DD starting uni, what to do about money/accommodation?

[whatIforgottoday]

DD1 holds a conditional place to Durham for October and has had her maintenance loan confirmed at £5000.

Her accommodation is £7000 a year so DH and I assumed that the £5000 would cover her accommodation and then pay the extra £2000 needed, she would then live off a monthly allowance of £250 from her grandparents.

However DD feels the £250 a month is too little (accommodation is catered too) and wants to keep the maintenance loan for living (i.e. Clothes, going out) DD will probably get a job in the second year but would like to have a break from working in her first year (has worked every Saturday since the age of 14)

Would any of you mind telling us what you do regarding finance/are planning on doing so we can get a better idea?

Thanks

mum we didn't keep DS's loan for ourselves. He wanted to make sure that his accommodation was paid for. He gets the minimum, we have to top it up so it made sense that it came to my account and I paid it with however much we needed to make the full amount.

On the basis that every little helps, it is worth reading a University's information about fee payment options. DS is able to pay by credit card, so DH pays on his card and gets loyalty points. An early payment reward used to be offered, though won't be available next year, which would have been attractive had we had the savings to cover the fees in advance. DS will also get a 10% alumni discount if he stays on to do his Masters, something which very definitely went into the equation when considering where to go next.

DS is able to pay by credit card, so DH pays on his card and gets loyalty points.
That's a great tip, than you! I buy just about everything on my credit card (obviously paying off in full every month) if it doesn't cost extra, and have made great use of my Tesco points.

thank

I have seen 2 sons through uni. One did 6 years of medicine. They both got the minimum in maintenance loan which they used to pay accommodation. The first year in uni accommdation is more expensive and so the maintenance loan goes futher in private rented. However the maintenance never covered all the cost of the rent. We paid for the short fall for both of them for their rent and as they were both there at the same time, it was quite costly. We also paid for their deposits on their accommodation. My eldest could not work as the medicine degree is quite demanding. We then gave them £250 a month to feed themselves and for any living costs. I would buy them clothes periodically too. When they started at uni I bought supermarket gift vouchers and paid for a bus pass, so at least I knew they could not waste money and would be fed as well as get home safely. Once I saw they were managing their money I stopped the vouchers. My daughter is due to go to uni this year and not sure if she will manage her money as well as the boys!

Dd2 - I pay rent and give her £250 a month when she's away - she temps in the summer. My dad sends both girls at university a few hundred a year, bit by bit, which is very sweet of him. She has saved her maintenance money (£3800) because dd1 has learnt the hard way that her MSc doesn't come with a maintenance grant.

Luckily I have only this year of overlap - dd1 took a year out after her law degree to work and travel and saved up funds that have helped her this year. Ds works and we have a few years respite before dd3.

If our circumstances change, dd2 will use her maintenance money.

Don't even get me started on the rip off interest rates - dd1 left with a loan of £27k when she graduated in 2015 (we wanted to avoid interest on the maintenance loan so didn't claim it) and it's already £33k ish. AND she's now got a 10k PG loan on top of that. And in the weeks she was earning over the threshold in her data entry gap year job, she's already paid some off. Shocking, demoralising and utterly depressing.

Ds went to hild bede which was fully catered and barely needed to spend anything extra.£250 pm is ample!

We paid accommodation and DS had loan to live off. We didn't want him to have to work during term time so that he could spend his time on his studies.

By the way anyone older who is earning nad had a loan HMRC have just issued or updated guidance on your student loan and your tax return
www.gov.uk/guidance/tell-hmrc-about-a-student-loan-in-your-tax-return and on the different plan types and interest rates
www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan/what-you-pay

I work in HE and think your daughter should count her blessings that you and her grandparents are helping her so much if she wants extra she always has the option of a pt job.
Many of our students only receive the £5000 which doesn't even cover accommodation uncatered and they have to work part time just to make ends meet literally and live in poverty for three years.
You could ask SFE what the maximum maintenance loan is for a single student with a household income of £25,000. I can't remember what the maximum is now but it think it won't be anymore than 7-8 k and I explain to your DD that she is actually remarkably well off.

NB with working many students work up to 15 hours term time without it impacting on their studies we also encourage students bank account with an interest free overdraft, to budget carefully and to use the student overdraft as a back up should they need it. Many budgeting apps out there.

