"Mum, did you know it's much cheaper to rent in Cambridge than in Oxford?"

[Milliways]

so I reply:
"well DD, it's MUCH cheaper in Aberystwyth !"

Obviously, she's decided to aim high.

She's informed me it's an average £10k pa so maybe I need another job!!

Honestly, how much DOES it cost to avoid student debt these days?

Ellbell - does your dept do Languages + another subject, or just languages?

yes agree poppy- but lots are able to offer 3 or 4 years in (my old college does now, and its not a rich one) and it's something to take into consideration when applying. I think you're more likely to get college accommodation in Oxford/Cambridge than anywhere else in the country tbh. Which can help.

Hiya. Yes, you can do Single Honours in one language, or you can combine two languages (e.g. French and Italian, or whatever), or you can combine a language with a non-language subject (say, French and History/English/Classics/Economics - whatever).

I know that in Cambridge you can only combine two languages but not a language and a non-language subject.

If you CAT me your address I'll send you some info. There's lots lying around here (well, not here at home, but in the office...). Whereabouts in the country are you? Another good way of getting more information is to go to an Open Day. Most universities will do two sorts, one for A2 students who've already applied to that university and one for A1 students who are still thinking about what they want to do.

DD is in Yr 12, doing AS or whatever they are called these days .

Will CAT you, Thanks

Ops, my CAT reg has expired!

You can email if you like?

Milli - ways @ hotmail dot co dot uk
(no gaps!)

Will do!

I love hearing about your dd Milliways. She should be a real inspiration to all who 'fail' 11+. She is doing a lot of ASs - is she finding the workload OK?

Not read the whole thread but, as a current student, who went to uni after 6th form, usual route etc (as in not returning to education mature student), let me say this:

Don't worry too much! I know all parents would love to minimise their children's debt but:

Everybody gets a loan. Everybody. Even the highest earning families get about enough to cover rent.

They have brought back grants! Bonus money!

Nobody has to pay the tuition fees up front. If you are a low income family you won't have to pay them at all. For higher earners you can choose ot pay up front or have them added to student poan repayments.

Ok so most parents will eand up supplementing income but not by that much. Remember holidays are to be worked in! Until I had ds, I got a loan that covered rent pretty much penny for penny and then got £50 a month off my parents to cover all my living expenses (bills in my student house, text books..very expensive things, food...)

Alternatively, tell your children to have a baby you get loads of extra money for that

I'm kidding

Really.

If you want her to stay debt free she is probably correct about the £10,000 sadly.
Halls of residence can cost up to ~£5,000 (catered); fees £3,000; however much you are willing to pay monthly or she can earn ~ £2-300 a month during term time.
I don't think Oxford/ Cambridge is more expensive than any other large student city.

Shame on you Indith! Baby Indeed!

Snorkle - Thanks! She is finding it very tough, and can't wait to drop one next year so she can have a free period occassionally! Her only consulation is she had NO modular exams to sit this month when all her (Science etc) friends did!

Apparently she likes Oxbridge, Warwick or LSE! Thinking Politics & French or Law & French at the moment.

I teach at Oxford (and was a UG and PG there too). I would not be put off by costs, people assume it is expensive but actually if can be much cheaper than other places esp if you are eligible for a bursary www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/finance/bursaries/

The costs very much depend on which college you go to as some are richer and can offer lower rent plus accommodation for all 3 years (with the advantage that this is term time only) whereas others aren't able to do so. She should look closely at this if she is serious about Oxford or Cambridge. Also the richer colleges can offer book grants, travel grants etc to all students and hardship loans to poorer students/those in difficult circumstances which all help

It is true that students are not supposed to work in term time. Term is only 24 weeks a year so there's plenty of time out of term and every one of my students works at home. People are given dispensations to work in term time from time to time and of course people try to work on the quiet. I have to say that term time is incredibly intense and I've seen students who should have left with 1st class degrees slip to mediocre 2:1s largely because of term time work. That can impact on lifetime earnings so working can be a false economy.

As others have said, she should pick the course first though and then work out which universities are best for it/teach it in the way that most interests her. Oxford and Cambridge are great in many ways but are by no means the best in each area.

She really needs to pick the course & then go visit the places that offer it and see which she likes best otherwise she may end up being unhappy and not liking where she is.

Also as someone else said it's things like transport etc that you can forget about. I went to Cardiff & was able to walk pretty much everywhere I needed to go so saved a fortune on buses / taxis.

From speaking to friends it didn't seem that there was much difference of cost unless you lived in a really posh house/area, or were in London.

I thought about paying off my loan, but when you look at the cost of other things such as car loans /mortgages it's not really worth it & everywhere advises against it. Don't think you can really complain at 4% for a loan rate when most credit cards charge over 10.

It could be worse .. she could want to be a pilot (which costs around £70k!!)

Milliways... just to contradict what I said earlier about Oxford and languages, a friend's ds did Law with French Law (including a year in France) in Oxford and loved it (and is now earning gazillions as a barrister in London somewhere...). Am putting some stuff in the post to you tomorrow (as I ran out of time today!).

Milliways - DS is at Warwick atm, doing History & Politics & it's one of DD's choices (for Psychology) - she hasn't heard from them yet, but apparently she was told they don't send out offers very early.

I'm tutoring first years at Cambridge and term times are very intense - I'd definitley advise against working during term (which is not allowed in any case).

Milliways, if she does go for Oxbridge, and money is likely to be a problem, the thing to do is NOT to go to one of the newer colleges, even if they seem friendlier, but to apply to one of the older, richer colleges as they will have pots of money to give out in hardship grants, book grants, travel grants, etc, not to mention lower rents.