Cost of kids at university

[MumofCandR]

I have 2 kids one may be in university in around 4 years and the other in 6 years. I'm trying to estimate how much to save up to help them through and I can't work out what's a reasonable amount. We are high earners so would only qualify for the minimum grants/ loans. I currently spend around 125 each a month on clubs and similar each on food. Clothes probably average 50 month each so probably 300 month spend per child that we won't have when they're at university. Did you contribute more when they went to University and was this significantly more? I'm thinking it's probably going to be 800-1000 month per child on top of maximum loans, does that seem reasonable?

DD gets £250 a month from a combination of us and grandparents. She’s on the minimum loan, in the cheapest halls and I top that up by £300 a year. Her loan pays for her accommodation. I also pay her phone and tickets when she comes home. After being made redundant, ironically from a university, and having four other kids who will be at university at the same time we can’t afford anything else. She’s got three different PT jobs and puts half of her wages into savings.

Hi is that £1,000 month over 10 months or 12? I was thinking about something along these lines, give them enough for basics and rent, so they only take out the tuition loans.

We topped up to the maximum loan which currently will be circa £500 a month though be aware in halls fees are termly so you will need to help more upfront. Some universities are more costly than others and some dc choose more expensive housing. One of my DD’s had sponsorship so she cost me far less thankfully

Obviously they will need to get jobs as teenagers and save up, plus work at university and in the holiday.

For households where help will be difficult, a gap year working is a good idea, one of my DD’s did this and even paid her fees for year one out of it reducing her loan. Often if it’s hospitality they can pick up work when back in the holidays or in their university city. My friends grandson started working in the local pub, they have promised him shifts at Christmas when he goes to university in September, fortunately universities are off at their busiest times!

I’m paying £10k pa for Dd. This covers her accommodation. Her course has high contact hours and she plays sport for the university which has training at weekends so it’s not possible for her to work

It’s cost us 5k a year. Dd gets a bit of maintenance loan. We also pay for her phone. Thankfully youngest dc didn’t go and got a job.

DD has had 3 jobs since being at uni, the latest is a zero hours contract, but some months she only works 8 ir 12 hours which doesnt make a massive difference, to her finances.

Just replying to this to say that you sound amazing. Foster child, in uni, with a good family relationship, still supporting them after 18. Your family sounds lovely 🥰

Wow, it can really mount up for some.

Of your extras, my ds will stay with his NHS dentist at home, so free for the first year and then about £20 a year for a check up, I can't remember the last time he went to a gp so no prescriptions, his sight is fine, his uni is cycle-friendly, and he works as a life guard so he gets swimming & gym free.

I have factored in £220 for a Men B jab though.

The killer for us was deposit season... sometime, quite early on, just after Xmas in Y1, we had to find deposits for both kids for their second year accommodation.

And prepare to be a guarantor for a handful of unknown kids unless you can stump up 6 months rent in advance. I know individual guarantor contracts exist, in the same way I know narwhal exist... just never actually seen one... (2 kids, 5 letting agents over the years.)

Ds is currently in his final year. We top up from minimum to maximum lan which equates to £5,782 per year. If he was in London it would be just over £7,000 per year.

he pays for his own phone, travel etc etc

My eldests uni halls were 1025 per month two years ago. She had her nursing bursary she used for day to day living but still needed to give her extra, maybe an extra 2 to 300 per month. That's Glasgow. Thankfully she decided after first year to travel.

If you intend to fund them from cash savings, you will need £70k put aside - tuition not included.

DD gets the minimum loan, which doesn’t cover accommodation, so we top that up. We then give her £60pw food money only when she is at uni. When she’s at home she eats what’s in the fridge. We also pay for her gym and phone, but I don’t think she actually uses the money for gym
membership! I estimate that all costs £5500pa
I pay for her hair cuts and any special clothes like expensive dress for events (don’t ask!)
Everything else she works Sundays and holidays to pay for. She’s on a very demanding course, with about 40 contact hours per week and still manages to work and earn an average of £100 pw, so that’s at least another £5000.
All in all, including her loan, she’s burning through £15000pa

Whether it’s £10k or £12k it’s unlikely to be enough if you’re not doing maintenance loans.

