To be worried about university fees?

[ChoresChoresChores]

I had a ‘discussion’ with my partner last night about my worries about money. One of which is the upcoming potential cost of university. My DS is nearly 17 so uni costs are very much on the horizon. For his best chance at a career he will need to be in a city in order to make connections and get potential work experience. I also have another 2 child both of whom are going to want to go to University.

Because of their ages there will be 2 years where I have 2 children at Uni.

I’m trying to cut costs, save as much as I can but I’ve been told I’m unreasonable because their loans will cover what they need. I know from calculators that this is simply not true and that they also only qualify for minimum help because of my earnings (not higher rate tax but top end).

So realistically if you have kids heading towards uni, how much are you expecting to have to subside them? Am I crazy for actually worrying? I full expect them to get jobs in fact the 2 oldest are both currently working.

Well 17 is late to start thinking about it but your best bet is to start saving hard now and get your young working where they can.

Two of mine went to uni, they worked and saved before they went, and they worked PT while there too. We paid their accommodation and phone. They lived off the loan and their wages.

You can get a loan for the fees, it's the living costs that are harder to cover. Your child will need to know how much you can top up by and choose places where that will cover accommodation and living costs, they vary hugely. If it is totally unaffordable, then a gap year to work and save.

They have to work at uni really and help themselves. It is a stretch without a doubt and yes you will have to help out but get dc in a position where they have skills to offer in the job market in their uni towns then they will have a chance. Ds did some not great jobs but he did do them and it really helped out.

Student finance will not cover everything at all. It's crippling us to be honest.

DD gets the minimum loan due to our wages. So I think gets 4.8k a year. Her rent is £900 a month. Which does include bills and laundry.

So we are paying the rent. The idea was that she's live off the 4.8k a year but she seems totally unable to do that. She spent her first maintenance loan installment by early Nov and had nothing. There's no jobs about either. So now we're having to give her £95 a week to live off on top of the £900 a month. She does have extra costs as she needs to buy materials for her course and she has coeliac disease so her food is a bit more expensive

The minimum loan is predicated on parents topping up to maximum loan, so your partner is wrong. There are ways around it, like having a gap year to save money etc but the basic assumption of the system is that parents with earnings that cause a minimum loan to contribute.

I think it’s suggested £500 per month top up if your earnings are too high to get the bigger loan. Lots of kids save up some of this themselves through part time work whilst at school and also either in the holidays whilst at uni or during the uni terms. My DCs are very young but we started saving for them when they were born.

As I said both are working and I fully expect that to carry on. This isn’t something I’ve just started thinking about, it’s been a worry for years but I think generally the cost of Uni has also massively gone up and while they do have some savings, I’m aware it probably won’t cover everything. I’m basing my worry purely on their living costs as loans will cover tuition. I’m trying to work out what the average cost expectation per month is.

This. Just take a look on the calculator. The max loan is £10k odd for living expe ses so bear in mind that most unis say you need between £12-14k to live. So there's always a shortfall, it just depends how much.

Tuition loans are covered in full, they pay it back when they’re earning over 25k (I think!) - maintenance loan is 4800ish for the minimum - depending where your kids go, halls range between 4-10k so a big difference. Average seems to be around 7k per year, but that doesn’t include food for most of them. You’re ‘expected’ to top up that amount to the full loan amount which is just under 11k - so basically it’ll cost you roughly 6k per year. However you also need to factor in deposits for 2nd/3rd yr accommodation and also paying for it over the summer when they aren’t even living there.
you’ll save a bit of money with them not being at home which should go towards it (eg your food bill should go down, plus water / petrol etc if you drive them around a lot, 6th form bus fare and so on) but yes it’s still a lot of money to find each month. I will have 2 from September so around 1k a month minimum to find! Both mine work to help pay for things but it’s still a lot of money. we don’t have much in savings so it comes out of my wages each month - I keep reminding myself it’s only 5 years and then I’ll feel rich again. Good luck!

accommodation costs also vary hugely - my ds was at Warwick and lived in Coventry in years two and three and it was all pretty reasonable. Dd is at Bath which is much more expensive so definitely worth researching these costs in terms of university choices. A gap year to earn money to help with costs is also an option.

Martin Lewis is very good on this:
blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2025/09/five-student-need-to-knows/

You will need to bear in mind that it is not always possible to get a job at Uni. Either because the course is too full on or because of difficulty finding a job. Obviously it’s easier in some University locations to find work. But I’ve read of people having to stop uni because they can’t find one. Some unis are consolidating contact hours to allow people the time to work

My son is going in September 2026 and having a gap year now working. We're planning to pay his halls and then he will use loan (minimum) and job for his living expenses. Luckily he has picked an affordable city. You almost need to work backwards of what you can afford to contribute and then look at accommodation fees etc

Ds1 is currently at university. He gets the maximum loan, PIP and he works during the holidays. We don't give him money but we go up to visit him regularly and do a supermarket shop for him whenever we see him.

