So, how the hell do you afford uni for your kids?

[F0XCUB88]

Just been looking at prices for accommodation, £200 per week!

So looked at Money Saving Expert to see how much we need to contribute on top of loans. It says we need to save £358 per month.

We earn £50,000 between us, mortgage payment just went up by £££ and now can't actually get to the end of the month so how do we save £358?

Do we just say no she can't go? What do other people do?

I know it's a first world problem but she's really bright. Neither of us went to uni and finding it all a bit confusing. I just can't see that everyone else can afford it?

We got it through her support worker at Uni. He put her name forward and the discount was applied automatically. If your DD has a named support person then they should be able to help, or through the access arrangements team.

Haven’t read the whole thread, so apologies if this has already been mentioned, but have you considered higher apprenticeships or degree apprenticeships, ie working and getting a qualification. My dc moved away to do this, other friends have stayed at home. You can do them in @ huge array of subjects now - accounting, hr, engineering, police etc to name a few. Also, the few people I’ve known do them, who started four years ago when they just beginning to expand, are in a much better job situation than their counterparts who went to uni.

I didn't say anything of the sort. I asked where and when you went to uni. If you anticipated the question then perhaps you should have pre-empted it.

So you earned enough to support yourself independently, in Australia, for five years, including "extortionate" living costs and fees of over £9000 a year, plus socialising, by working, often part-time, in retail?

I know. I wouldn't mind moving to Oz if I could earn over 16k a year by working 19 hours a week in a shop.

I'd like to know which shop. I have an Aussie friend who's picked up some evening and weekend shifts in a store in addition to her full time job to help keep the wolves from the door. It would be useful for her to know.

Not sure what’s right for your family but some ideas:

1. she gets a job and stays at home for a year and saves every penny. Not just one job 2-3 jobs at the same time.
2. she does open university or a degree apprenticeship
3. Apply for scholarships and bursaries
4. disability support payments/ grants from unis
5. apply to local unis and she stays home
6. she lodges in someone’s house privately which may be cheaper
7. you take out loans or credit cards to spread the cost of her accommodation
8. she works as much as possible during weekends, evenings and holidays.
9. you sell everything you can.
10. you downsize to a smaller house
11. you let our her room to raise money.
12. you ask for raises at current jobs / go for promotions / change to higher paying jobs / take extra shifts
13. you start a side hustle (warning- not a shit MLM
14. you get a weekend job to cover the extra cost

its only three years and it will really set her up for success. You can do it!

Agree
DD is a Bristol and is really annoyed that her friends at university in Sheffield, Nottingham . Newcastle have much cheaper accommodation.
Students should definitely think about housing costs when considering which universities to apply for

Thank you @WithASpider DD has complex issues due to PTSD. She does have a support worker after some difficulties.
I know there is help out there and I am sure the OP has learnt loads.

I was in this boat ten years ago when I went to uni. My parents had no idea that my loans wouldn't cover all my costs. My maintenance loan was short of my rent by £200 each month. As soon as I got to uni, I opened a student bank account with an overdraft. I paid what I needed to out of that and then started working 2 jobs just to be able to afford to eat, travel to uni, actually have a social life.

When I graduated, I was still about £1k into my overdraft because of rent and living costs. But I got through it. I was never resentful of my parents for not being able to afford to help me - but I was resentful of them for not doing any research into this before I went. I had a weekend job all throughout sixth-form and would have saved everything I had instead of spending it on driving lessons (which I didn't need in the city I went to). I would have considered picking a uni much closer to home too.

My granddaughter moved from Manchester to Liverpool for Uni, she worked in a bar when she wasn't studying to pay her own way. She paid for it herself as she was 18 and her choice to go. She's just finishing her last year now, it wasn't always easy but it's given her the independence needed, she's now got her own place and is standing on her two feet. Parents are expected to pay for uni and weddings anymore.

The problem is the system is designed with the expectation that parents will contribute...they just don't tell them!

Parents are 100% expected to pay for uni.

If you earn above a certain amount your child cannot get a full loan for living expenses. Parents are expected to top it up.

I do wish people wouldn't post if they don't understand the facts.

@Maglin @DrSbaitso

it is indeed possible. I noted I started working at 17 alongside school. I also worked full time here between leaving school (after May exams) until the start of uni which is Feb/March over there.

I was also smart with when I worked..

I was a casual worker (no minimum hours) so I got a penalty rate for late night Thursdays, as well as the weekend penalty rates. I also worked all public holidays which back in 2008 was over Au$50 per hour. A good 8 hour shift on Boxing Day alone gave me $400. No qualifications needed.

@DrSbaitso I’d tell your friend to be a bit smarter with when she is working.

@Maglin
No freezer space in most first year accommodation

I've had four kids go through Uni including 5 year degrees and PhDs and they've always had plenty of freezer space in their houses. Not in the uni halls though

That's what I meant by 'first year accommodation'.

Universities vary a lot in cost eg dd spend £7200 in total last year (her rent is £110 a week)

DD went to university in our city and lived at home. She paid us £70pw to cover everything and got a job at McDonald's to top up her loans/bursary.

If she'd moved to another city for uni she would have had to fend for herself entirely - we would have been completely unable to support her financially. Lots of parents are in the same position. It seems odd to me that an adult (she was 19 when she started uni, 24 when she graduated) would need to rely on their parents financially. A 24 year old, having their rent paid by mum and dad? Bizarre.

This is what worries me,I'm a single parents currently on disability and money for DD who goes to uni next year will end before she goes and I still have younger DD to provide for,she's working all she can these 2 years of sixth form fair play as will only be able to work certain terms as when on placement it'll be too much.
I'm assuming she'll get full maintenance loan and hope that'll be enough.

She will get the full maintenance loans. Also look into what bursaries are available from her university - DD's were worth an extra £7k per year.

@Creative34 unfortunately a lot of retail employers on the UK are very canny about how they organise their temp staff. They make sure that almost no one can earn overtime.

Also a lot of retailers like to keep all staff on relatively short shifts - makes it far easier to cover sick leave/holidays.

Shiny has two children at university at the moment and knows exactly how expensive it is!

I was quoting someone else.

Well that at least partly explains it. With shop shifts on top of a full time job, I don't blame her wanting to spend Christmas with her kids, even if it's not smart.

@Taylorscat - Oxford and Cambridge terms are incredibly short. Also as they haven’t expanded like other Universities their accommodation is significantly cheaper than halls In pretty much any university. It’s not elitism it’s pragmatic and you have lots of holiday time to do paid work if needed. I wish my three had gone for Oxbridge it would have saved me a fortune.

An apprenticeship with a large company (example advert) would be perfect for her if Uni is out of reach financially, and even if it's possible, it's definitely still worth exploring.

With a large company like in my example, their advert clearly states about equal opportunities and (this is going to sound awful, I know - sorry!), but she would likely tick a box that helps them show that they're employing a diverse workforce.

I work in a profession where a degree is not needed and while I felt I missed out on the social side of Uni, I very much don't regret not going. I had no debts and earned as I qualified and was fully qualified by 22.

I'm not sure how much study is involved with a Computer Science degree, but she would likely be able to get a job in a uni town. My friend's daughter is at Bristol uni and got a job in Waitrose quite quickly. I know someone else that used to work in the Waitrose warehouse and he said it was a great job - good pay, especially if the hours were unsocial, and you rarely had to interact with customers.

@Maglin
That's what I meant by 'first year accommodation'

Oh yeah 😂😂😂. Sorry!