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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Original poster

How much money for university?

54 replies

MumblesParty · 08/09/2023 05:45

DS is off to Cardiff uni in 2 weeks.
His loan will cover his rent, and leave him with about £300 per term left over, so obviously he’ll need extra money from me.
How much money are people generally giving their kids per week/month?
thanks

OP posts:

RuthW · 12/09/2023 12:12

Nothing. He needs yo get a job

Ohmylovejune · 12/09/2023 12:14

We paid the accommodation and my DD lived off her loan. She managed on that and even saved a bit, although probably less likely now with inflation plus she wasnt a big socialite. The deal.was if she ran out she could work. Her choice.

Passe · 13/09/2023 07:49

DS gets the minimum maintenance loan but has been been lucky enough transfer his part time job.

Its not a major city so we were planning to give £60 pw - he'll be in sc halls

I think this expectation to top up to the full loan is so dependent on several factors.

Auntieobem · 13/09/2023 07:57

We give dd £250 a month term time and £150 a month during summer. She gets minimum loan.

HerMammy · 13/09/2023 08:56

@Auntieobem
Why are you funding her in summer, does she not work?
I'm on my 3rd DC at uni and every one of them and their friends work, MN is the only place I come across students who don't work.

Auntieobem · 13/09/2023 10:17

HerMammy · 13/09/2023 08:56

@Auntieobem
Why are you funding her in summer, does she not work?
I'm on my 3rd DC at uni and every one of them and their friends work, MN is the only place I come across students who don't work.

No, she hasn't been in paid work over the summer.

Comefromaway · 13/09/2023 11:10

MumblesParty · 08/09/2023 06:04

Thank you. DS will get about £6800 per year in his loan, which would mean he was about £3200 short of the full loan. If I made up the difference, it would be about £60 per week across the whole year , but around £85 per week if I only gave him money in term time. Does that sound about right?

That sounds exactly right.

My son is in a slightly more expensive city, his rent is over £7k per year. We make up the difference to full loan and it leaves him with £45 per week to live on spread across the whole year or £78 per week term time only. That covers food, travel, phone, socialising, clothes, insurance/memberships (he is a musician so has to have extra musical instrument insurance). Basically everything except rent, bills and travel to and from uni once a term.

Comefromaway · 13/09/2023 11:43

Sorry my post above should have said £68 per week term time only.

He does work as well but also this summer he spent 3 weeks doing something unpaid that directly relates to his course and future career ambitions. I feel that it is unfair to expect him to live on less money just because we have a higher family income than his friends who get the full loan.

HerMammy · 13/09/2023 12:15

@Auntieobem
Is there a resin she doesn't work for the very long summer break?

uggmum · 13/09/2023 12:27

I paid the rent for my DC. They kept their maintenance loan for daily living.

They also had part time jobs for extras.

BirdiePlantaganet · 13/09/2023 12:28

We pay the rent and our son lives off the minimum maintenance loan which I think is plenty. He certainly seems quite well-off judging by all the gallivanting and new clothes.

We pay all additional expenses like bus pass, phone, gym membership.

uggmum · 13/09/2023 12:28

I'll just add, my DC only received the minimum maintenance loan.

Auntieobem · 13/09/2023 13:00

HerMammy · 13/09/2023 12:15

@Auntieobem
Is there a resin she doesn't work for the very long summer break?

Yes there is, but it's of jo relevance to this thread. Thanks for your interest though.

Motheranddaughter · 13/09/2023 13:20

We pay £1100 a month to cover rent of £600 and balance for spends
In Scotland so no fees

Passe · 13/09/2023 15:25

DS will be putting all of his loan towards rent. We will have to top it up by a few £100.
We will then give him a weekly amount to live on.

Wasn't keen on us paying all his rent and leaving him to piss away his loan. He's never been great with money and will have to learn🙄

HalfSiblingsMadeContact · 13/09/2023 17:03

I think there will be more students in tight situations this year with rents spiralling compared to the amount maintenance loans have increased by. Last year we calculated that paying DDs rent was roughly equivalent to topping her up to maximum loan so arranged things that way. DS is about to start, and if we only topped him up to maximum loan he'd have about £20 a week over after rent, from which he needs to buy meals in college, let alone books/ resources/ transport. He's likely to be able to get some paid work (music related or tutoring most likely) but we just don't know yet. So we ended up looking at what his sister had to live on last year after her rent, and added that to his rent to provide a target total amount. We're hoping that he'll end up saving a little (as his sister did last year) but their grandmother has told me tales of her life as a student in London whose parents didn't top up her grants appropriately and I certainly don't want that for my children. (Mind you, back in her day, she couldn't get paid work while a student because her father wouldn't sign the forms to give permission!) We are lucky to be able to do so.

floofbag · 13/09/2023 17:26

We give dd £50 a week but she doesn't do or eat much . We pay the difference on her loan in a lump sum when required because we don't get the full amount . We don't make her work but she did work in the summer .

Xenia · 13/09/2023 18:09

If he is getting the maximum maintenance then that is what the state expects and nothing from you. if he is getting the minimum of about 4300 a year then it is expected parents make that up to the maximum of about £9k

Alainlechat · 13/09/2023 18:28

I give DD £80 a week and she gets £20 a week off her grandparent. Her loan does not cover her rent so I have to make that up by £800 per term.

NerdyIsMyMiddleName · 17/09/2023 22:19

I read somewhere that this year students need approx £12K to live (was under £11K last year apparently). DS has a job and a bit in savings, but his maintenance loan is the minimum, so around £4.5K (rent for the year is around £7K). We're making up the rest up to £12K, it'll be a tight few years!

Damonalbarnsbigtoe · 17/09/2023 22:25

My DD does have a part time job but she only gets the minimum maintenance loan and so we top the difference between that and the cost of her rent. We also give her £200 per month, pay her mobile, Spotify etc.

Catstare · 18/09/2023 06:44

We topped up to the full amount. This gives our dc about £50 a week ( across the full year) left after accommodation and bills. They work during the holidays

MarchingFrogs · 18/09/2023 07:21

RuthW · 12/09/2023 12:12

Nothing. He needs yo get a job

'Nothing' on top of him being able to claim the maximum maintenance loan? Or 'nothing' on top of a lower amount, which is all he is entitled to as a loan on account of your household income?

123sunshine · 18/09/2023 08:07

This is all new to me, so hard to know if my approach is right. My son gets the minimum loan, this is going towards his accommodation and then the rest of the accommodation his dad will pay for. I will be giving him £220 a month to cover food. No bus travel needed as in a City centre university we also cover mobile phone and subscriptions. )I will cover train travel home for Xmas etc. His dad will also pay gym membership. He worked over the summer so is going away with some savings in the bank (with another wage packet due next month). Would never see him struggle, however believe that he needs to work to pay for boozing etc. he has an interview lined up this week in his uni town for the same company he worked for over the summer, so fingers crossed he gets this to give him some extra spends.
He also has savings from his Child Trust Fund, but the aim is not to spend this to live off of if possible. Ideally this is for travel experiences, possibly a car in the future or helping to get on the property ladder in the future, but it’s there if needed.

RedHelenB · 18/09/2023 08:55

MumblesParty · 08/09/2023 05:45

Top it up so he has the equivalent of full loan. That is what parents are expected to do

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