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?

Computer science sounds like a great choice.

Could she look into doing an Apprenticeship Degree? That way she'd have no fees, get paid for working with computers and have a degree with work experience.

Lots of unis do bursary’s too for all kinds of things. Worth having a look on their websites about what’s available when she/you investigate.

OP, you should be able to find somewhere where the loan pays the rent. Then the question is just, what are your DD's living costs? If she can survive on £50 a week then that's £200/month (in term-time) which could be the £50 you already pay, another £100 if you can manage that, and say £50 from her savings. Then she can find a summer job to replenish savings? My DD was lucky enough to find an internship this summer, for example.

Do have a look at student bursaries from the university of choice. The uni I work often finds it's scholarships and bursaries aren't used because people don't apply! Don't assume you won't get it or it's not for you.

Also does she have her child trust fund? Even though we never topped up DSs’ that was a decent amount to help somewhat with uni costs.

@Taylorscat it is NOT an ‘example of elitism’, it reflects the much more intensive nature of the teaching process and is an attempt to encourage students (and their parents) to be realistic about the effort that will be involved. Trying to manage a job alongside the level of work required would cause significant stress and probably contribute to greater mental health challenges, which nobody wants. As a pp says, there is greater financial support available through Oxbridge for those coming from lower earning families.

OP, Money Saving Expert has some good, digestible articles about actual costs and likely parental contributions.

Yes this would be great but I think they are very competitive

Yes, various religious ones or people from a particular area or of particular heritage. One of the best was an army scheme - not UK- where you got your entire degree paid for.

Our outgoings have gone up by £500 in a few months! I just thought we'd be okay

Yes this could definitely work. thank you

Re jobs for your dd, I could never work in a bar or shop or any form of customer service role as it would be my idea of hell. Not all student jobs are in bars or shops! Some roles I had through college and uni - cleaning offices in the evening (surprisingly enjoyable, headphones in and potter about); warehouse work (I did this full time in the summer); shelf stacking (will require some customer interaction but very limited!); pot washing in a restaurant kitchen.

I realise these all sound pretty crappy but I genuinely enjoyed all of them, and they meant I never had to ask my parents for a penny!

Yes that is where the £3000 is

True! Thank you

DS is hopefully going to university in September (A levels permitting).

I’m a single parent earning £48k per year. DS’s student loan will cover tuition, and his maintenance loan will be £7k per year. His rent in the first year will be about £5k. I’m expecting to give him about £250 per month, when he’s away. During the holidays I won’t be giving him anything.

OP has already said she feels like shit and is upset.... so you post this?
Are you this nasty irl?

Okay thank you that is very helpful to know

I would also have hated bar/shop work at that age. I could type really well and found no shortage of temp secretarial work through an agency but I don't know whether that's still a thing!

If your joint income is £50k she can get £6,400 maintenance loan (more for London) and the full loan for of fees. It's more like a tax than a loan. So you find enough to top that up- the gov expects you to top up to around 9k, but that's not enough to live off. She won't be living in halls after y1, so might be paying less (tho private rent...) And she will have long summers to earn in. From other threads many people expect to pay enough that their kids have around £4.5 k (the minimum maintenance loan) to live off after accomodation.

I told my DD that we would not be able to support her at uni.
This is patrtially true, but we also wanted to make sure she did a course/ career path she's passionate about with good prospects.

I also wanted her to think about money, as she'll run up a lot of debt.

She took a year out working and saved a substantial amount to support herself.

We paid the accommodation, they got a PT job in term time, and worked the holidays.

Can I ask how much the accommodation was?

This, DS is at Oxford, this is our experience.

By the way, there are widely varying estimates on MN of how much a student "needs" to live off. Only you know your DD! The savings fund is a good buffer for the odd night out or impulse purchase but some students do splash the cash.

Put both mine through
Pay for their phones and sent a monthly Tesco shop - about £80