The cost of uni

[Seriously79]

I'm not even sure if my kids want to go to uni, but if they do how do we afford it?

I understand that it's based on the family home income. We are quite fortunate that DH (not DS's dad) has a relatively good wage, I work part time to be around for DD4.

Between us we have just over £60,000 a year coming in. But due to car loan, credit card debts, mortgage and life being so damn expensive, we don't have much spare at all.

DS's dad would help out, but I don't think it would stretch far.

I know DS would also have to get a job too.

How do people do it?

Thank you - I understand that Wales is different (as I said) and also know how SFW works as I have a Welsh DC at university and another about to go. We were discussing whether the extra money available for studying in London would help. In Wales a maintenance loan/grant of £15k+ does make London possible, but it's not enough to make a difference to the OP who is in England.

DS has a loan which is about £500 per term short of his accommodation costs. He doesn't have a job, but lives very cheaply. Doesn't go out much, doesn't drink much, not interested in clothes etc. His gran is able to give him £100 pm , and we top it up, and pay the extra needed for accommodation. We're in a better financial position now than we were when his older siblings went to uni, but they got a bigger maintenance loan because the calculations took into account the fact that we had other dependents.
I imagine he could get a job if he was really bothered about being permanently skint.
I'm shocked when I see how much halls cost in some cities- that being said, we paid £116 pw for his first year when a cousin in the same city was paying £160+...
It's worth checking out the cost of accommodation when choosing which uni to go to, and there's a big difference between the cost of an en-suite room in catered halls and shared facilities in self catered halls.

Check bursaries, ds is going yo Sheffield next year, he will get £4500 as he is a carer & £3700ish as he is from Sheffield & only member of his generation of family to go to university & Disabled Students allowance which will pay for a laptop, software, printer etc.

Maybe your DC doesn’t understand about doing work outside contact hours?

I was going to say don't be so bloody patronising then saw it was @TizerorFizz

I didn't say she only got 5 hours contact time but it is low for £9,250 pa. She's a hard worker and I have no doubt she'll do well - and would do so with the uni experience.

We earn similar to you op. You can look at an online maintenance calculator to see what you get. My dds always got roughly enough to cover their accommodation. It's also worth looking at prices while choosing unis as it can vary in different areas. I then sent £150 per month which is £30 a week, enough to get some food in. Dd then worked part time to fund everything else usually earning £100+ pw.

Thinking very very carefully about which university to pick is crucial. More and more employees now recruit blind so have no idea whether an applicant went to a top 20 university for example. Even within the group of top ranking universities the reality is that if you choose London or Bristol or Durham or Bath or St Andrews it’s going to cost you/your child a whole lot more than if they choose a location where it’s cheaper to live like Lancaster, Loughborough, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester.

or pick somewhere where they can commute after the first year. Best of both worlds

@JuneSoon So what’s the issue then? Why the rant? She’s going to smash it so why not be happy about all the experiences she’s having? Money paid doesn’t just go towards tuition does it? We all know that and there’s the issue of subsidizing others on stem courses.

University blind doesn’t mean DC are going to get the job though. Lots of tests and hoops to go through. Paying a bit more for accommodation can be a drop in the ocean in the end if the pay is a lot higher. It depends where you want to work snd what career you want. Some unis very much support the regional economy. Some unis have a lot of London snd SE students who will work in London so they are ok paying a bit more.

DH and I made sacrifices financially to support three through university in seven years, with an overlap for three of those years. Minimum loan, so they lived off that and we paid their accommodation. If any additional money was needed, they took on part-time jobs whilst at uni, or in the holidays. Choosing a northern city was very helpful and the best fun.

The main issue here is that a lot of parents are not aware of how much it may cost to support a young person at university until too late, and that their spending may have to be reined in quite a few years before they start uni. As a parent, I was prepared to make those sacrifices. Now that all three have finished uni, I've never had so much money!

Lots of good points on this thread. Thought I'd add that getting the finance clear before they apply for accommodation can really help them understand it all. With DD we told her she'd get the full grant amount, but that was it. That meant when choosing accommodation she knew how much she'd have a week/ month to live on, so quickly worked out the impact of the much desired en suite. She ditched that idea pronto and has been v. happy in a basic single room!

I think that’s excellent advice - work out the budget and how much money they will be given by parents and loans BEFORE selecting accommodation. Then they take on some responsibility about thinking about where they want to spend the money - woukd they prefer more expensive accommodation and less for other things, or the other way round? It also helps them think about if they want to or need to do paid work - can give better focus in finding a summer job for end of yr13, if it’s to fund an en-suite or whatever.

