live near a university. Obviously saved you literally thousands that you could!

Has I been mentioned that you can’t select the cheapest halls

you apply with a preference list but there’s no guarantee you’ll get your top choices you may want to pay £110/week but get allocated a £160/week room

Accommodation costs are crippling. My daughter was in university halls for first year and they were £700 a month. There aren't enough private HMO properties out there so many students are in a terrible situation of facing quitting, deferring or paying extortionate rents. If I hadn't been so ignorant I would have told my daughter that she just had to stay at home.

This depends very much on the uni. Some are First Come, First Served with accommodation. Another thing to factor in to drawing up shortlists!

Accommodation costs vary so much. My DD's are £4800. She's at Newcastle. In a modern halls with an ensuite.

She has no transport costs and lives right in the city. She does her food shopping at M&S which she can see from her window. 🙄

She doesn't get the full loan but we top her up to the full amount and don't give her any more.

My son has just survived Uni on £200 a month from me. He had his phone bill paid and the odd treat / food parcel here and there, plus the princely sum of £40 a month from his Dad,my ex H. He survived purely on that for the first year and got a job in the second and ended up doing 3 different jobs in third year (2 of those were smaller and he could do if and when). It's looked great on his CV and (all being well with results) he's one of the few his mates to have a graduate job set up. I'd have loved to have given him more but just couldn't afford to, although he had the minimum amount as we were just over the threshold. I did carry on paying him all through the hols when I was feeding him too 😂

I've had his sibling at Uni this year too and they have had the same amount but has used her savings to top up to £100 a week. She has a job for the summer so plans to top her depleted savings up a bit. I will give her more this year, probably up to £350 as she is in a more expensive part of the country. Phone paid for and the odd food parcel again.

It's tough but it's taught the both of the how to look after money.

@SconesJamthenCream that's really helpful thanks. Was he at a uni where his minimum loan covers accomodation/bills and your £200 in effect covers food?

The only advice I gave was think carefully about costs of accommodation and don't share a bathroom if you don't need to the first year

Why on earth not?

I imagine most low cost options will involve sharing won't they?

They could always live at home and commute in if that’s an option? I was a 1990s graduate and things have changed a lot since then, it’s sad.

All things being equal, ours would get minimum loan and we’d expect them to live on that and we would pay their accommodation. I‘ve allowed for 7.5k per year to pay accommodation and also I’ll continue paying their phone and monthly allowance.

Given that we have two children (four years apart), we need to pay twice, but hopefully not simultaneously. Everyone’s situation is different, but for us we’ve aimed to raise 42k in savings, starting six years ago, and we are on track to complete that in four years time when our second one goes.

That said, we need to save a bit more for the second one because of price increases.

Yes, most will! It's luck of the draw; unfortunately DD's housemates (with one notable exception) weren't great at doing any of the assigned cleaning chores including the shared bathroom. She opted for an en-suite for next year despite the extra cost! (She'll be in an HMO rather than a shared house.)

Yes even the 'premium' halls still have shared bathrooms in most unis. The ensuite options are always £££££. We are paying DC accomodation (about 7K but they could have chosen the non premium for about 5K) so couldn't justify going up to 8/9K per year just so didn't have to share a bathroom. That's really spoilt imo for kids without issues around that (he'd obv prefer not to share but just said 'oh well I'll wear my sliders at all times then'). He then will live off the non means tested 4.5K minimum maintenance loan and has a part time job which he will hopefully keep up in holidays and maybe weekends at uni, depending where he ends up.

Anecdotally I've been told that the non en suite shared bathroom flats are more sociable, which he would like, but don't know if that's true?

I think you're catastrophising a bit OP, look at the maintenance loan calculator on the student loans site on gov.uk. everyone qualifies for the 4.5K minimum and parents are expected to top the difference up to 9/10K ish, depending on your income they might get more or all of the full amount (9.4K ish). There are students out there who are making up the 4/5K difference themselves as well working over the summers. On a 3 year course they will have 40-60K debt that 'doesnt count' for credit scoring and 40 years to pay it off.

No, it's not catastrophising, thankyou. It's called advance planning. And it's clear from this thread that this will be needed, particularly if my child isn't able to get part time work as we won't be able to make up the money that others earn by part time work (what's that- another 4 or 5k a year your son brings in?)

I know for those with higher incomes this level of planning may not be needed and I think that's where a good income provides a cushion against worrying about these things but yes it's quite clear that this will affect choice of uni and will need some strategic planning on our part.

There's no need to be rude. I was trying to reassure you that your figures are too high. You won't need 30K per child because they will qualify for at least 4.5K per year themselves. Advance planning is normal, everyone does it.

I have no idea how much money my son will make himself as he's literally just finishing his A levels and only just started his part time job.

I think it’s wise to plan and research. Every year there are threads where posters didn’t realise parents are ‘expected’ to top up to the full amount. Accommodation costs appear to vary widely. Have just looked again at Warwick and they have some rooms at £90 per week and this is single occupancy.

Universities also employ students - so for example my daughter works for the Guild of Student`s doing Marketing (basically Tik Toks for their Social Media) and gets £11 per hour, she also works for open events etc. If you live in a city /town most of the hospitality/retail jobs are students (again, she transfers up to the local Co Op and also works back at home in holidays) It really depends on the subject but there are not half the tutorials/assignments/exams that I did pre fee paying days so lots of time to work and earn.

@LotsOfBalloons Reading threads about uni support on MN, the world would be a better place if more people were like you and planned ahead! Yes, cost of accommodation/living should definitely be a factor in drawing up a shortlist when you get to that stage. Luckily, with very very few exceptions, there are good courses in most subjects which can be found in reasonably-priced places.

Because I knew he'd hate having to share a bathroom and I couldn't afford to pay anything towards helping him out. I've cleaned bathrooms in shared accommodation and he wouldn't have liked it at all.

As I said, his rent was £109 a week where he chose to go so was perfectly fine as he received the full amount

I had a "year out" before uni. I lived at home and worked in a shop fulltime and in a restaurant in the evenings, which was cash in hand plus tips.

When I went to uni, I went to a Northern one for the cheaper cost of living. My parent also rented out my room to a lodger, which just about covered my halls/shared house accommodation. I worked agency jobs in the holidays. I still had a loan for fees and some living costs.

Not really what you asked, but do your DC definitely want to go to uni? My nephew is doing an apprenticeship and loves it. He goes to college one day a week and works the other four, and will be on good money once he is finished. I wish apprenticeships had been offered as an option when I was at school.

Really spoilt? His accommodation with ensuite costs less than the accommodation you were paying for by the sounds of it!

He could have gone for a cheaper option but as he isn't in an expensive part of the world he might as well have his own bathroom

He's moving into a hmo in Sept with friends he's made in the first year and they will still all have their own bathrooms

Smart home I think accusing me of catastrophising was fairly rude tbh and I also took the time to explain to you why planning was going to be important and how with this type of expense many people can't just "go with the flow".

Thanks Wagnbobble things like marketing would be right up their street
Thanks Sertraline.

I've spent a bit of time looking at accomodation costs at the unis that aren't a crazy distance away. We will also have to face the fact that yrs 2/3 live out which may be tricky planning due to being autistic too but could be fine!

This thread has helped lots as we will need to do some expectation management around unis (they already knew London was out) and factor in accomodation. I was also wondering if temp agencies still use uni students in summer for filing and the such like? I used to do that but it was in the dark ages.