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?

You don't have to pay £200 pw for accommodation. For example, DS is in halls in a good size room, but not ensuite. He pays £115 pw. Prices vary tremendously and you need to factor this in when you chose the university. Sure, catered halls in a room with ensuite would be nice, but not necessary. Make sure you check rents for 2nd and 3rd year, not only hall fees.

You may not get the cheap accommodation. Dd2 didn't.

Whatever, your experiences are, of course, the same as every other parents.

Student loan with student finance England. My mum was a single parent and I had to get a maintenance loan to cover my costs, and a part time job for luxuries.

£50 a week would be tricky

Oh god, I have twins and no idea where I’m going to find a spare £20k per year.

Maybe they’ll need to work. Many do don’t worry

My daughter paid £350 a month for her room in the student house in Cardiff (we paid) and now she is starting her first job in London it’s a staggering £900 a month - so big disparities depending on where you live

I paid for myself, worked 30 hours a week around uni hours and took all the loans and extra loans I could get to manage through

Someone upthread asked if a poster resented that her parents had not given her much money at university.
The poster replied that she hadn't because she knew her parents didn't have much to give.

Let's flip this round.
I do resent my parents because they could afford to give me money and instead watched me struggle (one year my rent alone was less than the money I had coming in). Of course, it's understood if you can't afford it, then you can't afford it, but if you can afford it ... why would you give your child a beans on toast budget when you could give them a bit more (not talking life of a Riley money, just enough for them to be not watching every penny)?

My daughter starts Uni this year. It’s £178 a week for her plus food etc for 4 years. I earn 43k and a single parent. I will be getting an extra job.

As a computer science student you can get work at university as a demonstrator for other modules. Not really an option in the first year, but it is for the second and third years.

She might also be able to pick up work in an office doing data entry. My DS did this for two summers and it has meant he hasn't needed to work during term time.

I went to uni in 2010, not sure if it has changed. The sum total of my “financial support” from family was £20 a month allowance that my dad had set up when I turned 10. It was difficult enough just trying to get my mother to agree to fill in the student finance forms with me.
I worked in a small Co-op store and then a Sainsbury’s Local (Checkouts, stocking my shelves, cleaning) two evenings and a weekend shift every week, plus extra shifts during to hols. At Sainsbury’s I also ran the tiny in-store bakery on my own on a Sunday.. would be a good job for anyone who doesn’t want to be too social. It did make it difficult to get time off to visit home though.

What if they don’t want to do that. Surely you gp to the best University you can.

I was exactly like this, but my daughter understood the problems we faced. She has worked various jobs since starting 6th form to finance her social life and luxuries. Not all parents are in a position to save money for their kids to go to university. We give her around £100 a month to cover food. She’s just finished her first year, she’s worked the whole year tutoring online (no qualifications other than A levels required). She’s still got a social life and a lovely group of friends, some of whom also work. She’s interrailed and travelled too on her own earnings. She has an excellent work ethic and is quite driven to succeed. Please don’t beat yourself up, if she wants it, she’ll make it work.

My view

1. Check all sources of funding (and small print), also depending on the course (some funding is course specific)
2. As PPs have said live at home options.
3. Many good colleges have partnerships with UNIs for some courses. These can be much cheaper, other funding and sometimes split into parts (eg foundation, diploma, degree)..

Good Luck

Good choice.

My DS is in his late twenties. He got a First in Computer Science (not an RG uni), then got a good job working for an NHS trust and now has a very good job in the tech industry, whilst still doing occasional bank work for the NHS. I was on a low income when he was at uni, so at that time he managed to get a grant to top up his loan. He also worked whilst at home during the holidays.

You sound like a great parent and I am sure your DD will do well.

Not read full thread yet but McDonald’s are good with employees with disabilities and pay well above min wage. My 17 yr old has a physical disability so does drive thru headset, the ones who can’t talk to customers go in kitchen there’s many teens with autism in kitchen where dc works.

Why didn't your mum want to do the forms?

Both of DC went to uni. Both took out tuition loan (£9k), maintenance loan for accommodation (£5k) and the another loan (c£4k) (That’s annually). They both had holiday jobs with a large local supermarket. One actually worked 2/3 nights a week in branch near uni. We still had to regularly buy their food (set up food shop with supermarket they worked for they as got 10% off). We bought most of their clothes when they came home at end of each term. After they graduated, we set monthly standing orders to help them with the loans and will keep paying until we retire. We are lucky as we are in position to help but, I know, others can’t. So different when their dad and I went to uni. Tuition/accommodation/food (3 meals a day) was all paid directly to uni from LA. We just got ‘grants’ of about £1.5k for ‘living’. How times have changed.

Didn’t want to “give her personal details” to the student loans company.. because it was “none of their business” and my funding was “nothing to do with her”.
I seriously considered the route for Estranged kids, but my point was it is definitely possible without financial help.

DS2 has just finished Uni, he was able to get the full maintenance loan but had to choose a cheaper city. He worked in his holidays and lived very very frugally. We werent able to help out much other than an occasional handout.

DS1 did an apprenticeship a few years ago earning about £3.50 an hour. We live rurally so we had to help him buy and run a car to get there, then he needed tools and equipment and couldnt afford to contribute much towards food or living costs. To be honest this was more of a shock!

Firstly I'd say maybe look at universities where accommodation might be cheaper. I'm in the Midlands and live near a student area and student houses seem to be asking £400-600 a month.
Then, realistically, she'll have to get a job of some description. But also there might be other funds available from the uni. You should still get child support for her too I think if in full time education. And you will save a little but of money with one less mouth to feed (nominal I suppose).

child support usually ends when a young person leaves further education (Level 3) Uni is classed as Higher Education (levels 4-6)

My dd is going in Sept, she just gets the minimum loan, around £5000, her rent is likely to be close to £9000 so we are going to have to make up the shortfall. She has worked and saved for the last year and at the moment will be going with close to £3000, but she can now work more hours so expecting that to go up, she is also planning on working while at uni which I think is actually really important for them. We have told her all along we will pay the rent but she has to earn the rest, obviously if she is short we will top her up but hopefully we won’t need to do that too much.