I think what doesn’t work so well if there’s essentially an open-cheque. Ie choose what you’d most like, regardless of cost, and then we will pay for that and also top you up to whatever you’d like for spends too - via loans and parents contribution.

Thinking about what things cost and how to allocate the money you will have - all really important stuff. Of course, as parents we need to have a handle on this stuff too. I want to be aware of housing costs and uni of choice and make sure what my DC has is sufficient. But I don’t want to give a blank cheque. I’m not sure that helps them grow up and become more indeoendnet, which is a key feature of why going to uni is so valuable.

Totally agree with the last 2 posts.

We had that conversation with our dc at the point of them looking round Universities and choosing where to apply.

The only problem is that many (most) universities don't let you decide the price of your accommodation; you put in preferences, and could end up with something vastly more expensive than you had hoped.

Year 1 accommodation in halls was only 32 weeks. Years 2 & 3 in private accommodation were 52 week contracts so more expensive.

On top of paying her rent shortfall, we give her £500 living expenses. p/m She has a part time job which gives her another £500 p/m

Just out of interest @SlightlyJaded why are you giving her £500pcm when she earns that amount? Surely she doesn't need £1k pcm to live on on?

More and more are staying at home now and going to local universities. My DD has decided to do this which means she doesn't need to worry about rent or food etc. She wasn't particularly bothered about having the "university experience" so it suits her and she can keep her part time job that she has too.

If the max top up is £4500 this is approx £375 per month. Student can easily work weekends in retail/food to earn this amount.

Or during 6th form to save up, gap year and work. Study somewhere they can live at home.

We don’t all have universities at home. Our local(ish) one isn’t offering subjects that most dc want to study. It’s certainly not suitable for very many 6th formers with high grade A levels. Uni experience is besides the point. Getting the degree you need that’s commensurate with A levels is important. Local might be Oxbridge but local might be not very local at all for us rural folk. Plus it might be near the foot of the league tables. If you choose that over a high ranking uni because leaving home is too expensive then it’s a huge shame.

@TizerorFizz obviously in that case the student works part time before or during the degree or takes a gap year, it’s not that hard and 1000s do it

Actually for some degrees it’s not a great idea to stop learning. We have a few village shops and no bus to them. Working isn’t that easy either. For a 4 year degree, and ones with maths, dc need to get on with them. It actually is quite hard. Gap years are not a great idea and working at uni isn’t always possible either and not recommended at some.

Don’t go to uni in London or Bristol would be my first advice!

Dd is now looking at York, which is super expensive and has opened my eyes a bit to potential costs!! The shared bathroom accommodation is cheapest but the cheaper end of the en-suite rooms at 7k are still 2-3k a year cheaper than the high. So I’ve told her she could probably apply for one of the more basic en-suites I was fine with shared it didn’t even occur to me as an issue but she’s a bit different to me. She also has food intolerances and periods from hell so I think it will make a big diff to have a private bathroom if she’s in bigger shared accommodation like York seems to have .

It does depend where though, I think at one point we were looking at Edinburgh and she absolutely would have to have a shared bathroom there I think, but in a smaller shared flat so between less people so that would be fine I think.

I will def lay out the loan amount and work out all the figures with her and she will get less spending money as a result of picking en-suite , I think that’s a good plan. She will have more £ from me than the loan fig though as gluten free food is so ridiculously expensive. And I will pay back her maintenance loan myself as it is needed as it seems unfair she should be in more debt than richer students who get less of the loan and more parental support.

it’s only a few years and I loved uni, I want her to enjoy it. I am a single parent so funds are tight, but I can manage for a few years. She will def have to find work at least on holidays though.

Not a chance she would live at home!

Top up in England from min to max loan is £5460 outside London. So £455 a month. Max loan may not be enough in several areas as rent eats up most of loan.
Courses with a lot of contact hours you’d not be able to earn that each month.
As it’s their debt they should all be able to borrow same. If we were in Wales my dc would be able to borrow more than double her current loan.

I think it is very unfair that students have to choose Uni based on costs
Mine all wanted to go away and we supported that
They all had/ are having a ball

@Motheranddaughter When parents are struggling to meet increased mortgage payments and other costs, squeezing more out for DC is hard if you have not saved up. Many haven’t been able to do this.

Some dc live in towns and cities with great unis. You would not worry if you lived in Bath, Exeter or Nottingham. You would if you lived where we do! I think DC do get a lot from leaving home. Not least making adult decisions without parents hovering. However if you want to live and work in your home city, go to uni there. I notice the grammars here don’t have dc going to the local uni. Look at Sheffield schools and loads stay in Sheffield. Or branch out to Leeds! Different opportunities in different areas.

We live in a city with great Unis