Can I just check something about Student Loans....

[BertrandRussell]

I thought there was a basic loan that everyone was entitled to regardless of parental income. Is this right?

Yes, standard maintenance loan is just over £3k

Yes. Just under £4K a year. Plus Fees loan which is not means tested.

Yes, that's what I thought- somebody was so insistent last night that I was wrong that I was doubting myself! Thank you!

£3821 in fact. More for London.

£5330 for London (the minimum/regardless of parental income)

Are you thinking about the maintenance loan? This site has a good table (scroll down).

www.savethestudent.org/student-finance/the-big-fat-guide-to-student-finance-2012.html#nutshell

Household Income Maintenance Loan

The rules have changed a bit for those starting Autumn 2016. Previously those with a family income below about £40k would get part loan and part grant. Now it's all loan.
As Littleham says parents with income over £25000 are expected to make it up to the £8200 although you wouldn't think so reading some threads on here.

Existing students stay on the old system. I have one at uni already and one going in September. They have been given slightly different amounts based on identical income figure, presumably because of the changes.

Do these figures include rent? My DS rent in catered hall will be around £6k so does that mean the expectation is that they can live on the balance ie £2,200 or £45 a week (assuming a 48 week agreement in Halls)? This doesn't seem a lot to me if it is to cover books, stationery, laundry, clothes and getting pissed up

The figure is the amount of loan available. It is based entirely on parental income not on the cost of uni accommodation. I guess it's an arbitrary figure set by government.
It's a whole other question as to whether it's enough.
If every student got £8200 in the form of loan / parental top up I suspect some would feel well off and others would feel deprived.
For what it's worth I think if the catered accommodation is properly fully catered (some exclude weekends) it may well be enough to live on if not to have much spare. I don't think many students buy a lot of books these days. DS complains like mad about the cost of laundry though

That's helpful secretsquirrel - it won't be long before we enter negotiations as to spends! We are covering rent, it's the "pocket money" aspect that will be difficult to pitch. It's 7 day catered, with a card with an allowance per day for lunch/snacks at campus outlets so really food doesn't need to come into the equation

homebythesea I have No2 going in September so will roughly base it on what DS1 spent ( I am sad and have kept lists of what stuff he took, what he used and didn't use, how much he spent in the first term / year). He was self catered though.
It was guesswork to some extent, helped by this thread two years ago.
We took the approach of giving him a reasonable amount with the proviso that if it wasn't enough we would increase it and if it was too much we would reduce it.
The first term can bring some one off expenses such as joining clubs, sports societies. Often there is a deposit to be found for second year accommodation. DS spent less in term 2 and even less in term 3.
The second year is different again.

MY DD bought loads of books! If you are doing a subject that requires a lot of reading, you will need your own books. Secondhand maybe available but some books were expensive because they are not selling many of them and were a challenge to source.

Are you sure catered halls is 48 weeks? homebythesea? Have you checked? This would be unusual in my view. Usually term time only, so about 36-40 weeks max. Everyone goes home for the summer.

There is a current thread on "needs" at university and, as you might expect, there are wide variations.

Pocket money is a bit of a misnomer! You need to decide if you or your DC are paying for the phone, clothes, fares home, transport in the city (if needed - but it can be quite an expense in London), toileteries and incidental food (never mind any socialising!). Although dd1 was in a catered hall, they prepared snacks in the small kitchenette. Meals get missed (they like to go out with people from different halls occaionally - with students from their course for example) and late nights usually require a bit of food too! Some sports facilities can be really expensive; £400 plus at my DD's university, but lots joined. There are also gigs, going out with friends and joining in with whatever you fancy! We also paid for one-off expenses such as deposit for flat in Y2.

I had my maintenance loan for spends, about £3k when I was a student. Parents paid for my rent, phone, contact lenses and car insurance/maintenance and gave an extra £100 a month spends. It was loads - to cover food, clothes, utilities, petrol and going out.

I did have to bank accounts and did a weekly bank transfer that I had worked out to cover September to May with a view to working over the summer which was very easy to do because of the huge amount of temporary work in my home town.