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?

Gap year, min wage job full time or decent amount of part time hours, can get 9-10k saved no problem.

She’s going to have to get a part time job like many students (including myself) do and did. Practically everyone I knew who went to uni had a weekend/evening job and we all did fine.

Also, while a combined income of 70k is certainly not living on the breadline, it’s not particularly more than average which is around 30k salary per person, so 60k total, especially with four kids. We have a combined salary of 65k (32k and 33k) and this is the same, if not less, than most of my friends and family and we are all working class.

@sst1234

As others have said OP, part time work and student loans. That’s the standard. Most people are lot funded by their parents. For most degrees, If you actually add up the hours spent in lectures and seminars, it’s no more than a couple of days. The rest of the time can be used by students to work.

Most people whose parental income is such that they do not get the maximum loan are in fact supported financially by their parents. I'm not sure why you think otherwise.

There is an expectation that students should spend 30+ hours a week on studying. If lectures and seminars are only 8 hours a week then the rest should be spent on self study, library, reading etc. A Saturday job should be manageable for most though.

With all the cost that will be involved, I would make sure she does a subject that is likely to lead to a decent career.

Has she considered Open University or some other form of distance learning?

@Cocomarine

Those saying that costs should be flagged in Y7... I appreciate that there has been a huge rate of change in student finance (I have stepchildren 2 years apart, different rules) and that parents - if they went to uni - had a very different situation.

So I can’t disagree with flagging it, but really... do we advocate no personal responsibility?

But there HASNT been a huge change in terms of maintenance. Parents have ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS been expected to pay if their income was over a certain threshold.

In fact you could argue it's better now because all students are entitled to a basic maintenance loan which they never used to be.

Our income is probably about 40k and we privately rent so We earn too much for any help.

Your child will get a higher maintenance loan - you won't be expected to top up by much.

Check out Martins money tips, he was talking about this topic on his programme only a couple of weeks ago, you could probably get it on catch-up

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Maybe stop the over payments on your mortgage, and put that towards her living costs?*

Ahhhh. Cake, eat it and save for some more cake!

I don't really get this. It sounds like a high wage unless you are in London.

I went to uni 10 years ago in London. I got £6k loan, rent was £450 a month so my loan just basically paid for that and I worked about 20 hours a week in a shop. I had a really amazing time at uni, I worked hard, partied a lot... Just had to be efficient with my time. I got a first in history.

Maybe you have to cut back on some of the clubs so you can afford to contribute £300 a month or similar. If she can work full time the summer before that would also be a big help. Durham is small but lots of shops, restaurants etc in newcastle a 10 min train journey away.

RE: people on here complaining about the driving lessons.

There is nothing more annoying than 30 year old work colleague that cannot drive, an expects you to pick them up when going to offsite meetings etc. The driving is probably more useful than going to university!!

@EvilPea

I didn’t go to uni as we couldn’t afford it and i am incredibly worried about finding uni for my bright naturally academic children (especially my eldest whose career aspirations do need uni). Our income is probably about 40k and we privately rent so We earn too much for any help.

If your daughter is due to go next year and will Need to work. I would strongly urge her to put it off for a year and try and work that year. with Covid around I think a lot of student friendly jobs are not around at the moment, and may take a while to recover.

You will get support as in a student loan, which is more or less all anyone gets. It's means tested but an income of £40k will see you getting a pretty big loan, Dd gets about £7k (our income is a bit more than yours). She'll have to pay it back of course, but that's for her to deal with IMO.

DS worked for 3 1/2 months in the Summer for 10 hrs a day in a warehouse moving boxes around. It was about as dull as it gets but he's learned a lot about the world of work and had about £4k extra to live on in Uni term time.

Parents on 70k have to top up the maintenance loan. If you can’t afford it then you need to find a way to afford it.
I would start by not having any foreign holidays for the foreseeable future and diverting that money towards supporting my child through university.
Driving lessons are not an essential. If you can’t easily afford them then the children can pay for those when they have a job. Teenagers can manage perfectly well without a driving licence, especially as car ownership for teenagers is horrendously expensive due to insurance premiums.
Honestly, if you are struggling to see how you can find a few hundred pounds a month to top up your child’s university loan and you are earning 70k combined then you need to look a bit harder at areas to cut back.
We have combined income of £35k and will need to top up our child’s student loan in a few years. We have younger children at home to pay for and a sizeable mortgage. But it is our responsibility to try our best to provide at least the amount we are asked to contribute by student finance.

@tttigress once this daughter graduates aged 21/22, do you not think there might be a possibility for her to pay for driving lessons (from her own wages) at some point in the intervening 8 years before becoming that 30yo?

No-one has an issue with this girl learning to drive. We just think you can’t really complain that you’re not reasonably well off, because you can’t afford driving lessons AND lots of extra curricular AND student support.

All those saying 'get a job'... will part time student jobs be as easy to come by in a recession / with hospitality & season travel curtailed?

Speaking as a Mum who has had one DS at university (now left) and one just starting. It sounds like if I may say that you have got a lot of 'essential's. Things you cannot possibly give up.

Thinking of Durham. Do you live near by?
Driving lessons. Not a right sadly
Cheap foreign holidays
You want your child to have the 'university experience'without having to work

There are no real compromises in your list. My DS doesnt need to work because my DH is a high earner and so am I. You could get a more well paid role. Your DD could get a part time role, she doesnt need to go to Durham although I suspect she might like to.

Something might need to give here. No child NEEDS driving lessons. If you cannot afford it you cannot afford it.

It also amuses me to see “cheap” foreign holiday alongside “when will we be reasonably well off?”

If that’s 6 of you and a large tent driving to France and self catering then I’ll hold my tongue. Otherwise...

It really is a case of relative expectations. We’re all in our own socio-economic bubbles of what is a normal cost and what is a marker of being “reasonably well off”. No-one in my social circle thinks you’re well off because your child has swimming lessons. (“It’s a life skill!”) But... you are.

Am I naive in thinking that it was just normal for parents to plan for their kids university costs?

@bustybetty sorry if I have offended you. I thought from your original post you meant she couldn't afford it using the maininance grant as you didn't mention loan. I'm guessing others who suggested a loan thought the same. Again, I'm really sorry I wasn't trying to undermine your situation at all.
Does the accommodation include bills or any food? Many unis have 'bronze' (basic room, more sharing each flat/corridor) or equivalent up to 'platinum' (often includes en suite bathroom, sky, lunches etc). Maybe there's a cheaper alternative?
It's really difficult, especially now the fees are so high.

Sorry I read 'maintinenece' and assumed it was the grant - my mistake!

Marmite - grant’s no longer exist for any students. It’s loans for everyone, just different levels of loan amounts.

Durham is particularly expensive.

I can't believe student rooms have sky and platinum rooms !

Also bear in mind that if you have other 3 teenagers also wanting to go to Uni over the next few years, with student finance there is no consideration taken into account for more than 1 child at Uni at same time ..so it could be that for next 10years you'll be paying for accommodation/ living cost of student children

But there HASNT been a huge change in terms of maintenance. confusedParents have ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS been expected to pay if their income was over a certain threshold.

Yes, my parents had to pay all of my maintenance costs in the 80s. There was no loan and only people on lower incomes got a grant. Things are less expensive to parents now and it amazes me that it comes as such a surprise to some that they are expected to contribute if they are not on a low income. I wonder what planet some people live on.