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

[Fl0renc3]

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.

I am also at a loss as to what the OP’s DD needs £500 extra a month for.

I suspect a lot of parents believe that their children should be able to go to Uni and still have the life afforded to them they have at home or the (lazy) life they want - Deliveroos every night, every gadget under the sun cost £££ every month, the best clothes, concert tickets etc. it does seem no one thinks they should slum it anymore or cut their cloth accordingly. Yes moving to Uni is tough when you realise that all you can afford is pats and jacket potatoes for the week but you get used to it and learn from it

The maintenance grant was worked out on parent income and parents given a ‘parental contribution’ amount. It hasn’t changed in that respect. What has changed is that it’s now a lot more expensive to go to uni so loans and parental contributions are much larger, I guess the grant has totally gone too? Didn’t used to be tuition fees either.. so yes a lot of people worked but it was also possible to not work, live frugally and come away with no/minimal debt. I do feel privileged that I was able to access a greatly subsidised education, I was in a much better position than I would be today.

It’s not a requirement at all - are you suggesting HMRC bills parents demanding they pay for the top ups?

lydia, I have no idea what your fascination is with my residence! My two got school buses which connected to the village their school was in . No public buses run. The bus to the town with jobs in, shoukd yiu be able to get one, runs fairly frequently, via another much smaller town. There are then connections, varying in frequency, to outlying small villages ( I live in one of the big villages which is why we even have a bus)If one worked in the big city, one would drive to the train station and get the train so it's popular with commuters in that sense. But that's not realistic for a teen summer job.

You can get buses up and down the county but not across it. This is pretty common in many many areas.

There is an out of town retail park where DS1 works. I take him there to save the 3 buses he would otherwise have to get to get to it. It's 3 miles away.

It’s amazing how they have no bicycles in your part of the country, or mopeds.

As to what’s reasonable for a summer job; we pay our interns over £50,000 per year, which is generally thought to be enough to cover their train ticket and still leave something left over towards savings.

What word do you want me to use? It's the point of the system. If parents who can afford it are not supporting their offspring through uni as the whole system suggests, that's rather sad.

It's literally all explained in the online paperwork when you fill in the loans stuff. It had been identified as an issue that some parents are under informed about this aspect of university costs.

I want my kids to get degrees and I'll pay the top up to do my bit to support that.

Lots of posters seem to think we are talking about handouts. They aren’t. These are LOANS which the student is expected to pay back. We aren’t talking about grants or bursaries🙄.
Those saying “well they should get jobs”, in our case our DC does work. It just isn’t enough to cover everything obviously and the loan amount you receive is based on your parental income.

As parents we are expected to cover the shortfall. There aren’t any other circumstances where the government expects parents to fund adult children. Also when you apply to the bank for a loan, you are never asked about your parental income.

Also you could apply this to those who eligible for the full loan. Shouldn’t they also “get jobs”?

Don’t get me started on the expectation that a step parent should pay for the step child’s education, however the student’s NRP has absolutely no responsibility whatsoever!

Internet, text books (expensive at degree level), launderette, bus pass, food (not usually much fridge space often no freezer) laptop, train fare home, prescriptions, cooking utensils, duvet and covers, clothes. I doubt £125 a week is also paying for multiple takeaways and social events.

I didn't think we were talking about internships.

Look, I have already said there is a bus to town! What I have said is, despite trying, DS2 hasn't secured a job there.

An internship is literally a summer job, a job that students do in their summer holidays.

I absolutely agree. I find it bizarre that adults are expected to be funded by their parents.

Erm, no it isn’t …

I would have been embarrassed by my parents paying my living costs at 18.

I think OP IBU, but just because HMRC don’t issue a bill doesn’t mean parents aren’t required to contribute if their household income means their DC doesn’t get the full loan. The government certainly expects it as in their how you are assessed and paid information it states:

“Using your total household income, we’ll then work out what support you’re entitled to and if there should be any household contribution. “

and

“Depending on their income, parents may have to contribute towards your living costs while you’re studying.”

DS GF is taking a science course so it’s really hard work plus lab work. Her parents choose to not assist her and she works in a cafe. She gets 2/3 of the available loan. So I see the pitfalls in taking parental income in to consideration.

I grew up quite rurally, I do love the countryside but it’s a bit shit for jobs and ferrying kids about and I will never live in it again. Unless you inherit a farm it’s a choice to live rurally.

Blair needs to take the blame for the shitshow that is higher education, I worked in it for almost 30 years and DH still does. It was a poorly thought out attempt at social engineering on his part. Whilst some people have progressed due to this policy what it has actually meant is you need a degree for far too many roles where it is unnecessary. My generation are the last who could work their way up in certain careers. My friend retired last year early. She would struggle to even get a job in admin where she worked now as she does not have a degree.

Then DC needs to find ways to cut back on expenses, just like any adult who were living beyond what their income allows should do.

There are always ways to make things cheaper, even in these tougher times, though they may not be particularly palatable (smaller/cheaper accomendation, cheaper foods, bundle cooking, cutting back on leccy/gas, etc. Or they simply have to try and get more hours at work, or get a 2nd job, etc. Absolutely sucks and they may not get the typical uni 'lifestyle' but ultimately uni is for learning and emulating adult life

Agree. It should be nothing to do with parental income.

Internet won’t be necessary as it will be included in the halls fees. DC can apply for free prescriptions if they have a low income and no/limited savings. They don’t constantly need new clothes or household items so they wouldn’t need a monthly budget for that. The majority of textbooks will be available in the library. Students don’t need £500 per month to live on.

I think everyone should be entitled to the same amount of loan.

DD is going to university in September, due to household income is only entitled to the basic loan. We can afford to pay her accommodation so we are. DD will then need to get a job if she can’t manage on the amount of loan she has been allocated.

The OPs DD isn't at uni yet...

Ok I’ll bite.
I’ve had a serious lifelong MH issue since I was 15. I wasn’t well enough to finish school or go to uni - so I worked as a carer full time from 17 and lived in supported accommodation. Did care work for 10 years and then did vocational degree. Stayed in my job and worked part time in term time (including waking nights which paid better) and full time in the holidays.
MH is part of my life but unless I wanted a life on benefits I had no choice but to work. I had no parental financial help since I was 17.

if your daughter is going to have the mettle to work at uni she should demonstrate it by working now. If she is too ill to work, she is too ill to study and in her situation I would defer until her MH has stabilised.

The £6000 a year difference between minimum and maximum loans kicks in at £60000 a year household salary.

My suggestion to the op is that if she can't budget appropriately and will struggle to pay the bills after the £3000 a month she will have left after her contribution to her dds education, then perhaps she needs to take lessons in how to budget.

Maybe she could ask at her local food bank.

Oh please, this is MN - where the top 10% are reduced to beans, apparently.

And come on op. I am currently sitting in Morrisons car park as my eldest is at an interview. He is a full time student on a demanding course - but that course does not start for 2 whole months. So he has applied for 10 hours a week at Morrisons and is in there now telling them he’s happy to do 35-40 hours for the next two months.

I was a student back un the dark ages of grants in the early 90s and even then we ALL WORKED in the summer full time and most of us had a part time position in the term time too.

the Loans count as income as does summer work so many don’t qualify for free prescriptions, internet isn’t always included in halls no, are you saying they don’t need any clothes? Many will have been in school uniform at sixth form. There’s generally one copy of a text in the library, the essential ones require purchase and can be around £100. Is your proclamation actually based on experience? You do also realise that most students don’t live in halls?