AIBU to give my niece money for uni

[Almostslimjim]

when I may not be able to for other niblings?

My niece is due for uni soon, she is a bright and intelligent girl and wants to go to uni but currently is refusing to due to the level of debt she will accrue at the end. I believe, based on her academic record that she would do well there.

We currently have the means to give her some money towards uni, equating to roughly half. I would like to discuss this with my sister (DNs mum) however my only concern is I may be unable to offer the same support to my other nieces and nephews - I currently have niece, 1 nephew (3) and 1 nibling on the way but have lots of younger siblings who are not yet having families but likely will in the future.

I also have 2 children of my own, whose uni funds are already accounted for.

The amount I have available for niece would make a big difference to her, however split between my siblings (e.g. I divided between 5 for them to use for their kids) would be very small, almost worthless.

WWYD?

AIBU to offer the help whilst I can? Knowing it is unlikely to be possible for the others?

Its your money, your choice. Very kind offer and I'm sure your niece will be very grateful. Especially at the moment as she may struggle to find work to support herself, as most students work part time in hospitality industry

@AlwaysCheddar

Do you think there’s any chance your niece is saying she might not go to university because her and/or her mother/father are hoping that you’re going to pay for it and I waiting for you to make that call?

No. My sister really isn't like that. I don't think she has any idea we could to be honest.

I think you'd be better off giving a living allowance or covering her rent and food bills etc, so she doesn't need to take a maintenance loan. And then she still can take a loan for tuition fees.

It's so much easier to concentrate on your studies when you know that all living costs are covered and you don't have to work in your spare time to afford rent. And also I think this would be easier to 'explain' or 'justify' in the future - you didn't pay her fees, but you supported her whilst at uni. That's what makes sense to me.

Just an add on to say that reluctance to take on debt isn't a declaration of lack of commitment. University is still seen by many as a rich man's game, unaffordable to most.

OP, you don't need to tell her your DH's salary. Provide a median of the market level. If she can't see the difference in earning potential than she is not bright enough to go to uni. Alternatively she might be too bright and just trying to sponge the money from you

@thegcatsmother

Worst Please explain why it is 'daft' to pay upfront if you can do so? Why wouldn't you want to avoid the compound interest accruing on the loan from the time the first payment hits your account?

Currently, according to the IFS, 83% of student loans will never be repaid, so they are either magicked off the government balance sheet, or the taxpayer subsidises them.

You've just answered your own question there. It's daft to pay for something up front that you wouldn't be paying for in the long run if you went for a loan.

I wouldn’t commit yourself to large amounts. Even a relatively modest top up of living expenses would make a difference to a student.
DS1 in in U6 and he will be getting the loans even though we could afford to fund him (we currently pay school fees at a similar level). If he gets a job below the repayment threshold then it costs him nothing, if he gets a very well paid job then he can afford to repay, if he is somewhere in between then we may help out.
We will fund a bit more than the parental contribution and we will help when he finishes if he needs it. I would suggest you think about the same for your niece - termly top ups during uni and a bit of cash to help get settled after she graduates.

That would be easier to do for other nieces & nephews too.

I applaud your attitude to money, your kids and wider family, Almost.

@Woodspritely

What’s a nibling?

It's a significantly younger brother or sister. It is a cross between sibling and nipper.😄

There are some great data science apprenticeships out there at the moment. I'm a developer and I wouldn't choose to incur debt going to uni now.

The loans are so easy to repay I would say your niece is severely misinformed or using the debt as an excuse not to go.

If I were trying to help I would it pay the fees but supplement the maintenance loan (she might not get the full allowance and in any case, the full allowance is, in most cases, not enough).

The other option is to save the money for any postgraduate studies she may need after her first degree when loans are not as benevolent but in all honesty... I wouldn’t pay the tuition of a kid whose heart is NOT into going to university, you may be forcing her to take a route she wants to avoid.

