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

I think £500 will make your sons uni time comfortable. Food £200 per month, travel £100 (probably wont be anything like this as there will be travel cards available I’m sure in Brighton) £200 social life. Will you be helping him out with any clothing he needs and travel expenses when he comes home ?
I very much believe that students need a budget but not be left to struggle. The stresseS of uni are often enough. My DS is at uni, he only pays for accommodation for 30 weeks per year but has to empty his room at the end of each term (apart from a locked cupboard he can use). His schedule is full on whilst at uni so apart from food and any formal dinners he attends his spending is almost nothing.

Me too so I worked over the weekends - no afternoon off either.

Loads of money and if he needs more tell him to get a job like my kids and their friends do.

Did you rob a bank?

Honestly, enough with the competitive Four Yorkshiremen misery stories.

We give DS £200 per month plus I pay for his phone.

I'm not sure why people are making such a big deal about the 500quid here. If you go on the Martin Lewis site it calculates how much as parents you need to give to match the maximum loan. It isn't difficult! In our case it is about £500.

The minimum loan doesn't even cover accommodation. So DS pays for everything out of the loan plus the 500 which we give all year, not just term time.

A CHILD at uni??!

My parents gave me nothing. They paid my rent and I used a loan/part time job for the rest. That seemed normal with my friends too.

If they paid your rent they didn't give you nothing! Yes, of course it's normal. OP's dc won't get a loan though which is why she is giving money on top of rent.

Yes, I'm sure it is normal that patents financially contribute to their child going to university, just as your parents did for you. You are right there.

The whole point of the OPs post is that her child isn't getting the loan that you got.

That's what we are doing.

We give our dd 'nothing' which is roughly £130 a week for 40 weeks.

I just think my dc are fortunate that we can afford to support them. How many bright kids are missing out on the opportunity of going to uni because their parents can't afford to support them? The courses with full time unpaid internships can only ever be for the wealthier, although I did know an unpaid intern vet nurse who worked at the vet full time in the day and did her paid work at Tesco at night.

@Tempnamechng I wonder about this too. It’s probably those kids in the ‘middle’ who are most affected. Minimum loan (which doesn’t even cover rent) and parents who are unable to top it up.

There is such a clear discrepancy between the moneyed and those who are not so fortunate. I want to blame Thatcher but in fact, I see tuition fees to be paid by students were introduced by the Blair government in 1998, and student maintenance grants were abolished by the fragrant then Chancellor, George Osborne, in 2015. Equal university opportunities for all, my foot.

I think many people in the middle have saved up particularly if they have a degree themselves. Parents have always had to contribute if not on a low income.

It's nothing to do with loans. Even when there were grants, the amount students received depended on parents income. Many received 0 pounds so a degree was impossible if parents didn't contribute.

OP my children were at university over 20 years ago but I completely agree with your premise on ensuring that your son has a stress free first year. You may well find in 2nd year accommodation will be cheaper as he shares with friends but being so far from home, not a quick train ride home, you are right to ensure he is comfortable. Finding work as a student isn't as easy as many people suggest and you can't rely on it happening. I'm sure your son will appreciate your love and support and hopefully have a successful time at his chosen university.

Usually, yes but there have been a lot of threads here recently about the cost of living, mortgage rate increases resulting in much larger payments, people using up their savings etc.
All from posters who have good household incomes ( normal good not mn good). So I think this is definitely an issue for some.

Apologies I didn’t read that they can’t get a loan. Yes, I’m v grateful they paid my rent (I always went for the cheapest room though, approximately £60 week)

For what it’s worth, I managed to work 2 part time jobs on a nursing degree. At 18/19/20 you can get used to minimal sleep & function well enough to do this

I’m not sure why you need to take that tone. I apologise, I didn’t read about the no loan rule! I meant nothing in terms of pocket money. Of course I’m grateful to the rent.

It's to do with both tuition fees and lack of grants. Means-testing for grants affected the wealthier families.

The students from families with a low oncome can get enough student loan to live on (just about). The most disadvantaged are those whose parental income is relatively high so they receive the minimum loan but the parents don't contribute the expected amount.

I’m not sure why you need to take that tone. I apologise, I didn’t read about the no loan rule! I meant nothing in terms of pocket money. Of course I’m grateful to the rent.

It's the fact that you said your parents gave you nothing that is agitating people.

Then you say they paid your rent.

Not that you didn't read the crucial information that the OP's son isn't getting a loan, although this is also vexing as that's why she's posting in the first place.