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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think the government needs to something quickly to help families financially supporting children at Uni.

562 replies

Fl0renc3 · 07/08/2022 08:41

Mortgages are going up( ours will by 300 when we remortgage v soon), energy bills will be going up hugely, ditto food, petrol etc…. Already making all the savings we can.

We have got to start paying our child £500 a month to live on from October on top. It was already going to be a squeeze.Her bills will be rocketing too so who knows if what we were planning to give her will be enough.

We don’t have a money tree and have 2 other children due to start Uni in the next few years. I know the poorest and the richest will be ok re funding for their child at Uni but there is a massive band in the middle who won’t. Whether or not you can go to Uni shouldn’t be decided on parental income( thanks Tories) but those already there and just starting are going to be in dire straits as are the families supporting them.

OP posts:
LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 07/08/2022 11:18

Plenty of young people go to Uni grappling with mental health and have to adjust life accordingly

lenty of young people work grappling with mental health and have to adjust life accordingly

France98 · 07/08/2022 11:18

This is why my daughter will be studying local. We are in Scotland and buses for age 5 to 22 are completely free as well so that should help.

She also has a part time job in a hotel which is quite well paid.

Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2022 11:21

ihearttc · 07/08/2022 11:13

She should be working now and also should have been working over the last 2 years.

DS1 is a year younger (just finishing Y12), he worked all of last summer from finishing school. He then worked every weekend at least 1 day and half term and Christmas holiday. The place he was working them shut down until Easter and hasn’t opened up again so from Easter onwards he applied for every job he could. We live rurally as well, it’s an hour to our nearest city but we prioritised driving lessons so he used some of the money from last summer to fund them and we topped it up. However we also spent 3 months taking him to work every day until he passed his test 2 weeks ago despite also both working.

We are in the very fortunate position (at the moment) of being able to top up his money when he gets to Uni but I don’t want him to have the attitude that you get things in life for free. My parents had nothing when I was growing up and I had to work for everything, babysitting at 14, shop work as soon as I was able.

My DS didn't pass. But , if he had, he wouldn't have a car to drive... the insurance is ££££ for starters. I think some of MN don't realise how lavish a lifestyle their DCs lead.

Mine , if he could get a job, would be buses or Shanks's pony.

Ironically, he has suddenly been offered three interviews when it is now too late. Been turned down by Iceland , Sainsburys,local library and CoOp. Older DS currently has a temp job in Clarks but can't get a job in uni town . He must have applied for 50 jobs.

Livinginanotherworld · 07/08/2022 11:21

Newrumpus · 07/08/2022 09:24

I thought that undergraduates at Oxbridge weren’t allowed to have term-time jobs. Does anyone know if this is still the case?

That is the case, but I know many who still did. Needs must sometimes.

Livinginanotherworld · 07/08/2022 11:22

GCAcademic · 07/08/2022 10:03

I would seriously consider deferring university for at least a year to work on her mental health if it's poor enough to stop her getting a part-time job. I can't see how she will cope with an intensive course and living away from home if that is the case.

This.

Emotionalsupportviper · 07/08/2022 11:23

SmallThingsEverywhere · 07/08/2022 08:45

I’m with you on this one. It’a a loan that the student takes out. What the hell has the parents income got to do with anything? The student is the one to pay it back. I’ve never understood why they shouldn’t be eligible for the full loan regardless. Definitely needs reform.

It should be "reformed" back to grants.

And then get rid of the rubbish courses and properly fund decent ones (and I include the arts and performing arts among the decent ones).

There are far too many "soft" courses that neither stimulate critical thought, release creative energy, nor equip young people for employment.

Too many students also think that because they are "paying" for their courses, they own the university and should be given a high degree no matter how little work they put in, and also dictatel university policy. This causes many problems.

Abra1d1 · 07/08/2022 11:24

Fl0renc3 · 07/08/2022 08:46

I know. Tories don’t care as they can all afford to fund their kids. But what are families and students of the stretched middle going to do? The cut off band is pretty low. It is going to impact a lot of young people and their families.

The stretched middle includes Tories. They aren’t all plutocrats.

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 07/08/2022 11:26

StuntNun · 07/08/2022 11:15

I agree that the system for calculating how much parents can afford to pay doesn't work properly. I have to pay £400 a month to my son at university but if I had had two children at university at the same time then I would have to pay £800 a month. That's not really means tested then, is it?

Well it depends on how much you earn and also why isn’t he working?

StillHappy · 07/08/2022 11:26

Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2022 11:11

Yes, which means teenagers are competing against people with actual experience....

Show quote history

Er, what? Do you want to try that again?

StillHappy · 07/08/2022 11:27

SocrceresPolgara · 07/08/2022 11:13

There are not loads of hospitality around here! I have looked.

I don’t believe you. Where do you live?

Scepticalwotsits · 07/08/2022 11:29

Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2022 11:11

Yes, which means teenagers are competing against people with actual experience....

Show quote history

No it doesn’t, it’s the opposite way around.

