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?

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

<overheard at a university Open Day. Spoken by a 17 year old>
"Of course you don't have to pay back your student loan until you earn over £25000, so I figure I'll just get married and have children, and then I'll never have to pay it back."

@tennissquare too true.

But I had the last laugh with my arsehole exh who never paid a penny in maintenance after he moved in with OW 100 miles away but would regularly lecture me on the importance of dc doing well at school and going to a top uni like he did.

So when the time came I told him I was not getting involved in student finance and he could sort it all out himself if going to a top uni was so important, otherwise they wouldn't be going.

So he did and 3 dc all went to uni with minimum maintenance loans and he had to pay the rest.

@Teleguard I don't understand.

Why would an immigrant need to do a job if a DC doesn't go to Uni?

I am saying there are so many jobs that one doesn't have to study to degree levels to be able to do.

Well, their children will benefit from having at least one highly educated parent.

Not all universities are that expensive. From what I've seen the accommodation costs vary a lot and my ds is at the low end as he pays under £100 a week.

Degree level jobs are often more fulfilling and if there is no-one available from this country then someone from elsewhere gets that opportunity instead
.

I'm so glad my ds and dd are passed this age.

What absolute and utter rubbish @Teleguard

@Teleguard i think you missed the point. Not all jobs need a degree. Those with earning potentials of less than the threshold for repaying student loans are a waste of tax payers money

I think you missed the point OP said her daughter was “bright” and obviously academic - if we as a society needs doctors, lawyers, scientists blah blah blah you need capable people with degrees to do these jobs. The taxpayers get student loans money back in bags full of profits on the back of the bright student endeavours and let’s not mention their tax burden throughout life

So they won't have "gone to university".
They'll have attended some tertiary education classes in order to pass an exam.

So they won't have "gone to university".
They'll have attended some tertiary education classes in order to pass an exam.

No, they've still gone to university they just experience it in a different way.
They still have access to the vast majority of university experiences which sit outside of lectures.

Staying at home is becoming increasingly more common amongst certain groups and finance is a big reason for that.

The number of students living in the family home while attending a local university (or doing distance learning through HEIs like the OU) is increasing.

Students still have tuition fee debt though. It's not a way of avoiding student debt entirely.

Apart from fees to pay even if staying home for uni there will likely also be commuting costs. Our 'local' uni doesn't offer a great range of science courses so was unsuitable for either of my DDs.

Suitable unis were 1.5 to 2 hours commute away.

Even our 'local' uni is a 1.5 hour bus ride away. We don't live in the middle of nowhere, just have rubbish public transport. As do most places outside of major cities.

The number of students living in the family home while attending a local university (or doing distance learning through HEIs like the OU) is increasing.

Distance learning isn't as popular with your typical 18 year old student. They are more likely to choose a local university and commute .... for this group of students the location, not the subject is the driving factor. I've just completed a huge piece of research looking at this particular topic.
Postgraduate study is a different story , DL is becoming increasingly popular.

Students still have tuition fee debt though. It's not a way of avoiding student debt entirely.

Of course. I never said they'd leave with no debt. The issue is exactly what the OP is talking about. It's the living and accommodation costs that are the issue and the fact that for many people the loans don't cover costs.

Distance learning isn't as popular with your typical 18 year old student. They are more likely to choose a local university and commute .... for this group of students the location, not the subject is the driving factor. I've just completed a huge piece of research looking at this particular topic.

Is this something likely to be published / freely available in the public domain? @GCSister

Picking up on the point made by @redskytwonight their is a bit of a lag on the published HESA data (that I can access at least). The currently available indicates living at parental home relatively flat - although this will predate the real cost of living impacts, which in many instances have still to feed through. How that living at home segment moves as the last 22/23 year's data is published and then that for 23/24 and beyond will be interesting to see.

That graph will be blamed on the pandemic though, it’ll be interesting to see how the next couple of years pan out

For that one year yes. Interesting that otherwise it is pretty flat for living at home. The graph data also goes a bit beyond the 130 unis listed in the typical league tables, I’d imagine there is a fair degree of variability between unis.

Is this something likely to be published / freely available in the public domain? @GCSister

It will be published, hopefully in journals that have open access.
I was specifically looking at first generation students and university choice as well as the impact of Covid on these choices

Interesting living at home isn’t on increase. Perhaps area specific - we are in a nice area where lots of kids with only get minimum loan and a reasonable commute to several universities.
Big trend at dc’s sixth form is parents saying northern only - so kids will be living away but restricted in terms of where they apply. 300 kids in yr12 and it’s literally a handful have ventured down south for open days.

As boys3 does make clear - the last HESA data available is from 21/22. Any recent trends due to Covid/CoL won't show up yet.

Anecdotally, I'm also seeing students much more aware of university associated costs and that impacting their decisions. Gap years seem to be on the rise as well.

I posted some of these on another thread. From the HESA domicile data (UK domiciled, full time undergrads) it shows which regions in the UK students attend uni at. So for example in London, based on the last data released, 45% of students who live in London go to a London uni, the next 14% a South East; 10% to an East of England one. So for London that's nearly 70% of undergrads accounted for. Graphs shown for London, South-East; South West; East of England, and East Midlands

then the remaining English regions

then Wales, N.Ireland and Scotland

I went to university and had no help from may parents and so did many others. I found staying in student let's a lot cheaper than the university rooms on campus. I also got a job at the weekend. Looking back it was for the best as i couldn't go out partying every weekend as I had work the next day.