Random The parents don't take out the loans, the students do. If you give your child money for other purposes, there are all sorts of tax implications. Paying for university, there are no implications at all.

If you are happy to pay for private education, then paying for university is much the same thing.

I would do it. The other siblings are too young to be resentful.

My grandmother funded my much younger brother's private school. There were reasons as to why I didn't go privately, but it never ever made me resentful. The circumstances were just different.

I wouldn’t. No one knows what the future holds but keep your money .

You are a good example to her, taking out a student loan to build a great career.

If her parents can’t afford it, she will get the full loan, like my Ds currently does. This has made him eligible for a bursary that does not have to be paid back, and other benefits.

However an aunt has just given him a substantial sum for a great new computer, and he is over the moon. He couldn’t have afforded it, It has made all the difference. So smaller amounts make a big difference!

What’s a nibling?
It's a significantly younger brother or sister. It is a cross between sibling and nipper.😄

Oh I thought it was the children of your siblings, a collective word for nieces and nephews!

Depending on the subject she wants to study, is an apprenticeship with release for a degree an option? My 18 year old has been applying for these and uni - if he doesn'get get an apprenticeship he'll go to uni, but would rather be paid £17k a year to get the degree over 5 years. But competition is tough for these schemes.

She can't do science without a degree, and if she's developer then she should earn enough that the loan is a non-issue.

It is (or used to be) possible to get into a developer career without a degree, and that would be fine if she could do it, but I imagine there are very few opportunities nowadays. I think you'd need a lot of luck to get into it that way.

Now that I know what she wants to do, I think she should be nudged into going.

@alienspiderbee

There are some great data science apprenticeships out there at the moment. I'm a developer and I wouldn't choose to incur debt going to uni now.

The problem with this is that most companies, for better or worst, will expect a degree for any developer/ software engineer as a minimum.

On topic, this thread really does illustrate why the current loan system needs to be replaced with a graduate tax.

Oh I thought it was the children of your siblings, a collective word for nieces and nephews!

It is.

www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-were-watching-nibling#:~:text=Nibling%20is%20a%20gender%2Dneutral,being%20revived%20in%20recent%20years.

I would. In 15 years’ time when the next comes up you may have more money, or your niece may be in a high paying job and able to help her siblings, or your siblings may be in a position to help their own children, or tuition fees may have been abolished altogether, or they may go study elsewhere for free, or there may be more scholarships than there are now...you get the picture.

Here and now you can make a difference.

Oh and I don’t agree with the whole the loan is cheaper thing. Last I checked interest rates were very high and accrued from day 1. In the current environment where savings earn nothing, it doesn’t sound like that good a deal for someone who plans to go into IT, where pay is high.

It's a kind thought of yours op. Your niece is actually in a very lucky position, even if she doesn't realise/isn't aware of it at the moment.

I'd talk to your sister about it. Tell her the money is there and you're happy for your niece to use it for uni, but have a really good talk and find out whether uni is actually the right choice, and explain how student loans work and that getting one may not be such a bad thing. It could be that she goes, takes the loans and you support her living costs with your money instead. There's a lot to discuss and paying her fees (if she decides to go) may not be the best option.

I don't know if times have changed but I am not sure a degree is the right thing for the field she's interested in anyway, but there may be an alternative training scheme or programme more suited that you could fund.

Worst Why should the burden fall on the taxpayer if we could pay it? Unlike health and defence, for example, which benefit everyone, a university education is a choice.

@beautifulmonument

I would say yes, help her, because the other nieces and nephews are tiny. So much can change between now and then it's crazy to try to foresee what financial help they may or may not need or what position you may be in to help or not.

Exactly this. This thread is so depressing - load your own kids with university fees, house deposits and pension plans but God forbid that you help someone else’s child.

By the time other siblings’ children reach this point the money will be long forgotten, always assuming they even know about it. Why would they be told? It’s none of their business.

Worst of both worlds is incorrect. You can pay fees direct if you want to, I did.