More jobs less people mean companies have a shortage of people to get into work, and less competition for the job.

plus being a student it’s cheaper for an employer to pay them (unless they are a mature student) so they are more desired than older people

ihearttc · 07/08/2022 11:29

He bought the car himself out of the money he saved from working last year and Christmas money from his grandparents etc, it’s a 17 year old Clio. The insurance is on an Admiral multi car policy with mine (which I need to get to work) and wasn’t astronomical (less than £900) tbh and he gives me £100 out of his wages each month to pay for it. Trust me he doesn’t lead a lavish lifestyle and nothing is handed to him on a plate.

A lavish lifestyle would be sitting on his arse doing nothing all summer whilst expecting Mummy and Daddy to pay for it and driving a brand new car.

Jobs round here are hard to get as well and he had to take what he could get.

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 07/08/2022 11:30

Hospitality has been up shits creek for some time - not due to a lack of custom (which is apparently even better than pre-COVID) but due to a lack of staff. As I said earlier, a couple of restaurants round here had to close their doors due to lack of staff! It’s not hard to get a job as a student, like it was for a long time.

Scepticalwotsits · 07/08/2022 11:30

Livinginanotherworld · 07/08/2022 11:21

That is the case, but I know many who still did. Needs must sometimes.

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It’s not that they are not allowed they are heavily advised not to.

neverbeenskiing · 07/08/2022 11:30

University is a choice, and for those who do choose to go there are options to make it more affordable. Assuming Parents are agreeable there's nothing wrong with choosing a local university and living at home to save accommodation costs. Many MC kids simply don't want to do this, but for kids from low income backgrounds there's often no choice and it's not seen as an issue. Lots of students work part-time to fund their degrees, even on the most intensive courses that include placement hours such as medicine or nursing it's very common. But if this is really not possible, they can work FT hours in the holidays, which is what I did as a student and it didn't do me any harm. There is also the option to take a year out between school and university, to work FT and earn as much as you can to fund your degree. I don't see how anyone who has a household income of £60k plus (as OP must do as she says they earn over the threshold for child benefit) could reasonably expect their DC's choice to go to university to be subsidised by the government without exploring the above options.

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 07/08/2022 11:31

Just googled student legs in my local (Uni) area - dearest I could find was £4,700 a year and that’s 52 weeks, all bills included.

bigfootisreal · 07/08/2022 11:31

I worked full time while at uni and came out with 0 debts. All fully paid for while studying. I did not have anyone who was going to be able to pay for me while I was at uni. I funded everything myself without any loans, without any bursaries. It is possible.

Scepticalwotsits · 07/08/2022 11:32

ihearttc · 07/08/2022 11:29

He bought the car himself out of the money he saved from working last year and Christmas money from his grandparents etc, it’s a 17 year old Clio. The insurance is on an Admiral multi car policy with mine (which I need to get to work) and wasn’t astronomical (less than £900) tbh and he gives me £100 out of his wages each month to pay for it. Trust me he doesn’t lead a lavish lifestyle and nothing is handed to him on a plate.

A lavish lifestyle would be sitting on his arse doing nothing all summer whilst expecting Mummy and Daddy to pay for it and driving a brand new car.

Jobs round here are hard to get as well and he had to take what he could get.

Most students I know didn’t have a car because it cost to much to run them while also at uni. Plus the ones that did ended up being a taxi service so ended up costing them more.

whether they are responsible or a hard worker is moot as a student you have to cut back, make sacrifices and a car is one of those things

Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2022 11:33

If you are goggling at this time of year, you are seeing the leftovers...

First year accommodation is often more expensive than what can be found in years 1 and 2 but it is very area dependent in terms of cost.

LargeLegoHaul · 07/08/2022 11:33

StuntNun · 07/08/2022 11:15

I agree that the system for calculating how much parents can afford to pay doesn't work properly. I have to pay £400 a month to my son at university but if I had had two children at university at the same time then I would have to pay £800 a month. That's not really means tested then, is it?

I can’t remember how much income is disregarded, but when calculating how much loan a student gets other dependants are considered.

Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2022 11:33

Googling!

Scepticalwotsits · 07/08/2022 11:33

bigfootisreal · 07/08/2022 11:31

I worked full time while at uni and came out with 0 debts. All fully paid for while studying. I did not have anyone who was going to be able to pay for me while I was at uni. I funded everything myself without any loans, without any bursaries. It is possible.

When did you go to Uni? Also when you say no debts are you talking maintainable loan or including the student loan in that?

Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2022 11:34

StillHappy · 07/08/2022 11:26

Er, what? Do you want to try that again?

Show quote history

Because lots of hospitality workers were laid off during the pandemic. So, they are now applying for hospitality jobs....

LosingMyPancakes · 07/08/2022 11:34

Why is it so many posters on MN live so rurally, they are prisoners in their own homes? And do none of them consider the impact buying their rural middle class dream will have on their kids?!

I grew up in Lincolnshire, literally out in the sticks. We cycles and used buses. Almost everyone I knew had some kind of job from the age of 16 and no parent ever gave a single lift!

Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2022 11:35

Less than £900 isn't lavish? Goodness.

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