AIBU To judge parents who refuse to pay their contribution to student maintenance loan at Uni?

[ThunderandPharoah]

Have got some friends who are not going to stump up for their parental contribution when their DD starts Uni this year. Can't help thinking that this is a pretty low thing to do as they are not exactly short of money. Would you judge?

should only rich kids become doctors

In years gone by only rich kids could afford to go to university.

I know it wasn’t an option for a lot of my peers despite getting excellent results in O levels as they needed another wage coming in the house and people just couldn’t afford to let their children do 2 years more schooling and then 3 years at a university with all the extra expenses that went with that.

I know it wasn’t an option for a lot of my peers despite getting excellent results in O levels as they needed another wage coming in the house and people just couldn’t afford to let their children do 2 years more schooling and then 3 years at a university with all the extra expenses that went with that.

In the days of the full grant for children of lower income households, I think that parents could afford to let their children go to university if they wanted to as the family weren't worse off as a result. The child would have been self funding. They may have chosen to make the child work instead and increase the household income but they didn't have to. It depended on how much they value education. As we have seen from this thread some parents don't (i.e. those that could afford to add their contribution but don't intend to).

I've been following this thread with interest and usually go by the rule that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

In this case, no. I'm appalled by how many posters aren't willing to help out their children at one of the times they need them most. The children that they decided to produce, and who one would assume are the beings they love most in the world.

I agree with the poster who said that struggling financially through university isn't a profound life lesson. Even if you top the loan up to the grand total of 8k, it's not like they'll be living the life of luxury, even if they work every spare hour they can. In fact, withholding support runs the risk that as soon as they start work and can qualify for credit, they might go wild (I did!). That 'life lesson' could go either way.

I totally admit that I'm a dissenter here, particularly because I think that if you decide to have children you should be willing and plan to support them financially well into adulthood - uni, deposits, weddings etc. You haven't done them a favour by producing them, because they'd be none the wiser if they didn't exist. You've done yourself a favour by having them.

And to those that don't value higher education. Yes, there are more 'professional' apprenticeships available these days, but there is so much competition for them, relying on consistent high grades and aptitude. What of the 'normal' young adults, for whom a good degree will set them up to reach the base bar of 'undergraduate degree required' for even some of the most basic jobs.

Dungeondragon15

The families I knew wouldn’t have been interested in the fact university wasn’t going to cost them it was the 2 years for A levels before university which they wanted the children out at work to supplement the household income

It was the 70s and work was scarce and the father or mother or both could have been laid off or were on strike and to have a child who could get a job to bring some money in meant the family could eat or pay the gas bill.

I think students should work part-time. Most have the time to do that (possibly not Oxbridge students, but they can work in the holidays.) Do students who don't have a job work on their coursework on a fulltime basis, 46 weeks a year, like their parents? I don't think so.

House deposits? Weddings? When are these "children " ever going to grow up?

Agree with this - although students at Oxbridge aren't allowed to work in term time

People may have a 'good income' but their day to day living costs will be relative, e.g. larger mortgage, car loans etc, so it does not necessarily mean there is spare income to pay what can often be a fair whack each month. Not many parent(s) suddenly have £500 + per month to pay uni child's contribution. Student loans only look at income, not parental outgoings.

The problem may be that this is a national policy. In London, £60k would not allow much change after housing and feeding a family of 4. In parts of Cornwall and the north of England, it would afford some luxuries. It might be that a London family do not have the spare to save and give to children.

I think parents are unreasonable if they do not contribute when they can afford to do so - it does lead to a 2 tier system. When DS was at university, there were children whose parents had retired and were living on capital. These children were granted the same as children who were below the poverty line. I think full loans, at an interest rate that is equal to the rate of inflation, ought to be offered. I think that this loan should not be written off, but will stay the same value - excepting any paid off amount. Deals could be done by government employers, where there are problems getting people to work in the industry, such as nursing, where loans could be written off as part of the employment contract. I think it should apply to post grad too.

