Cost of University 2017

[janmack23]

D1 is applying for Uni for Sep 2017 soon, no1 child -so confused and frightened about funding. Was an associated Med Occ with bursary but of course with my luck that's now gone, but I am struggling with how she or we can afford to let her go. Earnings are a bit above £50k on a good year but we have other kids at home, obviously don't claim benefits but after student accommodation costs (which won't be covered by student maintenance) it means we'll have to find money we haven't got to pay for her to just eat and live and there is nothing out there. Can some one explain how we can give her money we haven't got.

PatCashless
I've 4 DC at Uni and between them and their partners and friends I believe that £400 a month is a lot. It's a lot more than a lot of kids manage on and that includes plenty of going out and traveling. One of my DC doesn't have a job as he is doing medicine and he manages to save money for holidays, run a car (we pay his insurance though) go to the cinema and go out clubbing and for meals, feed and clothe himself and pay his bills etc etc on less than that. I'm not meaning to do a competitive 'they get tuppence a week and are grateful for it' thing but if you are finding it hard to top his money up I think you could consider giving him less.

OP- you're new to this university lark and also new to MN.

Being a bit of an old lag at this, here's the situation.

We hear a lot of jumping up and down about tuition fees and how awful they are and how they'll put poorer people off going to uni. I agree 9k per year is a shocker BUT the student never sees this money, it's simply paid straight to the uni and the student will pay back the loan once they reach the earning threshold. In that respect, all students are on a level playing field.

The real issue is the maintenance loan, which is means tested on the household income. You sound typical of the squeezed middle, whereby you earn too much for your kids to qualify for the full maintenance loan, and there can be a shortfall of hundreds per month. Been there done that.

Students with parents on really
Low incomes will get the full maintenance loan. It's tough for those who don't.

We did a mix of topping up, but also expected our kids to work through university. I can also tell you although that seems unfair if they see mates on the full maintenance loan who Dont need to work, my kids were at a big advantage when it came to applying for jobs after graduating. To have a good degree and to prove you've been able to time-manage and hold down a job through university gives you an edge over someone who hasn't.

on the plus side, he has no regular transport costs

I also went to Birmingham and had no regular transport costs for my entire 3 years. I had a bike.

If the whole issue of university funding comes up on you unexpectedly - ie you only start to think about it when a DC is about to apply, it's a real shocker for the squeezed middles who get nothing apart from basic loans. Tuition fees are irrelevant, as a loan covers these, but it's making up the shortfall on the maintenance loan that's expensive. I'm prepared to make sacrifices to make up DC1's shortfall, and she's lucky to have been able to find work in the holidays too.

First year accommodation in halls may be expensive, but they are a useful transition from home to independent living and helpful to settling in to university life, so be wary of dismissing the idea of halls for purely financial reasons..

OP - you'll also need to be prepared to be paying rent on next year's accommodation throughout the summer if your DC is moving out to private-rented!

Gap year and earn money and save for your DC. Then get a part time job and take out loans to cover the fees

That's a helpful post from PatCashless, as I remember it coming as a shock that we had to find a few hundred for the accommodation deposit long before the loan comes in.
The only thing I'd say is that £400 a month is MASSES more money than he needs. My ds's loan (less than that) just covers his accommodation, but then we give him £35 per week and that's plenty to live on. Don't forget all bills are included in rent for halls - they are only buying food and treats.

I agree that £400 on top of rent is more than necessary.
I started DS with £200 a month from September and he is comfortably in budget so far and has not dipped into the money he saved up over summer. The money I give has to cover food, phone, clothes and social life. He seems to manage a bit of clubbing and drinking .

Am I missing something? We are a low income family, it's likely that ds1 will qualify for a full loan so shit loads of debt hanging over his head for years. If ds1 had £100 a month for food he would manage. We spend £250 each month for 5 of us!

What on earth do they find to spend £300 on? One of our questions was regarding the library. Do they have enough copies of the text books? Surely part of the experience is learning what the real world is like.

Little it costs more to feed one person than 5 & does that £250 cover the cost of every morsel that passes each of your lips? No coffees made at work using company funded Nescafé or meals at your parents?

Yes it does Big but nowhere near £100 a week.

I've not read the whole thread so this may have been mentioned
university.which.co.uk/advice/student-finance/student-finance-nhs-bursaries-and-funding-england
bursaries for NHS

Applying to a degree course in a health profession such as nursing or physiotherapy? Good news – you might not have to pay a penny in tuition fees and you may receive extra financial support from the NHS.
Note, that this only applies to students studying in England - look out for NHS funding guides for students studying elsewhere in the UK in the near future.

Update July 2016: The government have confirmed plans to replace bursaries with loans for all nursing and midwifery students beginning their studies in September 2017.

The National Health Service (NHS) offers various forms of financial support for students on medical and healthcare courses. Collectively this is known as the NHS Student Bursary scheme, which has several layers to it:

From my understanding the NHS bursaries have been replaced by loans unless you are doing medicine or dentistry. There has been loads of good ideas on this thread and I am thankful even if to make me realise that it is possible. She is working to earn money now and will have to once she gets to college and we will just have to send what we can afford to when we can along with food parcels!

I didn't use mine but it was fairly normal to use up your entire zero-interest student overdraft (you can get up to about 2k) once per term then top it up with work over the holidays.

Halls are ridiculous now though. I paid 1000 per term in 2003 at Durham in catered halls and I think it's now about 2200 per term!

Big, I'm aware it can cost more although it depends on what you eat. Porridge, pasta and rice are very cheap although boring if nothing else is in the diet.
It doesn't cost £100 a week though!

How are they going to cope when they leave uni and have to run their own home on a starting salary if they haven't learnt to budget?

We are very lucky, DD's loan doesn't cover her rent but she had worked to cover the deposit and rent in advance. (you need to think about that because it happens before the loan kicks in) her dad, gm and ggm contribute. As do we. If they didn't then god knows what would happen. She struggled to find a job near her uni but luckily can come home every three weeks and work 2 jobs when she is home and still goes back well up after her travel.
God knows how others cope. I give her extra when there is a night out because i want her to have a good time. (not a dig at all) yes you can live on porridge and pasta (and we have done that believe me) but I want her to live not exist.
I really didn't prepare well enough for the costs and worry ll the time.

I'm just amazed Little can spend only £10 per head on food a week. I know bread & pasta are cheap but 3 meals a day is tight on a tenner a week. Well done Little.