Cambridge and paid work

[SusannaM]

DD is pondering over applying to Cambridge (she's year 12 now), but is really worried about the no working in term time rule. She won't get a full loan and although we have saved up some money for her, we won't be able to sub her much. She currently works and I've no idea how she'd manage uni without a part time job.
Is the no work rule strictly enforced?

The student loan is normally calculated on parents income. We top DD's income up to the amount of the student loan (and still have money left for the odd meal out/uk holidays). She manages despite high rent (I happen to know it's about £1900 more than Cambridge average by the way, so good news for you/DD), travel costs (660 miles) and costs re: luggage.

On latter, it might be helpful for your to know she put her stuff into storage over lockdown (very easy to organise as she booked, packed and it was taken within 24 hours - about £200 for six months). She's now doing a year abroad and this time around, she shipped it all back, which was a lot cheaper than storage - she carried two suitcases and violin on train, and shipped back six boxes (which cost around £48).

@SusannaM

That is only 8 weeks of rent

Do they only have to pay rent whilst they are actually on campus? That would be a huge help, I've been calculating rent for the year.

I doubt we'd get any financial help, we are not at the bottom of the scale earning wise. But a really bad run of redundancy and other crap financial stuff has left us with debts to clear.

It's not just hardship funds. It's things like prizes - money left by some old alumnus.

Eg when I was a first year historian there was a £1500 prize - and this was back in the early 90s! - for a first year historian who was studying some element of Mediterranean history.

There were only 12 of us first year historians in the college and only two of us were doing any kind of Mediterranean history. So me and my mate Sam split it between us.

There are hundreds of things like that.

Please don't let this discourage her though. It's an amazing university, looks brilliant on your CV and has been a real tonic to me to know that I studied there at times when the rest of my life felt like a car crash!!

Lol, I feel that way about passing my 11+, it was probably the pinnacle of my achievements

I won't discourage her and all this info is really useful.

Plus book grants. I think we used to all get £100 a year back in the day.

Please look at MoneySavingExpert for Martin Lewis' excellent explanation about student finance.

Also, people posting about what happened "back in the day", remember that @ErrolTheDragon and I have DDs who have just graduated this year, albeit in science disciplines. Our information and experience is as recent as you can get.

Cambridge is actually a really good option if you are on a low income. Accommodation is all college-owned, so you don't pay for the whole year and aren't subject to private landlords. It's a small city, so very easy to get around on a cheap bike or by foot, so no transport costs. Colleges have lots of hardship funds & subsidised food, and the libraries are fantastic, so you rarely need to buy books. My college used to let me store my belongings for free in a locked cupboard over the holidays, as I couldn't get stuff home on the train.

As others have said, the terms are very short and intense and it's much better not to work, but the holidays are very long, so you can work then.

I was also going to say pick the college carefully.

I have 2 DC at Oxford. DS's costs per term for his first couple of years was about £1,600. That was for accommodation for 8 weeks and money on a dining card. I've just had DD's first bill and it is £2,200! And she still has to vacate her room at the beginning of December.

But @whiteroseredrose, do your DC have to use college catering? Back in 2017 when she was fresher, my DD grumbled about the £85 per term spending on college food as she struggled to spend that much. Her Cambridge college did abolish it later and DD developed a love for their Sunday brunch. Even using a gyp with no oven or freezer for 3 of those years, DD has self-catered for her entire undergraduate and masters degrees with seemingly no ill effects. She shops at the market, at the Co-op and latterly as she has spent more time in West Cambridge, at the big Sainsburys there.

As others have said, her college has a lockable cupboard in every bedroom. She filled that over vacations with things she didn't need at home (kitchen utensils, her gown, duvet & lab stuff) which saved space in the car. She has never been able to come home by anything other than car as we live rurally with atrocious public transport.

Just to add your outgoings will go down eg your food bill, no school lunches / trips / transport to pay for so you may have a bit extra to give her.

DS1, recently graduated from Oxford, was a medic, so his course was arguably not much less intense than many science subjects. He worked in a cafe during term time, to supplement his loan, although not in his final year.

At Cambridge your DD will pay rent for 30 weeks of the year and can avoid paying rent in the holidays by clearing her room. If you're not on the mainland, you should be able to negotiate free "overseas" storage in the holidays. Hardship funds are available, but as a Home student, the College would need to know why you're not supporting your DD up to the required maintenance for the year, given you have the option to be income assessed. It is possible to secure hardship funding, but it's quite intrusive the amount of financial information you have to provide, and it needs to be as any student could simply say their parents can't support them financially. Working in term-time isn't permitted, though I've known students do Deliveroo or similar. The workload is heavy, and questions will be asked if you're falling behind on your work, especially with all the academic support students are given. It's hard work, but a Cambridge degree opens doors other university's don't. Whether or not it should is for another discussion.