Should to pay your child's course fees?

[MollyHuaCha]

Just that really. Students now start repaying their loan once they earn more than £25k per year.

If you can afford to fund your child's course fees and living expenses in order for them to avoid taking out a student loan, should you do it?

Any thoughts...???

. in the UK we had no such 18 year warning, did we?

We didn't have an official warning, no. That said it wasn't hard to see the direction things were going in politically with people being encouraged to buy council houses, have private health care etc etc. Consequently some saved for university fees (I did) assuming that they would be in the pipeline and have been able to make a partial payment of some essentials; some that I know have used the money to pay the rent for halls for the first year as the student loan doesn't cover rent and living expenses even if you get the maximum loan.

My parents did and it took a huge amount of stress out of my life post grad.
Friends paid off their loan about 5 years ago now so the money was appreciated. This wasn't fees back then but living expenses.

Fairy, why is it not possible for people to have a discussion on MN without people being rude.

I don't think it unreasonable to say we have decided to pay. I have been clear that I am taking an economists perspective based on personal utility rather than an accountants. We live on one public sector salary so it does mean belt tightening.

If you and others feel that this is unacceptable bragging, perhaps it is time for me to leave MN.

We are paying the fees for DT’s - don’t want them saddled with a huge debt when they start their professional careers.

I would add that we were foolish enough to book a city centre hotel in Bristol this weekend. Incredibly noisy till very very late and a real mess in the morning. Either a lot of students are very rich or money borrowed at high interest rates is being frittered fast.

Echoing what needsmoresleep has said, I think it also depends on your attitude to debt. I was lucky enough to leave uni with no debt, and I would like to help my children to do the same and start working life debt free.

fairy it's hardly bragging to say you're paying.

In real life the majority of DC's school peers will leave university debt free. So mentioning it would hardly be headline news.

As for whether it's sensible. Well if you don't think you're DC are going to earn 25k by 2047 then you'll be keeping them anyway or they won't be eating.

The truth is asking an 18 to take on a 50k debt is horrendous. And if you can avoid that, then why wouldn't you?

If you can't help with fees, then that's that, but trying to package it as no biggie is really unfair on the younger generation.

it's not bragging to say you are paying

It depends how it is said surely?

Hmmm.

How on earth are you meant to say it? With a humble eyes to the floor gesture?

The OP's question was should you pay the fees. Obviously they will want some responses from people who have or intend to and their reasoning.

If the only voices allowed are those that didn't or are not going to, then it's hardly a discussion/analysis. Especially as many of those couldn't anyway, so it's not as if they made any meaningful choice.

I am in the struggle to pay it off camp.
It will depend if my offspring can bag a decent job , perhaps a house deposit would be money better spent?
Will you pay off the debt -then they marry someone with substantial student debt that would impact finances ?
Will they work part time?
Will the threshold change? Will it always be written off at 30 yrs?
A crystal ball would be very helpful

About 92% of students take the student loan in England. The 8% who don't is probaby about the 8% of us who already paid say £16k+ a year school fees so just increase the pain a bit to fund university in the same way (and work full time).

user, it might depend too on if they might give up work or not earn much when babies come which is still extremely common - look at mumsnet - vast numbers of mothers go part time and once children are at scvhool never really get back into high paid work so will always be under the £25k ceiling. Their interest will rack up but they will never have to repay even the interest if their earnings are under the limit. Ditto if you have a family business children will work in - make sure all 6 children are paid under £25k but pay their school fees and housing costs and I think you avoid any loan repayments etc etc....

I have just decided to keep it simple. My parents enabled me at huge cost to graduate debt free - they made my £50 a year minimum grant up to £900 a year which was a huge amount then (I had no fees though in those days) and I want to do the same for my children and I can afford it - just.

Whether they are spewing the cash up on the streets of their university town at present is another matter. I hope not. I hope they get a reasonable balance of a good 3 years of fun, hobbies and work and 3 years to decide what to do with their lives. iN fact as I have been telling them they need to work backwards. Some employers ask for every module's mark even in year 1. Others require you to get experience at work in the summer holiday after your first year and apply for placements. You cannot just wait until graduation to think of careers.