We have always paid the accommodation costs (for DS and now DD), and left them the student loan to live off - books, travel, clothes and going out! DD gets about £1,300 per term student loan. She can't do part time work for health reasons, and we preferred DS to put all his energy into his studies anyway, rather than end up with a lower grade.

I graduated from Durham last year. £250 a month is more than plenty especially if in catered college. I was in a non-catered college and lived on £200 a month and was fine. I budgeted £20 a week for food, £20 for sport/fun and the remaining £10 was saved for extras throughout the year such as for summer ball. I did have money from working summer holidays but I didn't work during term time however I am now working during my masters and it is definitely doable.

Most people I know did the same, used their loan to cover/part cover accommodation and then top up whatever was needed and then had an allowance for food/fun

Jeez. My dd will
Get under £4K. That's to cover accommodation and food and parking and going out. Which means we'll be paying for her food and parking and any going out
She's certainly not having that for spends!
Surely only rich folk can afford to pay out £450 odd a month and let them keep the loan?

£250 is more than enough at Durham. It's not a big party town. If you want to be generous you could take on her mobile phone and club subs, maybe ball tickets.
Remember she'll be with other students- most of whom won't be on less or as much money.

Watching with interest as our only child DS hopefully goes off in September. Minimum loan of £3800, accommodation costs in excess of that even for unwatered ( Sheffield).

I had hoped to be able to afford to pay accommodation and then leave the loan for living costs , not sure if we can afford it though.....

Given the basic loan is £3,900 and the maximum £8,400, the EXPECTATION is that for kids on the basic, parents will top up to the £8,400, which is £450 a month over 10 months.... obviously a lot can't or don't, but it's a reasonable rule of thumb imo.

And also why I've started Matched Betting

TheMightyMing
Watching with interest as our only child DS hopefully goes off in September. Minimum loan of £3800, accommodation costs in excess of that even for unwatered ( Sheffield)

There is plenty of cheap accommodation in sheffield if you don't go into halls. Has your DS any other friends who are going to Sheffield. One of my DC shared a house close to the Uni for £58 a week. It wasn't the smartest place but there was nothing wrong with it - everything worked and it was in good repair.

That's a massive saving over halls. I get it's a different experience but if people are really struggling financially it is an option.

Don't rule out the more expensive cities. Good Universities will want to attract the top students and are aware of the problems. At my son's graduation last week I think the claim was that a quarter of all UK students received financial support from the University on top of loans. A friend of DD's who is at another London University receives sufficient support from the University to live in hall, even though his family live within commuting distance.

If the figures don't quite add up, or a student is having to make compromises (commuting, part time work) that might impact on the quality of their degree, it is worth approaching the University to see if support can be found. Equally it is worth a good student considering giving a line on a UCAS form to a top London University, and if they gain a place, looking for additional support.

(Graduation was lovely. DS' peers were bright, interesting and international. Over half on his course are staying on to take a Masters, which suggests a reasonable level of student satisfaction, beyond that claimed in various tables.)

Likki I think halls for the first year at least - but good to know that options for later years are affordable.

A first year student would be mad not to go into halls in Sheffield. It would be very silly! It's relatively cheap there and making friends is very important. Subsequent years is a different matter. Sheffield and LSE are not really comparable. Look at the entry qualifications required.

I agree with titchy re parental funding. It's the minimum. It also depends what your cohort does re entertainment, phone costs, sport, clothes, transport costs etc. £20 a week for entertainment wouldn't even buy coffees for some students!

Bubbles yes definitely halls for year 1 - as I said ideally I'd like to pay accommodation and then give him the loan to live on, topped up with a part time job. I think it's doable but we will have to tighten our belts somewhat.

TheMightyMing Not directly related but as the mum of another hopeful Sheffield student I just wanted to let you know that there is a FB group of 'University of Sheffield Applicants 2017-2018' that my ds has found to be friendly and supportive to get that early support network.

Bubbles, the point was that Universities do have bursary funds for those who might otherwise struggle to go, though I was surprised to hear that at some places the number is as high as 1 in 4. I assume Sheffield will also have some, they certainly have scholarships. A friend of DS got one. Sheffield has some very strong departments. I think it is a mistake to judge the University as a whole, as if there is a single set of entry requirements.