London universities - how much do you too up.

[housinghelp101]

We're in NI, low income and dd is now saying she wants to go to London. She will get the max maintenance loan (£11k ish) but halls accommodation seems to be £10k. Just wondering what you as a parent pay as a top up?

Haven't paid yet, but I am thinking £300-£500/month is likely (Dd now in yr13). We don't qualify for anything, not even the bursaries Imperial offers: you will qualify for financial packages we can't get. Also, does your DD want a course that would give her some spare time to do a paid job?

Yes I would anticipate she can find time for a job. Thankfully she's not a party animal or drinker so I am not factoring those costs in. She is looking at LSE which has a bursary of £3-4k per year. It's just very daunting though and mixed messages online as to how much a London student needs. Definitely could not afford to be sending £300 per month; £100 at a push.

www.imperial.ac.uk/study/ug/fees-and-funding/managing-your-money/living-costs/

This gives you an idea of costs at Imperial for a 39 week course. Not sure if their halls accommodation is cheaper than LSE or if your figures are for a 52 week course.

All I would say is that London is a hugely expensive place to live and if you do not have much money it can be pretty grim. Has she looked at other Universities? Oxbridge is very cheap in comparison (subsidised rent and no transport costs) as are places like Durham and York.

I honestly think that London is best saved for later - post grad or early working life. It can be tough for DC with no family connections nearby.

Have you used this calculator?
www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator

there was a thread on here about other scholarships & funds that some students can tap into.

Keep in mind your local (Queens Belfast?) will have special outreach programmes for low income families. Sometimes there is targeted funding for local low income families that universities can offer. What year is your DD, what course does she want to study?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/3811523-How-much-do-you-give-your-uni-offspring-a-month

Very quickly, thanks for the replies, looking into all of the links.

If she is happy to share a room, LSE is really reasonable. £112 a week for a catered room (6 x evening meals and 1 x brunch). Duvets, pillows, desk lamps etc are all included in the rooms, so less to bring over from NI.

It's possible to live in London on the maintenance loan with a full bursary. The Imperial budget is fairly realistic but don't forget to factor in the cost of travelling home as you are in NI. If your DD works during the long vacation, she should be able to live quite comfortably.

The other thing that you need to budget for is paying a substantial deposit at the end of the first year if she moves into private accommodation for the 2nd/3rd year. The loan and bursary will cover living costs but not the chunk of money to pay a deposit that is tied up for 2 years.

What do you contribute towards now? Clothes, mobile phone? If you can afford to keep paying for those, that will make a huge difference to your DD, she should be able manage comfortably on the loan/bursary of £15k and have a social life.