I think the point that was being made, was that a university system which relies on private accommodation, quite simply isn’t accessible to all.
The idea AskinFirABaskin, is that everyone who has the ability to go, can go. Personal and family finances should not be a barrier. When loans are available for the whole amount, and when university owned accommodation is offered, on the basis of rents paid at the point students receive their loans, it becomes more accessible to all. Once more elements of it become only available to those who can access money outside of the student loans, or require cash at times the student loan hasn’t paid out, it is immediately a system which isn’t available to all.
To me, a big problem seems to be the increasing use in some places of private halls. I suspect the newer universities rely more heavily on them and the older institutions are more likely to have university owned accommodation which won’t be demanding guarantors or so much up front. Poor funding to universities from government has probably made more turn to the private sector…..but that has a consequence in terms of accessibility.
So, yes, the system is increasingly such that only those who can afford it (via parental help) can access it. There is a shift in that direction and it’s at odds with the so-called move to broaden access. If government wants to trumpet broadening access and levelling-up, it needs to make sure there aren’t forces pulling in the opposite direction and worsening the current situation.
It isn’t good enough to just say ‘Op must sort it’ and ‘they need to find a guarantor’. Appreciation of the fact it’s isn’t possible for everyone is needed.
As others mention, usually orivate halls aren’t the only option. Some universities might not make totally clear the full range of options and what is required in terms of upfront payments/guarantors etc. In this marketplace of bums on seats fro funding, some lesser universities essentially try to bully offer holders into accepting their places and making financial commitments through fear tactics of no accommodation, to get them to commit, so they will then attend. And it will be those with no history if university attendance and for whom all this stuff about Uni accommodation is new, who are most likely to not have the knowledge of the system to know what else could be available, and so avoid being bullied. It’s this ‘cultural capital’ of having family or friends ‘in the know’ behind you to adivise and guide that those who broadening acces is often aimed at, are lacking. Another barrier.
What a shame. Op is. Excited about her son going to Uni. And no doubt he is too. Is it feeling more or less manageable and achievable now? Have people on this thread really helped that family feel like it’s a place for them and that the process can be smooth, or that somehow they don’t belong and can’t achieve what people are saying is a basic essential - a financial guarantor? Have people sympathised and been helpful? Some have, but lots haven’t and I’d suggest have been part of increasing barriers. But then that’s what some people actually want to do, because they don’t want broader and wider competition for their own children, and having finances can often be a way to exclude those who don’t.