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?

Poster gave it as an example of a student who preferred to work in hols and save v term time work.
Even a normal 37 hour a week can get a decent amount saved, mine will have over 3 months off between last yr 13 exam and start of uni September 2024.

Just a thought, but you mentioned that your daughter has autism. She is entitled to apply for PIP ( personal independence payments) which is not means tested, so if awarded, it will not affect her student loan amount but would provide a bit extra cushioning for her living expenses at Uni.

Does she really need CS? Could she do a free funded bootcamp instead?

I did one last year and loads have got jobs off it. I didn’t but my dh died after the course and it’s set me back a lot.

I agree, especially when parents are struggling through the early years paying for childcare and perhaps having to work reduced hours they are barely getting by as it is without even thinking about saving for university.

Thank you so much for all the useful replies. This has been so helpful. Just to answer a few questions, can't find them now.

She wouldn't be eligible for PIP, she doesn't struggle with anything enough. Never needed support at school.

We will look into local unis as we do have one. And if not the cheaper cities.

Lots of great ideas for work, thank you.

Someone asked if she would really enjoy uni if she's socially awkward. She has always has friends and enjoys their company, she found her crowd, more awkward with people who aren't her friends but hoping she'll find her crowd and she likes being with friends. It would be nice to have that experience.

We are going to look at apprenticeships, yes though I worry they are competitive and she's not going to do well at presentations and things although she is very good at coding

We haven't talked about a year out but I'm a bit wary as that's what I did and then ended up never going because I got caught up in doing other stuff.

Also thank you for the helpful links. I have looked at them all!

My dd is going to commute.

OP - you will now be leagues ahead of massive amounts of parents in your uni prep and research.

Well done on supporting your DD and don't ever feel like you haven't done enough xx

The main question she needs to ask herself is what career does she want?

Many employers want people to have experience rather than a degree. There are some careers where you might need to go to a specialized university such as a Conservatoire for the performing arts or Medical school, for medicine.

I always advise young people to work backward. Think of the career they want and then the different routes to get there.

No point getting into debt at university if the degree isn't really of any value.

Haven't read the full thread. However parents of kids going to Uni in the future knew about the Uni fees from the time they were born. So why leave it until they are thinking about it to check affordability?

Ah, you're so helpful.

I bet everyone is so grateful for your input 💕💕💕💕

Do encourage her to seek a DSA assessment, not having support school doesn’t exclude her. A friends child was only picked up with Dyslexia at 18 by Uni and got a laptop etc.

But that’s not true. My dc is yr 12 and there were no uni tuition fees when she was born?

it’s changed beyond all recognition in a relatively short time scale.

But that’s not true. My dc is yr 12 and there were no uni tuition fees when she was born?

It depends where you live. I live in England and didn’t pay fees. My younger brother (age 43) was in the first or second cohort who did and he went in about 1998. The current y12s were babies when the fees were increased to £6K a year and were 7 when they were increased to £9k. Not sure about the other nations.

The student loan system is changing for the next batch of students starting in September.

And the maintenance loan (in England) hasn't increased in recent years, even if you are eligible for a full one (which most students aren't).

And there's been a pandemic, a war in Ukraine and a cost of living crisis that have all affected costs.

But yes, it was pretty negligent of parents not to factor all those things into their financial planning from when their child was small.

University tuition fees were introduced in 1998 (in England).

I have friends in their 30s who had to pay them!

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8151/

I was thinking of system with tuition loans, £3000 a year came in 2006/7

You are right that there were £1000 fees before (for some think it was income dependent?) but not same loan system.

I’m in England.

I’ll be honest when dc was born with a disability and being monitored for development by hospital paediatrician uni saving was last thing on my mind.

We have saved but not enough to cover full 3 years difference between minimum and full loan that we are expected to. We have another year to go and obviously will have cost savings we can pass on to her when she’s not here, her 6th form bus pass is £16 a week.

@Dixiechickonhols the Blair government introduced tuition fees in September 1998.

however - more general point not aimed at you Dixie - is I think for many parents and underlined by the OP starting this thread is that maintenance is the more immediate issue.

had the 25,000 threshold increased in line with inflation it would be nearer £35,000 mark. The c62,000 cut off after which it is minimum loan would also be far higher.

whilst I’m in a much more fortunate financial position I totally get why many are struggling, and particularly if they are seeing hundreds £ being added to mortgage payments. Whilst near 0 interest rates were never going to last, many would not have reasonably anticipated the speed of the ratcheting up.

as several ops have mentioned there needs to be more awareness as to costs. Certainly in England. If @F0XCUB88 lived n Wales I can almost guarantee she would not have started this thread, as the Welsh maintenance system is completely different. Not sure that Scotland or N.Ireland are any better than England though in terms of maintenance.

I definitely agree it’s the maintenance and amount that’s expected as parental top up that surprises some. Tuition less of issue as everyone knows there are fees and can borrow same.

The other surprise for many is the maintenance level being based the main parental home income only. If the divorce settlement stops maintenance at 18 the parent where the dc lives suddenly finds their new partners income means their dc will not get the full maintenance loan but the partner refuses to contribute and the parent has limited income - you can't really plan for some situations.

i'm 39. went to u i 2002 and had to pay them

We're not talking about tuition fees mate, do keep up.

Annoying, isn't it.

Yes life doesn't always work out the way you have planned and you cannot for-see some situations. But the majority of parents on this thread have started to think about Uni costs too late. Even in the days of the student grants, my parents had to pay for me as the grant didn't cover the full fees. And this was over 25 years ago. Yes I appreciate not everyone has been to Uni

However I will put another unpopular view here - if you are not expected to get a job paying over the threshold for paying back Uni fees at some point, you have to wonder the value of going to university. It's too much money for the life experience and poor use of tax payers money

I would say it was a good use of taxpayer's money otherwise

A)an immigrant has to do it who needs to be housed and use public services and may want to fly home to see family increasing carbon emissions and might send salary overseas to support family rather than spending it in the UK economy.

Or b) Alternatively some jobs are then only open to people who have alternative sources of income which means you might not get the best person for the job (this could explain the poor quality of conservative MPs who have external incomes)

Or c) the job goes overseas - people didn't like it when call centres went overseas as not then optimised for the UK and less oversight is possible risking corruption