to think that £500 a month is enough for a child at uni

[FunnysInLaJardin]

we will pay his accommodation and his tuition fees will be paid, so this will just be for food and travel etc

Wow prices have changed since I was at college. I had the grant but didn't get anything from my parents and worked 30 hours a week on top of college. Wel prob help my son with fees but will definitely expect him to fund himself apart from food!

Thanks. That is my take on it too. DH was at uni in the mid 80's and his shared house was pretty miserable really. Damp, no proper heating, poorly furnished. He got a grant but it wasn't enough to live on, so he worked nights in a local factory to survive. His parents weren't able to help financially.

He survived but honestly these days I don't want DS1 to just survive. He knows he is a fortunate boy and is very appreciative that we can afford to do this for him.

Not that it matters really but the money is coming from savings and not net income.

Probably. Have they signed up with Uni Temps? Reasonable pay for events at the University, good work experience and convenient too.

Dd in brighton. Use storage in vacations. These guys collect for free and depending on size of locker is around 100 to 200 a month discounts paying up front etc https://www.henfieldstorage.co.uk/storage-units/brighton

I don’t think 500 is way too much. My daughter finished uni in 2015 and I sent her 80 a week even back then. Her loan didn’t cover the rent so we topped that up too and paid for clothes and mobile phone. One thing she didn’t want to do was to share a bathroom and we agreed so she had ensuite accommodation throughout. She worked in summer but to be fair to her saved some of that. Her course was full on and there was no way she could have worked in term time.

The main thing that galled me was that my friend who earned exactly the same as me had a daughter at uni at the same time and got the full maintenance loan and bursaries on top, all because mum was divorced. The fact that the ex husband earned well more than my DH didn’t come into it. She didn’t have to top up her daughter with money at all

Seems quite easy to pick up work doing event waiting/waitressing for corporate hospitality. And bar work at least.

Young people I know in London have not had issues picking up these sorts of jobs. One even came from a south Asian country on a student visa and was doing this sort of work within 2 weeks and got himself to Hampton Court using 2 types of public transport which I was rather impressed with. Within a few months he was working as a runner at a London restaurant most on Mumsnet would have heard of. Actually thinking about it, these days a lot of restaurants and cafes seem to have a lot of south Asian students working in them these days.

Anyway, tutoring probably is not quite as physically hard and pays better?!

I had a thread last year and others seemed to have the same experience @Jarstastic We are also S Asian! Yes, tutoring and TA does pay better and looks better for their CVs so now they plan to stick to that. DD also did museum guiding.

No en-suites here for anyone, though I am sure DS would have liked them. I was glad for him to share with 40 others in halls as I think it builds character.

Not all students are in london

@FunnysInLaJardin

he and his pals will be living on cheap pints and pizza no matter how much cash you give him OP

I’ve no idea how people afford more than one dc. Feeling rubbish because we won’t qualify for a loan due to earnings but I don’t have £1500 plus accommodation spare for my 3 dc to go to uni at the same time (didn’t plan twins 😩)

If you and your partner if you have one earn more than £65k combined then he will be getting £4.5k which doesn’t cover rent at any uni! So unless you expect him to get a job (see posts about zero hours contracts and flexibility with study ) you will be funding him more than food!

It’s not just food though is it? Laundry is super expensive. Phone, travel, gym, sports clubs, clothes, toiletries. That isn’t mentioning any socialising.

It’s a real worry how out of touch so many people are.

In my thread I had already explained that I will pay phone and car expenses - petrol, parking permit, insurance. The onsite sports and pool centre is free for students, the hopefully occasional dental and prescriptions will be paid for by me, glasses sorted when she is home and she has her job during holidays to top up fun money. The £11.50 a day is just for food, which as I said we can top up on the uni card if needed, which I think is fine. She'll stock up on toiletries and clothes when she's shopping with me. She isn't being cut loose, it's just daily expenses for term time. I certainly don't spend anywhere near £320 a week for our current family of 4 at home on food and drink.

The onsite sports and pool centre is free for students

I'd double check that because thats highly unusual

That’s what we pay on top of rent
Also pay for a few things we previously paid phones ,contact lenses
Big shop at start of term and the odd bit of essential clothing

This is a lot of money
My two have far less and are living quite happily at Uni.
Enough to do activities, go out and eat.

It's more than we have after mortgage and bills to feed a family of 4 for a month. I'd be thrilled if I had this much just to spend on me!

I was replying specifically to a post by @Lentilweaver about London. I replied as I know several who studied there in recent years/are currently studying there, personally and professionally (like the student from another country I mentioned).
Own DC are not at London universities.

@Lentilweaver Same, no ensuites here! One is talking about it but have explained the reality and they would have to work and save up the summer/s before the academic year to pay for it.

TBF I had a private studio flat at university but this was back in the day (when you either qualified for a grant, or your parents paid for all your maintenance!). And I managed the budget myself. My parents gave me a set weekly allowance to cover everything, and I worked weekends and holidays. Though I did leave with a large overdraft!

DC don’t have loans and also receive £500 pcm

we also pay for:
• accommodation
• travel
• phone
• shop at start of each term

they’re both at “posh” unis in the south. Bothe feel like they’re somewhere in the middle of their peers. Neither richest or poorest few.

one thing I was told by friends who’d been there was you can always increase the money but it’s almost impossible to cut back without ill feeling and your discretionary spends (e.g. buying them some clothes or a food shop) are also easy to withdraw as time passes.

my DC in 2nd year receives less of the occasional top ups that their younger sibling receives as they’ve got more used to be managing a budget and being independent

No, free membership is included.

I’d say £500 is totally fine! I had similar when I was at uni - accommodation and fees covered and I got a weekend job to pay for food etc for the first 2 years and worked like crazy full time in the holidays to save for going back to uni. In my final year my weekend job fell through and the only jobs I could get impacted on my lectures/studying so my parents gave me £250 a month for food. It felt like a fortune to me at the time and was more than enough! This was over 10 years ago so I’d definitely say £500 now is more than reasonable.

we aren't classed as international for the purpose of tuition fees, so not really

Ah ok. I did think it could perhaps be that.

Give me strength 😂😂😂

I have a few years yet before I have to worry about it. Best get him saving while he's still in school and il definitely expect him to work in some capacity!