Culturally, I think most parents in UK think their DC should pay their own way. House deposits have changed that a bit because housing has come out of so many's reach.

However, it is wrong to say only those who are wealthy pay for student's fees/loans. We, with quite a bit of difficulty are trying to pay as DC go along and eventually will pay it off. I think the interest fees are now expensive and we gamble that our DC will be quite well paid - so long term a better choice. Also no way of knowing what will happen to debt repayments in years to come.

Will be so nice if DC can start off without debt. My DC are also very careful with their money - they know an education post 18 costs.

Unless they are going to be a very high earner. No no no no no no

You need to listen to the radio 5 live Martin Lewis pod cast about this and we need to stop thinking of this a debt more a 9% tax on earnings.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02pc9xt/episodes/downloads

Yes, I am absolutely paying for my DC's fees and I'm very fortunate to be able to do so. However, it was important to me that they had a useful degree and a career plan which would mean they would be able to earn enough to support themselves, as well as studying a subject they enjoyed. So the subjects were chosen carefully. I also encouraged them to live at home so their costs are minimal.

I'm doing the same my parents did for me, and I am so, so grateful to them because it meant I didn't have to have that debt hanging over me. My DH was not so lucky and I remember groaning when he got a bonus as so much of it went on his student loan! Thankfully he was able to pay it off by 30 but during our 20's it sure was a pain.

However, it was important to me that they had a useful degree and a career plan which would mean they would be able to earn enough to support themselves, as well as studying a subject they enjoyed. So the subjects were chosen carefully. I also encouraged them to live at home so their costs are minimal.

Now if that was the deal I'd MASSIVELY resent that - I certainly wouldn't feel grateful! What would you have done if your dc had said their absolute passion was to do fine art 200 miles away? Would you have said no?

I'm also a fan of moving away....

But if they only earn 30k per year on the current deal they’ll pay back 900 a year for 30 years and then its written off

If you paid 10k off it they’d still pay 900 per year for 30 years and it’s written off

You really should only pay the fees if they are going to be big earners otherwise you’d just giving the government money they wouldn’t get otherwise.

And now they’re changing the amount to earning over £25k a whole load more people will never ever get close to paying the full amount.

So I’d really look into it fully before blindly paying anything off. Much better putting that money to a house deposit or car.

titchy They'd be very unlikely to say that as live in London! None of my DC's local friends who are able to live at home have moved away for uni, so they are in good company. So many great unis and conservatoires to choose from here.

The majority of students in LSE, UCL, RADA etc do not live at home.

I'm assuming mine will earn £60k - £100k+ for most of 30 or 40 years of working life actually.... so my decision to ensure they graduate debt free is probably sensible and even Martin Lewis would agree in such a case.

I can afford to ensure they don't have the extra 9% tax so I am happy to do that but it is not on the basis they have to pick high paid work. The youngest 2 don't know what they will do yet.

For most people this is not an issue and tehy can't afford to help and that's fine. People manage. Parents should just decide their own views and what if anything they can afford. My son at Bristol says most people have the loan.

We do too - I'm encouraging mine to go elsewhere! FWIW I think the student experience in London is quite poor, as seen in NSS results.

Carl, No. But then only about 25% of LSE students are from the UK.

What has always been the case is that minority students (Jewish, South Asian etc) have often lived at home because cultural traditions are that you live at home till you marry. And London based students often move home in their second or third years because home is as comfortable as shared flats, and social life tends to be College rather than hall based.

The big difference now seems to be the drinking. Poor DD got about 10 hours sleep last week, yet 30 hours contact time and 9.00am lectures most mornings. The poor girl was so tired she was dropping. If we lived nearby I think she would move home till it all calmed down.

The majority of students in LSE, UCL, RADA etc do not live at home.

That's true. But not everyone at unis in London are actually from London or have parents able to house them in London rent free! Those that do, more often than not, take advantage of it. My DC are really happy to stay at home.