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?

I took a minimum wage job for a year and went to Uni the year after with the money I'd saved. I worked at the same job in the summer holidays. Lots of things about finance were different back then, but might this be an option for your DD? It could be good for her CV as well.

I wanted to say YANBU but actually, as the thread has gone on, I see you are ignoring the fact you’re in this position due to the choices you’ve made. You choose to prioritise driving lessons and extra curricular activities. That’s fine, we all prioritise different things but you certainly aren’t particularly low income, just choosing to spend it a certain way. The loan isn’t going to cover everything because, objectively, you have more than adequate income. I also don’t know why you’ve left it until the last minute to look into this. I appreciate there are many genuine reasons why a parent may not have the ability to research and google but you seem to be intelligent and capable. You’ve got teenagers, surely the fact that many go to university didn’t completely pass you by?!

Going to a university in an expensive city is a choice. Yes, sometimes courses are only offered in certain places but if you choose a university because you like the area/vibe/whatever, you need to be able to pay for it.

I am finding it hilarious that a town in the poorest part of the country is now being described as an 'expensive city'.

@bustybetty You might not want to support her but for a girl going to University massively increases her expected income giving her many more opportunities in life than you have had. And your choices are supporting your child as you are expected to or not supporting her and risking her finding an easy way to make money. Which would you rather?

So - why the willingness to spend on sport while being unwilling to spend a smaller amount on university?

This is the crux of the issue for me!

I know everyone has different priorities, but this seems quite mad.

My guess is that OP has got caught up in children's elite sport (or whatever else the activity might be). It all becomes very competitive, with lots of sports mums, etc, and you have to spend the money to keep your children ahead.
University is outside of that world, so there's more reluctance to spend money on that.
Just a guess though.

@CountFosco

I am finding it hilarious that a town in the poorest part of the country is now being described as an 'expensive city'.

@bustybetty You might not want to support her but for a girl going to University massively increases her expected income giving her many more opportunities in life than you have had. And your choices are supporting your child as you are expected to or not supporting her and risking her finding an easy way to make money. Which would you rather?

It is expensive for students. You have about 8k for a year in college, a year of high private rent (£100 a week) and then another optional year in college. You aren't allowed a car and unless you are from the local area, college isn't optional, so they have a captive audience in a very small space.

@Legit that's an interesting point. As a parent I think it is very easy to get sucked along the elite sports route. However I think there comes a point when a parent has to recognise that their DC may be good at a particular thing but not amazing and that the needs of the family as a whole should be prioritised.

@Wejustdontknow

Your entire income goes on after school clubs/activities? What are your children doing in clubs that costs £20k a year. I have a son who does football, karate, swimming and multi sports club and that costs around £60p/m in total As above though in answer to your question, they either go locally to reduce costs, take out a loan, work or you help

Are those activities weekly? That seems really cheap? If you're in london, would you mind PM me some links?

I'd also have assumed loans covered rent and food and work covered anything extra. That's woeful.

All i can say is save as much as you can for a few years ....a lot of my daughters classmates recieved free perks and accomodation for a year in their first year at university ( Scotland) as they lived in what was a classed as a disadvantaged postcode.... our side of the street did not qualify even though i was on a low income ... she had to take out full student loan and bursary which was just enough to live on ... she had EMA and free meals as i was full time carer for my father. Her classmates did not qualify for this or FSM due their parental income... had latest i phones, partied every weekend, had driving lessons and Cars given to them for their 17th / 18th birthday it was so unfair that had higher income families qualified for the perks just because of theri choice of postcode. SIMD20

My DS has just started he will manage with his student loan and a bursary and pay he receives from being an RAF reservist (they are helping him through uni but he is committed to joining up for at least 3 yrs when he finishes). He is also considering getting a job too.
DD is looking now for next year and I have no idea how she will afford it, Scottish student loan doesn’t even come close to covering accommodation costs and I worry jobs will be hard to come by this time next year. We have 2 good unis close by so hoping she decides to stay at home but who knows!

3 of my kids are currently enrolled at a local private US university ($73k per year). They have student loans, we have parent loans, the get some financial aid/scholarships from the school and they all have jobs. They all either live on campus or in an off campus house with friends.