Halls were about £9k, now in private rented which is same cost without bills.

agree with @ChubbyPuffling never seen an individual TA, they all make you jointly liable and deposit season is indeed brutal. Also most rents are paid quarterly in advance (so I’ve just paid £7k to keep them in accommodation through to end June).

My eldest is currently doing her GCSEs, and I have been blunt in that she will likely to have to take a gap year or attend the local university as we are not in a financial position to shell out much more than what she currently costs us. Numbers being quoted on here are out of our reach.

Oh God no! I'd never be a guarantor on a contract for other kids. Not a chance. Friend got stung for £6k of repairs doing this, after one student trashed a house.
Your DC may think there are no other options but there really are. They just need to be more proactive in finding accom as the individual contract houses go quickly (and there's a good reason for that).

I feel sad saying this but I think the glory days of "uni bring a rite of passage" are well and truly over for many.
I'd get them to honestly re evaluate whether their future career really requires a degree and whether there is an apprenticeship route into that job as an alternative to student debt.
DD is 28, earns well, but is paying £300+ a month back to student finance as she did a masters after her undergraduate and therefore pays two lots of finance.
Her siblings also have first class honours degrees but took apprenticeship routes and pay back nothing.
I've also seen many teenagers come home half way through uni after crashing out on life. I've also seen even more who got degrees in photography, art, literature and psychology, now working minimum wage jobs as there just aren't enough degree level jobs in those fields.

As others have said, it varies massively.

Mine went to a northern uni so the rent wasn’t too bad once they were out of halls. We topped up their rent which cost us about 3k a year, then we gave them £50 a week on their monzo card for food, but that was a few years ago and food has gone up a lot.

Also, ours wasn’t a party animal and didn’t spend loads going out, plus he had a supermarket holiday job which topped up his funds and he would use that for gig tickets/holidays etc. He also cooked from scratch so it was cheaper than buying convenience foods/take away like a lot of his friends did.

My DD, if she gets her grades, is off to a Uni that is cheaper to be at & offers substantial bursaries.
Im on a very low wage so she will take out max loans - which worries me sick, but it is what it is, if she ends up at her 2nd choice, she'll have to beg for a deferment & work a gap year.

On my way to work there are 2 new huge blocks of student accom going up (in s City that is stretched for housing), its a great Uni, but anyone we know from here going local is living at home. With the drop off in international students I look at it & think "who's going to bloody live in it!?"

Its all very nerve wracking, tuition loans are leaving Uni's reliant on a smaller & smaller pool of internationals, maintainence loans even at max sometimes dont cover rent & the grad employment market is dire & the repayments huge.

I really feel for parents struggling to make up the difference. It must be painful to say to your bright excited young person "sorry - I know its the best course/ the campus/big city experience you wanted, but you cant go because of costs"

I dont know what the answer is but its clear the whole thing needs overhauling.

@ChubbyPufflingbeing guarantor for other peoples kids. A big no from me! We’ve been guarantor for oldest for quite a number of years now but she is very conscientious. She has lived with some people who just dumped their guarantors in the 💩 though. It’s absolute craziness to act as guarantors for strangers!

Thanks to everyone who's responded, a lot of food for thought and gives me something I can plan with.

They will need the maintenance loan on top of the fees loan. It’s not real debt as it can be written off eventually. Halls (or rent/bills etc in y2-4) will cost £10k pa. We pay that and DD lives on the £6500 ish she gets in the maintenance loan. DS will do the same from Sept, so we’ll have 2x£10k for 3 more years. DH hoping he has a job for that period before retiring, but we’ve been setting aside money over the last 5 years in preparation. We don’t think we’ll be able to help if they stay on to do PHDs, so they will have to consider living at home/with family at that stage. Or get fully funded places.

You often dont really get a choice. No one wants to. You are responsible as guarantor for your child's liabilities. That is basically what you sign up to.
Your child's contract will contain the jointly and severally liable clause.
We were lucky, Dds always chose friends well.