Uni fees and expenses

[Bugsy73]

My daughter is going into yr 13 in September so is currently looking at uni's and planning the next stage. She would like to do a degree in primary education and currently wants to leave our home town to do so.
Clearly this is going to cost us 😂
How do people manage? The fees are covered by a student loan? How about accommodation and general living expenses? Do we just need to cut back on our outgoings? Take a loan out ourselves? We have a small amount of savings but don't think it will go too far.
My DH in particular has gone into a bit of a tailspin about it today.
Any advice/tips very welcome!

I've got 4, all went to uni and I cried every time I dropped them off. Not just the first year, every year. They got use to it and I went home and got on with life. Nothing wrong with having a cry.

I think they do, but it isn't massive, and it's very difficult for families who have more than one dc at university at the same time.

Thankfully, I only have one!

I have 4, the eldest two overlapped for 2 years, the younger two overlapped for 2 years. No wonder I'm still working at nearly 70.

The offset for other children was small but as I said it all helps doesn't it.

I did bless the student who did the campus tour at the uni DD went to. She told her group of prospective students to choose the cheapest halls as they were the fun halls. Certainly saved us some money and she survived without an ensuite.

how people cope depends on your income. Mine are at ‘cheaper’ accommodation universities in the midlands but say that people fall into three camps

1. well off parents who give their kids loads to spend and are having a ball. The parents often pay the accommodation straight up and give their kids the minimum loan they get, plus more as spending money.
2. Lower income family where the kids qualify for the maximum loan-they have a reasonable amount of spending money as well. Especially in the cheaper accommodation.
3. Those whose household income just means they only get the minimum loan but who have very little spare cash/savings/other children etc. this is us. We can’t afford to pay the accommodation up front, so the maintenance loan pays this and we give a weekly amount for food etc

Obviously lots of students work as well to top this up.

My DD is going in Sept.
She will get a loan to live off (food/travel/clothes/washing etc.) and we will pay her rent £600 p/m.
She will also get a job.
She will get a separate loan to pay University fees.

DD is in central London. She gets a student loan of around £7,400 plus a £2,000 bursary. She finds that enough to live on. She also works in the holidays and is saving. She doesn't drink or go clubbing. She has joined a couple of sports clubs.

The offset for other children was small but as I said it all helps doesn't it

The offset for other children - at university, not just existing - is about £1100 someone said upthread. (It was 1K last time I looked.) And that's knocked off your assessed income, not off your expected contribution. So it might mean your kid gets a couple of hundred quid extra in their loan. £4/week. So no I don't think it helps much!

(4 children. Had one year of one at uni, then 4 years of two, a year of one, a year of two, and about to start three years of just the last kid going through university. I went from a very part time job and home educating, to retraining and getting a full time job!)

I think the system of assessing on household income is very unfair. I am married for the second time and DW is a high earner. I am not. I have 2 DC from my first marriage, one at uni and one about to go. DW doesn't support my DC and nor does their father. DW will help out from time to time with things but is not about to give my adult DC a monthly payment to support their living costs at uni. However because of her income level, they can only get the minimum loan, which doesn't even cover the cheapest accommodation at their unis (not London).

Yes, I have always thought that's terribly unfair for blended families. Especially as the non-resident parent seems to be totally off the hook!

I wonder how many parents are aware of the potential impact on what their dc will be able to borrow when they move in with a new partner.

I know a few people who didn’t move in with their partners to avoid that very situation

Yes, I'm sure that lots of people would think twice about moving in with someone if they realised.

It would be very unfair imo to expect a new partner to stump up several thousand pounds to support your adult dc through university. However, it is also incredibly unfair for the students who are unable to borrow the full maintenance loan simply because their resident parent has shacked up with a new partner who doesn't want to pay what the government expects them to pay. Meanwhile, the non-resident parent is under no obligation to do anything!

The trouble is, a lot of people simply don't realise!

Student finance calculator helps. DD goes to Lancaster and accommodation there varies. It is cheaper than York and some unis down south we have seen so might be worth an option. DD1(2nd year uni) and a DD2(at alevel), DD1 gets £6400 maintanance loan, so that pays her accommodation and a little bit left over. We pay for the cost of living about £300 per month, although she has been really thrifty and shops at aldi and poundland. So shes saved some of that money not spent towards future things like internships, or if she needs a new computer one day.