I do think the system is unfair. I have a relative who is disabled and her daughter received the full loan. Brilliant and I am all in favour of making uni accessible to those with aptitude for study... . My two lads, both at uni ar the same time get the minimum. For us it is just about OK, we help them and they work hard to supplement. One of them lives in an area where his minimum loan covers rent just fine. The other we have to top up substantially. What I think is unfair though, is that my relatives daughter will come out of uni carrying about 30% more debt than my sons. So in terms of social mobility, she will always have more debt than they will. Granted the repayments are low, but still, the playing field is uneven because I would never ask my sons to pay me back - so they had privilege. That said... man we are skint now... there is no consideration of the impact of two at uni at the same time.... we just have to burn through it, but I am aware we are luckier than many people.

Have a look at resident assistant jobs. Lots of halls have on site staff that get free accommodation included.

If I was in position of going to uni, I'd have to think more about whether I went to one where I couldn't live at home. Balancing it off obv with the quality of education, but I'd think I'd sway more to staying at home. Paying almost 7k a year in accommodation costs is money far better set aside to buy a house post uni!

Our plan is for DS to go local in Scotland so no fees and minimal rent whilst living at home but still expect will have to get pt job for other expenses

I suppose if he wants to move out would need student loan

I’m a lone parent and my daughter had a part time from the age of 16 and saved up to pay for her own driving lessons. She also had a part time job in the uni library all through university

Well I don’t mean to be mean but the only way to give a child a quality life is to restrict the number of children in the household. People afford as they don’t have that many children. Basic maths really - scarce resources to be divided amongst those to look after.

There's a £2K bursary (grant not loan) for less well off students in Scotland, which is helpful. Removing the bursary from less well off students in England has discouraged those young people from going to university.
Some universities offer bursaries to students from less well off households. OP's DD wouldn't qualify for these as the household's income is about 3 times too high. They tend not to be enormous anyway, but it all helps.
OP is right in that if she and her husband divorced and he moved out her DD would qualify for that kind of bursary and would get a higher loan (which has to be paid back with high interest if DD earns enough in the future).
However, if that happened I doubt that OP would be spending her entire income on the children's activities. So swings and roundabouts.

@Rainbo83

Have a look at resident assistant jobs. Lots of halls have on site staff that get free accommodation included.

My son is an RA this year. He gets about 60% of his housing cost forgiven. They don't offer RA jobs to new students for several reasons and I suspect this is the case at most uni's.

The system is rubbish. I protested against it as a student back in the 90s as to me it just made higher education inaccessible to so many... be they from low incomes or from the squeezed middle.

OP - How you spend your income is irrelevant. Even if you’re daughter was entitled the full loan she’d still be leaving with a crippling amount of debt. Personally I think modern apprenticeships are the way forward for most young people as they are able to earn whilst also gaining qualifications that can be the equivalent of a degree.

Hi, we are roughly on the same income as you and our son has just started at Portsmouth Uni, he has a maintenance loan of £4289, his weekly rent is £138, he is in halls of residence and due to the current situation he is only being charged for 10 months and at the end of the 3 installments we will have to find nearly £700 to make up the short fall, we also give him £50 a week for his food and pay his phone, I thought we would be better off with him at Uni, it appears not 😂😂

My husband earns 25k, we get nothing else but child benefit for our 4 under 16’s, I am a housewife. On that money we pay our rent, bills including full unsubsidised council tax, eat well, home educate 2 of the children including paying for 10 GCSE’s for our 15 year old in the last 2 years at a cost of £385 per subject, have nice birthdays and christmases, run a car, maintain our home to a good standard, have one, one week UK holiday a year, help our 22 year old daughter (who has left home) out financially now and again, save a little, contribute to charity AND pay the £300 additional rent for our 20 year old son’s university accommodation and send him a weekly sum for expenses. I think perhaps your necessities are what many would consider luxury.

there is no consideration of the impact of two at uni at the same time

This - particularly when it's twins (so not a choice to have 2 close together either!)

1. she's 13 so I assume she's the youngest? If so your other kids won't be at home when she goes to uni in 5 years I imagine? Less kids = more money.

2. student loans, a part time job and picking a uni close to home so she can save money on accommodation is the way to go.

3. unless you live in a rich area you have a 70k a year income so you're hardly on the breadline. You absolutely can afford to help her to some degree.

Quite frankly I'm mildly disgusted at your attitude. We're on half that and 3 of our 6 kids have found their way to uni using plan 2). So can your DD.