@thethethethethe, I guess if we could get back to a society where people can save for a house deposit and qualify for a mortgage as a single person without having to live in houseshares until their mid-late thirties. And where you could pay a mortgage and raise a family on one wage. And also to not have a graduate tax for the majority of their working life.

I also personally think that If you bring a new being in this world, you should do so with the aim of helping to make their short time in this world fun and comfortable. I'd want give my children a kickstart to have a nice life, and not to struggle for the basics. A nice wedding, of course, is a luxury. But uni and helping them to get on the property ladder so they don't have to rent in old age, no.

"Agree with this - although students at Oxbridge aren't allowed to work in term time"

Correct, but that's offset by the terms being shorter so lots of scope at other times, also the costs may well be lower and many colleges have weird funds (often old bequests) which can really help out those who find themselves short for reasons behind their control

I expect my DC to qualify for the full loan. But I will encourage her to work part time and not take out the full loan. The interest rate is exploitative.

I just don't agree that we somehow owe our adult children money because they didn't ask to be born. Both my children love being alive - they don't think of their lives as a burden that I should compensate them for. And I bring them up to expect that they will be Independent at 18. If they have a major problem, I will provide a little help if I can. But I don't want to infantilise them.

@thethethethethe have you even read the thread! Provide a little help if you can!
Your dc will not receive full maintenance loan if you earn a certain amount. If you do then as a parent you have to make it up!

But I will encourage her to work part time and not take out the full loan. The interest rate is exploitative.
What naive and uniformed advice. Your dd is extremely unlike to ever pay the loan off.
The part that she doesn’t take out will be the part not paid back, so she will have worked for nothing.

*uninformed

If you earn over ( can't remember exact figure) your kids get the basic maintenance loan amount. We pay £300 a month to supplement the loan. If we didn't she would really struggle. Feel sorry for those kids whose parents have money but they don't contribute!

But I will encourage her to work part time and not take out the full loan.

You expect your dc to earn £9k a year while studying full time? Do you actually want them to get a degree?

There seems to be a lot of confusion. Everyone who is normally resident in England (the other home nations have different rules) doing a degree for the first time can get a tuition fee loan for the full amount. The maintenance loan is separate and means tested against parents until 25 (I think) or your spouse if married - if they earn under £25 you can borrow £9k ish then it reduces with income to £4100 by £60k. The problem is that on a household income of £60k many families do not have £5k a year spare (£10k if like me your kids are close in age and the elder deferred). We through fortuitous circumstances, choices and savings are managing but it's still tight, my mortgage is big!

They encourage students to take the full loan as they don’t pay it back

Parents don't have to make the money up. It's up to them.
I am only suggesting to DC that she should earn some money instead of taking a loan for the extra element of about 3K, available to students from poor families (replacing what used to be a grant) which we are. So that she reduces the massive build up of interest. I hope that she will earn enough to repay the loan in the long term. Why not?
Why shouldn't she work part time and earn some money? I earn minimum wage. Why would it be so terrible for her to do a part time job? While leaving enough time to study? Most students have loads of free time, and long holidays.

In other countries, such as Germany, almost all students have part time jobs. Why are ours so delicate?

What naive and uniformed advice. Your dd is extremely unlike to ever pay the loan off.
The part that she doesn’t take out will be the part not paid back, so she will have worked for nothing.

a “loan” is not a gift she will have worked to not be in debt. What you can do and what you should do are not the same thing. Taking out a loan with no intention of paying it back is immoral.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loans-tuition-fees-changes/#tips-17

I know our country is going to be transformed for the worse by Brexit. But surely some students will end up making an above average salary and will pay the loan off! The interest rate is incredibly high, they have to report their earnings every year (very hard when you're self-employed, which my DC intends to be, with different deadlines and requirements from HMRC), and the government can change the rules at any time.