Affording Uni

[bustybetty]

My daughter (year 13) is considering uni. We are a normal family with no parental help (handouts) hubby is on 50K and my work is about 20K, we live in a modest house and have three teens as well. My question is I have just looked at the maintenance loan she would be entitled to and it doesn't even cover the cost of the accommodation - how do people afford this? We don't have spare money and I coupon where I can, we don't have phone contracts or gym memberships. I don't understand how most people afford to send their children to uni. Currently I'm thinking she will have to take a year out to work to be able to afford it.

ideas anyone?

What did you think was going to happen with 4 kids?
Did it never occur to you at least 1 may want to go to uni?
You're so convinced you want to pay for 4 kids' driving lessons but haven't saved any money to do that?
Get your head out of the clouds (and another place)!

They work. Over 70% of my students have jobs during term time. Almost all will work during the summer holidays. She should get a job now if she can - part time - and be looking to go full time after her A levels.

Sorry if this has already been covered, but can she not go to a university near to where you live and commute?

They get a loan - yes, it's not loads but it's better than nothing.

They get a job.

You don't fund their driving lessons - if they want to drive they can pay for it themselves. A block of lessons at 17 as a present is fine but ongoing payment is not.

They take a year out, work full time and live at home, save everything and then go.

@bustybetty you haven't said what your child wants to do at University. In my experience the seconds schools really force universities down your throats and its for statistics to make them look good. Only people who have actually used their degrees have gone in with a career in mind! Such as nursing, medicine, other healthcare roles, IT, Law (then becoming barristers and solicitors) A lot of people I went to school with have degrees in the likes of English, psychology etc and have done nothing with the degree and are working in jobs that don't require those degrees (or even a degree) A lot of people who have done well are the likes of apprenticeships and they have put through their degrees through work (for free) and earn a good wage. My sister had a place for accountancy degree however declined it, went to work at and accountants who put her through her AAT to be an accountant.
Is university the only option?
Myself and my husband would have never expected our parents to pay for university for us!

*secondary schools

@Biscuitburglar

I just think it’s a scandal that parents aren’t made aware that they are expected to contribute towards university costs in a clear, understandable and timely way. All parents should get that information when their child starts secondary school (With a sliding scale of income and likely annual contribution) so that they have time to try to get ready financially. So many people have no idea it’s coming their way....

Not this again. Do you want your shoe laces tying as well?

Only people who have actually used their degrees have gone in with a career in mind! Such as nursing, medicine, other healthcare roles, IT, Law
Some degrees have an obvious career path but the ones that don’t aren’t useless. I have an economics degree and am an analyst. I don’t use much of my theoretical knowledge but I wouldn’t be where I was without the transferable skills (critical thinking, numeracy, communication). A lot of companies will be looking for degree educated candidates because they simply want that level of education. If OPs daughter is showing a genuine interest in going than that isn’t to be discouraged.

My biggest confusion with this maths and the conclusion that they struggle to afford it is that they seem to have a decent amount of disposable income but the outgoings appear to only be relevant as of now. If the daughter in question is 13 and OP has three other teenagers, then she is clearly the youngest. Those driving lessons are going to be irrelevant in 5 years time. The costs for the sports stuff will be gone (or paid for by the kids as they’d have reached adulthood). OP is forgetting that some of the things she is paying for now simply won’t be there.

Student loan and work.
Didn't have help from parents myself, but the system said my parents should help so wasn't entitled to much but you can't make people contribute!
I just had to work loads, had 4 jobs during the summer holidays, working long days 7 days a week but still had fun, I'd go out Sat nights and still rock into work at 7am! really saved like mad during the hols so only needed one job during term time.
Then at uni I lived cheap, £20 a week on food, it was easy really.
Also driving lessons - surely your kids should work and contribute? Again I paid for all mine and it makes you pass a lot quicker if you're forking the bill yourself!!

Reese, year 13 - age 17/18

@ReeseWitherfork I didn't say they were useless. I was just highlighting that she hasn't said what her child was wanting to do. If uni was the only option or can she achieve the same thing through another avenue and save money?

A lot of people want to go to uni 'for the experience' then struggle to find jobs afterwards. Quite a few people I know wish they had been given other options rather than university as their career prospects would have been better. For instance my sister was told the only way she could be an accountant is through university which wasn't true!
At 18 years old I would have hated for my parents to pay for university if it wasn't something I really wanted to do and get a career from. I would have hated them to pay for me to go full stop. That's why we had discussions on financial situations and career paths and how I was going to achieve it.

