Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

How much allowance do you give your student dc to live on per week

255 replies

FlamingHot · 20/05/2021 16:27

Or per month? Dd’s halls of residence and course fees will be covered by us and student loads.

We’re not sure how much she’ll need for food/nights out etc. Her halls will be self catered only.

Thanks!

OP posts:
Iggii · 20/05/2021 20:25

My older sibling got a full grant and housing benefit, income support in the summer holidays. I felt badly off by comparison!
(Though very grateful for my parents' help)

Howshouldibehave · 20/05/2021 20:35

@Iggii

I got £400 a month back in 1993 and it was barely enough then (self catering)
Blimey! I went in 1993 as well and had £130 a month to live off-it was plenty!
Original poster
FlamingHot · 20/05/2021 23:49

Ah, ok, I think I need to find out more about loans first so I can find out what she will get. I think she's unlikely to get a job while she's there. She has ASD and ADHD, just getting through day to day will be draining so I don't think she'll have the energy for a job too. She's terrible at managing her money - not a bean of common sense - so finances are a bit of a worry!

OP posts:
RevolvingPivot · 20/05/2021 23:56

I got nothing I had to work all weekend and study all week

darkpink · 21/05/2021 00:01

Zero. And she's managing to save.

MrsPsmalls · 21/05/2021 00:04

You are expected to make it up to the amount of the full loan surely, as parental income decides what the loan should be. So look up the full amount that the least well off student would get, some of which may be a bursary if routinely given out to less well off students at that uni and make it up to the same amount.

Pinchoftums · 21/05/2021 00:07

@Iggii you must be joking. £400 a month from your parents over and above rent?
I worked at uni in 1995 and earn about £80 ;a week which covered food and drinks, used my grant to pay my rent and saved my loan for travelling each summer.

Apileofballyhoo · 21/05/2021 00:12

Can't believe £400 per month wasn't enough in 1993. I went in 94, in Ireland and had loads on IR£40 a week.

MyDcAreMarvel · 21/05/2021 00:12

@FlamingHot has she applied for pip, dsa, she will get extra loan if she gets pip.

Original poster
FlamingHot · 21/05/2021 00:18

@MyDcAreMarvel - I'm not sure. She has registered herself with disability services and provided them with proof of her diagnoses. She does know about DLA but I'm not sure if she's applied for it. I don't know what PIP is?

OP posts:
user1487194234 · 21/05/2021 06:25

We pay £1000 per month
This covers his rent as well ,he doesn’t take a loan
Still pay phone,contact lens,essential clothing
My parents give him £500 a month

user1487194234 · 21/05/2021 06:29

Sorry £500 a termSmile

Iggii · 21/05/2021 07:21

I lived somewhere expensive in my defence

Bagelsandbrie · 21/05/2021 07:52

[quote FlamingHot]@MyDcAreMarvel - I'm not sure. She has registered herself with disability services and provided them with proof of her diagnoses. She does know about DLA but I'm not sure if she's applied for it. I don't know what PIP is?[/quote]
Pip is the adult version of dla. Children under 16 have dla and adults over 16 have pip.

LIZS · 21/05/2021 08:19

@FlamingHot DSA is different to DLA . She needs to tock the box on SF application to trigger it and the uni support service will help her with arranging relevant Needs Assessments.

Fireflygal · 21/05/2021 08:26

I paid for essentials such as food, travel home, rent, basic phone contract.

They worked in first year and summer to top up for beer money & clothes. This encouraged some responsibility but I knew they would be fed.

Sit down and work out a budget for going.. list everything they might spend and then factor any money they can get.

EileenGC · 21/05/2021 08:46

Starting 2015 I initially had £200-250 a month on top of rent, but I was not entitled to the maintenance loan (EU student). Food, clothes, transport, socialising all came out of that budget. My parents occasionally paid for the odd flight home, although they were all £20 returns with Ryanair, and for my contact lenses every 6 months. When I started wanting more money I got a job. That was London, £250 would be tight but enough for food and other basic stuff.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 21/05/2021 08:48

@FlamingHot Ah, ok, I think I need to find out more about loans first so I can find out what she will get

The deadline is today for student loans applications.

It is based on household incomes and Ds only gets the minimum loan as our household income is over the threshold. So Ds can only get £4466 loan and we are expected to fund the other £5066 to bring it up to the maximum loan amount given to students in low income families.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 21/05/2021 08:48

studentfinance.campaign.gov.uk/

PinkPlantCase · 21/05/2021 09:00

When I started uni in 2013 my parents payed my student halls rent and I kept my maintenance loan which was the minimum. Tbh this shafted my parent as I was able to save money from the maintenance loan. And we changed the system for subsequent years

Don’t just pay the rent, I think £70 a week for food and general expenses should be enough. I generally aimed to budget for £50 but couldn’t always manage it.

Could you see if there’s any chance of moving DD into catered halls based on her additional needs? Then atleast you’d know she was eating.

MarchingFrogs · 21/05/2021 09:02

It's not a question of apply by today or you won't get anything at all, though - the deadline is just to guarantee finance being in place for the beginning of term.

PinkPlantCase · 21/05/2021 09:03

@OnTheBenchOfDoom the people who got the full loan entitlement generally had more money than they needed, you really don’t need to top it up to the full amount.

Depending on how expensive rent is of course but your DC have some control over that.

ramonaquimby · 21/05/2021 09:07

We pay DD’s accommodation and also give her £200/month. She manages her student loan (lowest amount). She has saved quite a bit because of this strange year. We also cover train fares, her phone contract and have paid for a few big shops
It’s all relative to what you as a family can afford really.

Huckleberries73 · 21/05/2021 09:08

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 21/05/2021 09:16

@PinkPlantCase Ds's uni accommodation is just over £6k so his loan doesn't cover it. He is self catered at Durham so he has been allocated his college already. Plus we have the money saved up for him and his younger brother in a separate savings account specifically for this purpose so it isn't eating into our finances.

Ds knows that his weekly amount is a negotiable amount, he isn't a drinker but does love nice food and loves to cook. He is sensible and not bothered by clothing brands etc. Laundry will be a killer cost for him. As parents we have a financial discussion every year, Ds knows this and is happy and willing to discuss his spending whilst at uni. Dh and I both went to uni, I was very poor and Dh was incredibly well off (generous Grandparents.)

Marching I meant to put that in my post about the deadline just means the money will be available in a timely fashion but was rushing to see Ds off to his final physics exam.