What if we can't afford to support DC?

[pinkpip100]

Oldest DC is in year 12 and plans to go to university in Sept 2023. I've been looking into student finance and according to the calculator they will get a loan to pay fees in full, but only the minimum maintenance loan, due to our household income. We have 3 other dc, and it is likely that DC1 & DC2 will overlap at uni for at least a year (and subsequently DC2 & DC3 too). I understand that we are expected to support them financially, and assume this will mean topping up from the minimum maintenance loan to the maximum amount.
My worry is that we will massively struggle to pay this for 1 DC, let alone for 2 at a time. We have no money left at the end of each month, no savings. Youngest DC is disabled so I have always ended up in low paid part-time jobs which offer flexibility to look after them when needed. As a result we have built up a lot of debt over the years - and just making minimum payments for this wipes out a huge chunk of our combined income. I am just about to start a better paid job which will increase our income, but paying off the debt will obviously take a long time. Our household income for 21-22 will therefore appear pretty high on paper - hence DC1 only getting minimum loan amount - but definitely isn't reflective of how much expendable income we have.
I suppose my question is - does any of this (number of dependents, sibling with a disability, level of debt repayments vs household income) get taken into account when applying for a maintenance loan? Are there any other student finance options? Has anyone else been in a similar position? I realise we've been totally naive but I assumed DC would be able to get full loan amounts for fees and maintenance, so had envisaged just topping up what we could afford.

@PermanentTemporary I thought it would be 21-22 for entry in Sept 2023 (dc is currently Y12)?

Posted in a similar vein, on staying at home for University. I worked out they could save quite a lot.

We are looking at home university (Bath) also some cheaper ones away (Cardiff advertised itself as being in a cheap area for accommodation)

You're obviously not alone OP.

Apparently more people are staying home for Uni since the pandemic and recent cost of living crisis, it was in the papers last week.

Oops sorry. I'm focused on 2022 entry. You're right of course.

Thanks @Katela18 - it's really interesting to hear that you wish they'd been more upfront with you - I've been really wary about burdening my DS.

In our situation, we have a 15K Child trust fund saved for each DC, and we'd probably get the higher loan amount due to being on quite a low income (or close to it)

But even so, they could save staying home so going to do the sums with them to see how much could be saved, given that the Computing course they want to do could be done from home.

@pinkpip100 how are his grades? Will he try for LSE/Oxford? LSE halls can be affordable (with the minimum loan as long as you take a shared room). There will be money left over and the hall is catered. I think Oxford is cheaper.

I know if you book the v.cheapest hall at Warwick you have £1k left from the min loan. But this would be self catered, BUT at Warwick they have their own internal system to find PT work for their students.

Future Finance and private loans just came to my mind.

(even McDonalds turned him down)

Don't let that put you off, McDonalds have 100s of kids applying for every role in our local restaurant, they are popular for the kids to work for so obviously lots will get turned down even if they are more that suitable. Keep trying.

Choose a cheaper uni or one close to home and live at home.
Take a gap year and save (you and him) or do a part time uni course.
Get a job to support himself through uni.

Do you have a University within traveling distance OP? I noticed the local College also does degree courses. Might be worth having a look to see if there's anything locally.

If you take 3 gap years you can get the full loan

@yogabbagabba134 - he hasn't got predicted grades yet, but based on his GCSEs and current in year grades then yes, Oxford would be a possibility (we'd discounted LSE because of cost of living in London). But equally he's not yet got his heart set on it - I was worried that the workload there would rule out any possibility of a part-time job in term time. I hadn't realised accommodation might be cheaper than elsewhere though...

Working in 6th form must be an area thing. Rural living makes it very difficult. I don’t know anyone who did more then a bit of holiday work for a parent. Unreliable transport and costs make it problematic. I do know a few town Dc who did and they walked to work. Also many don’t really need to work for university and parents pay up happily. They had it as a goal from birth!

That's interesting - but I worry that 3 gap years could be pretty disastrous for his mental health. - as it is he spends the majority of the time he's not at school shut in his room. I think I was hoping going away to uni might be a nudge towards being more sociable and interested in the world outside! I guess that's another concern about living at home and commuting to uni - although we do have two decent ones within commuting distance.

Hi OP, my DS will (hopefully!) be studying PPE at Southampton this September; he'll receive the lowest maintenance loan which will just about cover accommodation at the cheapest rate so will just need additional money for food etc - we are fortunate in that we can manage to give him £50 p/wk but he knows that if he needs/wants more than this, he will have to get a job (he also has ASD so in a similar boat to yours!)

(That was in response to @yogabbagabba134 by the way!)

[quote pinkpip100]@yogabbagabba134 - he hasn't got predicted grades yet, but based on his GCSEs and current in year grades then yes, Oxford would be a possibility (we'd discounted LSE because of cost of living in London). But equally he's not yet got his heart set on it - I was worried that the workload there would rule out any possibility of a part-time job in term time. I hadn't realised accommodation might be cheaper than elsewhere though...[/quote]
LSE can be affordable. The London loan is higher. The cheapest UG catered room is £3670.10 (but it is a triple room). The min living cost loan is £6308. Over £2.5k left over.
AND 2nd years and 3rd years can reapply to these halls and get a room. (All that is needed is to apply as soon as it opens up for continuing students).
I'd say that the extra cost of going to a top uni in London is worth it in terms of career advancement. I'm pretty sure there would be PT work for students in London.

At Oxford there is very limited PT work available. They can work in the college bar etc or like help at uni open days etc (where they get paid for it).

@Plainandsimple - wishing your DC a fantastic 3 years! I had a friend that went to Southampton and loved it.

If you live within bike/bus reach of a university DC 1 could go there and live at home (far cheaper than student accommodation)

The younger DC may have to stagger their university entrance so you're only ever supporting one student at a time.

Or, DC could self-fund their way through university by working and living poor, as one of mine did.

@pinkpip100 be aware that if you go on a debt management plan you will be defaulted.. it may still be your best option but best to be aware!

@pinkpip100

That's interesting - but I worry that 3 gap years could be pretty disastrous for his mental health. - as it is he spends the majority of the time he's not at school shut in his room. I think I was hoping going away to uni might be a nudge towards being more sociable and interested in the world outside! I guess that's another concern about living at home and commuting to uni - although we do have two decent ones within commuting distance.

Yes. 3 gap years = applying as a mature student and you get the full loan. That's all there is really.

Would he be able to do any tutoring in any of his A level subjects? That is something he could continue over zoom while at uni.

Is University really necessary? For a handful of careers it might be but there are so many other (better) routes into many that I think Uni is kind of overrated. If these alternatives had been around in the early 00s, I'd have snapped someone's hand off for a place.

@pinkpip100

That's interesting - but I worry that 3 gap years could be pretty disastrous for his mental health. - as it is he spends the majority of the time he's not at school shut in his room. I think I was hoping going away to uni might be a nudge towards being more sociable and interested in the world outside! I guess that's another concern about living at home and commuting to uni - although we do have two decent ones within commuting distance.

Hi OP someone posted on my other thread saying about students, in London, living away from home for the first year then at home the following years.

Maybe that would suit your DS and if you have the two decent ones nearby - would mean you only needed to find the money for one year instead of 3

I worked through university and during the summers and holidays. My parents couldn't offer me much support. I think you will just have to make this clear with your children they will need to be sure it's what they want and there is a career / salary that is worth it at the end. I went to Uni which was only an hour away from home to make travel costs easier too.