We encouraged ds to have a gap year and work before going to university. Ds2 wants to go as well but the others aren't keen at the moment, although that could change.

Please don’t listen to MN on this subject. You’ll have loads of rich families saying they pay all expenses and give them a thousand pounds a month on top to socialise, and others who struggle just to top up the loan to the maximum, and those children manage. It’s positive that your DCs are used to part time work, that will definitely be an advantage to them.

You can only do what you can do and if you can’t afford it, he’ll have to go somewhere cheaper. That’s life.

Check the accommodation costs and availability for all the years, not just the first year. We pay the accommodation, phone and clubs subscription. We top up a bit, and pay for train fares home. We are in debt. My dc wouldn't have gone to uni, but there weren't any apprenticeship degrees. In hindsight, he should have gone into the army and done his degree.

Jobs are hard to come by for uni students and everyone else and the recent budget has made it harder.

You need to be honest with your children, your 17 year old ASAP, about how much you can afford to fund them.

They can work before and alongside their degrees to contribute to their living expenses too. If they’re planning on degrees where you can’t work (e.g nursing) then they may need to take a gap year to work full time and save.

It is expensive.I’d get them to factor in rent costs in y2 and beyond when choosing a Uni. Even if you top up the 4.6k minimum loan to around 10k, this will not cover accommodation in most Unis.
A friend is paying over £10k just for rent for her eldest in Exeter which is much more than they had planned for.

Yes MN is funny on the topic. I’ve seen claims before that students will be forced to turn to sex work if their parents don’t top them up past maximum loan!

My DS worked for 2 years so saved up and started a degree apprenticeship when he was 20. The discipline that your DS wants to study may not be available as they are limited. They are fiercely competitive. He has just graduated, no student debt, guaranteed job at 40k and he was earning whilst training. It is not for the faint hearted at all though.

DH and I worked in higher education for many years and we both had to do stints doing admissions. I would advise a year or two out to earn money plus they tend to do better when a little older and they may be more sure of what they want to study. I retrained in my twenties having started life nursing at 18. I had always wanted to be a nurse but the reality is it wasn’t for me.

My son is in his 3rd year at uni, and his loan is £6000 per year, which basically covers his rent. I give him £60 per week.

He’s worked the last 3 summers, saving up enough to keep him going.

You can look ahead now for accommodation costs. Some are flat rate like Durham with adjustments for sharing or en-suite. Other unis have massive variety of costs so my child's uni range is from £123 per week for first year halls of residence up to £250 pwk. My child was in an en-suite room at £207pwk for 40 weeks.

What they then spend their money on varies by wants, needs and course equipment. Ds1 didn't need any course materials, Ds2 is in his second year and needed a £57 textbook so far.

Laundry is about £5.50 for a wash and tumble dry for one load. They probably need 2 loads to include bedding and bathroom towels. Food varies massively, Ds2 spends £38-£40 a week at the supermarket (he has a spreadsheet) he does eat salmon, chicken, sausages which will push the price up.

No travel costs as it is too far to come home for a weekend. Then there are things like phone contract, we pay £10 a month sim only deal. Amazon Prime, Netflix, Spotify, gym membership, takeaways, socialising etc.

It is best to look at this now, talk to your Ds about it and see what his expectations are. I think it is something like 60% of students work. Ds1 could not have worked due to his timetable but Ds2 has far less contact hours.

Lots of children work over the summers before uni and save hard. At the end of the day you can only afford what you can afford. He only qualifies for the minimum loan so talk to him about that and then show him accommodation costs.

As for needing to be in a city no he doesn't, he can look for summer internships in his home town which is exactly what Ds1 did so he could live here and not have to pay rent and food over the summer and he now has a graduate job still in our hometown.

Your partner is wrong that the loan will cover him, it is about £4.8k and the £123 per week accommodation is just above that. Then they need to eat food and do laundry as the bare minimum.

My son has taken a gap year and is saving up to bridge the gap between loan and rent and we are going to share that gap with him 50/50. Its an unknown figure as some unis halls are 7.5k and other 9k. He gets the minimum loan..

We will give him £60 a week. Which is basically what we spend on food an toiletries at home so its neutral.

I’ve been told I’m unreasonable because their loans will cover what they need

How can anyone think that? The very fact that the loan amount is based on parental income shows that clearly a parental contribution is expected.

But no one can give you a firm amount. Some unis are more expensive (just more expensive cities), they might get allocated more expensive accommodation, they might be able to get a job to fit round studying or they might not, they might have a job now and can save up a bit themselves etc