Maintenance grant if household income £76k plus

[marmiteadict]

Just looking into this. Apologies if previously covered.

If a parent has a household income of 76k + would their child qualify for any maintenance loan ? Or would we have to finance the entire 9k ?

Thanks in advance if anyone has experience of this

Terrible terrible typing. Apologies

Can someone explain, if my DD goes to uni - my income is £20k, she lives with me, single parent household.
Divorced from her dad, he pays CMS but has said it will stop in full on her 18th bday. He doesn't pay a single cent extra (said no to a charity shop jumper she found last month).
Dad lives mortgage free £350k house, three cars, £45k pa.

Can the state expect him to support her at uni? It's not like she doesn't have a parent who could, lots of other kids don't.
I don't know how I will manage (get an extra job I expect). She already has a PT job to save up for uni.

Oh and he lives alone (cars are all his) 🤣

It will be based on who she lives with, so if she lives with you it will be based on your household income

But they are asked to contribute on a sliding scale depending on what they earn. And they have known this for many years so have taken this into account when deciding how many children to have, where to live, whether to move a partner in no?

In an ideal world, yes, but things don’t always go to plan. Circumstances change. Plus not all parents will know, especially if they haven’t been to university themselves. Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know

You have a similar household income to me and if your DD had started University this year as my DD did she would be eligible for a maximum student loan of £9, 700 if studying outside of London or circa £12, 700 if at a London University.
Bursaries, given the student comes from a household of less than 25K, vary widely and need careful consideration when choosing an University!
Also, you need to bear in mind that in August of Yr13- before your DD goes to University- Child Tax Benefits and Child Benefit payments will also stop. Leaving households such as yours, mine and others in a similar position in ‘an deficit’ in a sense that ‘these monies’ are a similar amount that those that in households in ‘the squeezed middle’ (which earn at least 3 times more) are asked/ expected to contribute towards their DC.
This is point is not often debated in Mumsnet…

@ProggyMat was about to write similar. Costs of halls/accommodation and bursaries vary hugely amongst Universities and various subjects.

Definitely worth looking into in advance

Do they take into account if you have 2 there at the same time when it comes to how much money you get for the maintenance loan? Eg if we only get 4.5k for one dd, so have to find the rest to top her rent/food etc up, would it be the same 4.5k for her sister who is in the year below?

Each student applies for the loan as individuals.It’s their loan. So yes, they get the loan they are entitled to regardless of siblings. Just makes it expensive for you with 2 at university.

@TizerorFizz thats what I was afraid of - not sure how we can help both at the same time. Topping up (& no extra) would be 9k a year to find!

What is said about single parents above is correct. However I believe there is a right under the Children Act for the child to claim against the non resident parent for some help
"Can a child make a claim to force a parent to provide financial support?

Yes. Under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989, a child over the age of 18 can make an application for financial support if they are in education as detailed above.
This is a claim that could be made against either or both parents."
www.wiselaw.co.uk/finances-settlements/who-pays-university-fees-after-divorce/

I am not saying all teenagers of divorce parents going to university should start court claims against their fathers but the right to do so might help negotiations over what the father might pay.

Separately from that point my divorce court order by the way said I had to pay the university costs - so worth divorced parents checking their court order)

@Xenia has a good point about checking the court order in the case of divorce.

I had quite a few friends with fathers who were required to continue supporting them whilst attending full time education.

A couple did Phd's so that their estranged father was paying for quite some years.

I hate to say to those who are already worried about their child only getting the minimum loan and they’re concerned about making the difference to make it up to 9k ish

I was the same my dd May go to uni next Sept and we’ve done a few open days and as some above have already mentioned the real situation is far worse

ie the self catering halls accommodation at York and Liverpool was 7.5 to 8k that’s before food living expenses anything at all I think Martin Lewis or similar admitted that the yearly cost of uni is more like 12k not 9k particularly because everything has gone up

yes if mine goes I’ll be expecting her to have a job she has done since 16 but that might not be immediate, basically I’ve resigned myself that we’ll be forking out 8k a year I’ve got 6k saved so far over the last 30month saving £200/month I’ve had to up it to £475/month to get to 24k by the spring of her 3rd year

@Myjobisanightmare some students can't take jobs during term time due to their hours.

@mumsneedwine
If is well established that DC pay a graduate tax. Doctors are high graduate earners. So yes, they will pay more tax. However they all get grad jobs and they have high earning opportunities in the future. Fantastic pensions too. It’s a bit like speculating to accumulate! If they stay at a lower rate of pay, they pay less. Like everyone else.

There are indeed choices to be made. There seems to be no diminution in Dc wanting to be doctors. So loans are not an issue. if is not obligatory for Stem Dc to become doctors. Choose an alternative if the system isn’t to your liking. Plenty more will grab the places.

@TizerorFizz sorry, what ? I'm eating chocolate and wondering why my phone pinged. Happy Xmas.

Some universities will not allow you to work in term time.

ie the self catering halls accommodation at York and Liverpool was 7.5 to 8k

York self-catering - according to the university's accommodation page - seems to start at just under £4,000. Although they are careful not to say how many rooms are available at that price point. I'd imagine a very small percentage of the total!

Band D at York - the all-singing and dancing end - is certainly in the price bracket quoted, and with more expensive options within that too. However the bulk of self-catered appears to be between £6k and £7k. So a bit less, although not hugely so.

Prices do vary considerably between Unis. DS3 in self-catered halls last year, in a band D equivalent, which at his uni was £5,400 for 42 wks. A few years back at another Uni DS2 was £6200. Best value accommodation remains DS1's years at Cambridge - all three in college; huge room just under £4k in his final year.

@boys3 If only DS1 had applied to Oxbridge! Those halls are a bargain 😀

@marmiteadict yes, but on the flip-side it created a false sense of security for future years and his DBs, with two overlapping years for the two of them, albeit the second year with two at Uni at the same time is due to one doing a Masters. Although our experience for them is that private rented after first year halls has been less - even with a 52wk rental period.

If working during term time is a no, would it be possible for students to earn the shortfall during the holidays?

I seem to recall having a month off At Christmas and Easter and 3 months during the summer. Potentially 5 months of full time work.

For those in the know, is this a feasible alternative?

Definitely depends on where you live if they’re coming home for the holidays, near where I live it’s definitely feasible but we live close to a city with good public transport links.

At minimum wage it would be about 280 hours work I believe to get £2,000 for the year. Even if just working a job over summer that’s about 20 hours a week.

Can DC get a job while at college? They might then be able to go back to that job during uni holidays, as that place might hire students who are only available during term time. That’s probably the most realisable way of ensuring they have work in the holidays tbh.

Sorry I should have said but totally forgot DD wouldn’t entertain mixed shared bathrooms so we only looked at ensuite

@marmiteadict i think it depends as much on the DC and how motivated, if that is the right word, they are. Plus transport access for those more rural. I’ve been quite fortunate with mine. Youngest had a part-time job whilst in sixth form which he has been able to carry on when back from uni. He is also paid well over the minimum wage, so several pounds more an hour than some of his peers. He won’t do that much this Christmas break but still earn around £1000. It then depends how much he chooses to fritter away of course. However he also knows he has his rent covered by the BoMD, with the minimum loan to cover everything else. His earnings are the on top of that.

so I think for many it is more than realistic. But some due to circumstances are far more cushioned than others.