Thanks pilates I’d completely misread that! It does change things slightly but I guess the point still stands. As most other PP have pointed out, you just can’t afford to financially back children who want to compete sport at a national level and learn to drive and go to university. OPs question was “how do normal folk afford it?” and I think (aside from the fact that normal folk don’t play sport at a national level) the answer is simply “They don’t. They chose what to pay for.”

The other thing to remember is it’s only three years (or sometimes four these days). It’s not like signing up for a mortgage. The OP does seem to be spending a huge amount of extra-curricular things that are not essential. I am staggered at the amount. Are you sure that’s where it’s going?

If they arent living at home then your food bill will drop albeit not by a lot but by some.

Teach them to live frugally. DD2 is a keen charity shop buyer. Frugal cooking for a student is different from frugal cooking for a family. Batch cooking is often not possible for students (one shelf/basket in a communal fridge or freezer so look at other ways to cook frugally - pasta, pulses, rice are all good staples and dont take up limited fridge space.

I still don't understand why OP doesn't simply divert the £5K she spends on DD's sports activity to pay for her to go to university. Or will she still be spending £5K a year on sport for DD when she's at university?
If DD plays sport at a national level, maybe have a look at some American universities - maybe she could get a sports bursary there?

She's 17/18 and only now you are planning for her finances at University?

For goodness sake. Loans/PT job. Really not difficult OP

It's not that hard, there is the maintenance loan, help that you can afford to give, part time jobs during term time, and a full time job during the long holidays, plus a free student overdraft if required to help with cash flow.

We paid for accommodation for ours as they were only entitled to the min maintenance loan. We helped them out with clothes/shoes/big expenses like course books but they still needed to get p/t jobs to top up and pay for the niceties of their student lives (nights out 7 days a week etc). It’s the norm for 99.9% of students.

@SarahBellam

They work. Over 70% of my students have jobs during term time. Almost all will work during the summer holidays. She should get a job now if she can - part time - and be looking to go full time after her A levels.

It's unlikely that 70% will have jobs this term and there may not be many jobs for the foreseeable future. Bit of a joke that everyone thinks it's so easy for students to support themselves while doing a full-time degree but impossible for someone to contribute even though they have a household income of 70 K and had 18 years to save for it.

@bustybetty what subject does your DD want to study? I’m sure people here can suggest cheaper places that are just as good. Newcastle is much cheaper than Durham and is a great place to be at university!

Your earnings are same as ours OP.
We have 2 at uni and one doing an apprenticeship.
I think most families do recognise that this is a looming possibility when the kids are still quite small.
We realised that DH would not be retiring at 60 but would have to carry on to 65.
We stopped foreign holidays about 10years ago. Stopped riding lessons. Cut back on non essential spending on the house and garden. No designer clothing unless it was from charity shops!!
One of ours did rowing at national level, just buy the kit second hand or as a gift. We paid an annual club cost of £80 and all lessons were then free. When he competed away, we camped nearby.
One continued to ride but worked at the stables to pay for her lesson.
It can be done and is done by families with a lot less. Driving lessons are a luxury rather than a necessity, theres no where to park a car at uni anyway. They can pay for their own when they graduate.
Durham isnt more expensive than other unis for accom costs, in fact we found it more reasonable than most. A relative is paying £9k self catering at Edge Hill.

[quote GnomeDePlume]**@Theatrically and others saying OP's DD should stay home and go to the local university:

This is often simply not possible. Not all universities offer a wide range of courses. Our local university doesnt offer any physics based courses at all and also only a very narrow range of biological science degrees.

Public transport outside major cities can be practically nonexistent and expensive.[/quote]
Of course it's not possible for everybody, but for example where I live in the Midlands there are probably about 5-10 universities (including Russell Group universities) in commuting distance and yet many still choose to go to a university much further away, simply because they want the 'experience' of living away. If money is an issue, in the first instance people should consider universities closer to them and only then look further out if there are no viable options for the courses they want to do. Living away from home during university is not an inalienable right and it's this mindset I'm finding difficult to understand.

She gets a student loan just like everybody else who's parents can't afford to help. She attempts to find a part time job, there is often adhoc jobs at uni such as helping out with open days etc. that are often paid (won't help with rent but can pay for a takeaway, for example). I worked part time for the first two years of a four year course despite having a very full on schedule due to doing a healthcare subject.

Or you cut back on the kids activities now to help support whilst at uni, you give up your cheap foreign holiday and do weekends in the UK instead or just don't have a holiday for a while. My point is that either you or she will have to make some sacrifices.

She could also stay at home and go to a local uni. Durham is not a cheap city to live in by any means but it is a good uni so I would be inclined to go and just get a loan.

You save and they work. Maybe less "cheap foreign holidays" eh?