University finance application and timeline

[Ib1234567]

Hi

I have first child applying to univ, I looked at the student finance website but I wanted to understand the timeline . so Is these assumption right?

1. So apply get approved then register at the beginning of the term at univ to get money( maintenance loan)?

1. I understood how the tuition fees is paid to univ but how the Maintenance Loan is paid ? is it monthly?

1. Also when we are booking accommodation and paying deposit or first month rent Is that from parent pocket as the child would not have the money at that time .

what I am trying to understand how much expense we need before the finance starts? how much as parent you spent before your child got any money ? I read about people adding some extra money after child start univ , but I am not asking about that. Just period before the loan start . appreciate any help

This will be us next year, so I'd like to know to.
Although don't think DD will be eligible for much of a maintenance loan.

Does anyone know what the different levels of support are?

You apply for SF once you have firmed/insured choices. Tuition loan is paid direct to uni and maintenance to student once they matriculate at the beginning of first term. The maintenance loan is paid in three installments over the year.

Both maintenance and tuition Lin's are paid in 3 parts - when you get approval you are informed of the amounts and dates.

Uni rent (in halls) will generally be charged in 3 parts roughly a couple of days after each loan instalment.

Yes there often are upfront costs to secure accommodation.

Loans not Lin's!!

It is a sliding scale for maintenance loans , with a minimum of around 4.5k pa

As PP have said, maintenance loans are paid in three chunks. Tuition loans go straight to the uni and the student never sees them. University accommodation will normally time rents to come out right after loans arrive, but any required deposit will have to be paid upfront.

Private accommodation (often in years 2 and 3) will probably want monthly payments, sometimes starting in August, so student will need a substantial amount upfront then (many use summer work to fund this 'buffer').

Loans scale from around 4.5k pa (if family income greater than around 60k) to around 10k pa (income less than 25k). That's for English students, outside London (which gets a boost). Numbers are off the top of my head but are right ballpark.

@MigGirl you can see the approximate amount on here, scroll down until you see a massive list of income/loan

https://www.savethestudent.org/student-finance/maintenance-loans.html

@Ib1234567 Ds gets minimum maintenance loan, it is paid at 33%, 33% then 34%, so 3 payments.

Re uni halls usually they have a payment schedule so Durham's was 1st Dec (better hope they don't blow their loan) 1st Feb and 1st June. No deposit required by them and I think that is the same across the board but there should be info on the university's accommodation costs page.

They matriculate so "join" the university and once registered this then triggers the loan payment. Ds's payments in first year were paid on
29th Sept
10th Jan
25th April
These line up with his start of term dates

As Ds only gets minimum loan we didn't have to provide any additional information to them.

Ds is in private halls 2nd/3rd year, no deposit and 3 lump payments. But I had to sign as guarantor for just him because it is just his en-suite room. I can't say anything because my 3rd year accommodation was also en-suite in the 90s.

So you can live in the accommodation until Dec without paying rent , I am surprised as I thought you need to pay straight at first month or at least before you start living there.

I understand now , so for first year accommodation depends on univ as you may need to pay deposit or not. (thanks everyone)

so what about the expense before you get the money, I am trying to tell him how much to save . I am sure we need to buy stuff for the accommodation and stuff for him to take . Is it couple of hundreds pound or more?

Hall fees are normally due in advance by the time term starts, which may be a week or two after arrival.

@Ib1234567 That December timing was just for Durham. Universities all start on different dates in September and October. My DD's first loan and rent both happened in mid September.

Some unis have deposits, others don't.

You will receive a lot of conflicting advice over how much is needed for the start of university. Some of it depends on course (high-spec laptop? textbooks? materials?) and some on personal preference. Your DC will need bedding, basic kitchen utensils and supplies, etc. That could be taken from home, or bought new, or found second-hand. My DD took very little and bought cheap stuff once she knew what she needed, but it helped that she's in a city centre with shops. Also different if travelling by train/plane or by car!

Ds is now year 3 so his Freshers started 27th and his loan went in 29th which lines up with his matriculation day. He did however move in on Saturday 25th.

Money wise, the way we worked it and I am using his 1st year figures, he gets min loan and we generously top him to max, so max loan of £9488 minus accommodation cost £6335 left £3153 for the year. Divide that over the 30 weeks he was there is £105.10 a week as we would cover food etc when he was home. We basically agreed £100 a week and we would pay that £5 for his laundry on a top up card they get when they move in.

When we moved him in we took up food so he had easy meals to make whilst he found his feet, plus lots of basics like pasta, rice, spices, herbs. That meant no real need to spend on food for freshers but he would have club entry fees, drinks etc so we doubled that £100 to £200 to cover fresher activities. Ds is not a party person, nor a drinker, that hasn't changed. He used the saved money for gigs, camping with mates etc and his LISA!

Laundry is £3.80 per load and tumble drying was free in first year. That £100 was overkill as he has never spent anywhere near that but he has no course supplies, no books to buy, no printing out of anything. He spends around £38 a week on food. He does laundry every 10 days but 2 loads one of bedding and towels one of clothing. Don't forget things like Amazon prime cost, cheaper for students, Netflix, Spotify etc.

Before he went, we don't have spares here, so we bought pillow, duvet, mattress protector, bedding, towels, kitchen supplies. We are a minimalist household with no old pans to donate.

Each uni should have all their accommodation costs and payment schedules clearly laid out. I did say that mine was for Durham, each university works differently.

Agree with @PhotoDad your mode of transport can dictate what they can initially take up with them. Ds takes a guitar with him. There are lots of uni move in days on Youtube, well worth a watch to see the various ways people pack their things and then into a car or on a train.

The general rule is that there is no general rule! Unis are all different in various ways. My DD is in an HMO this year, on a 12 month contract but split into 10 payments (odd, I know) which started in August; her rent includes not only bills but also use of the house's washing machine! But it's impossible to generalise from that.

@KyeeMaClune I walked through my DD's finances once on another thread. They're very similar to your DS's. I was pretty much accused of lying because "no student could live on that little." 🙄

You can apply for the finance as soon as SFE opens - usually around March. You do not have to have accepted any offers to do so. Just apply giving your favoured uni/course. If the student ends up somewhere else they just have to remember to update their account as soon as they can.

If you are only going to be entitled to the minimum loan, it is normally a straightforward and relatively quick process. If you are entitles to more, it will take longer as you have to supply all the relevant information on your income etc. so worth applying as soon as you can.

I think it is very unusual not to have to pay for uni halls accommodation at the start of term. Unis are often quite helpful at accepting a later payment date than that specified to tie in with loan arrivals, but you will need to agree that with them. Those that require deposits will need that way before finance arrives.

Just to say you don’t apply for finance after you’ve firmed and insured. You should apply for finance as soon as it opens (in feb/march of Y13) and before deadline (usually about may of Y13), to make sure it’s processed for the start of term.

If you’ve firmed a choice at that point you can put it in. If you haven’t you can put the uni you’re hoping to firm down and change it if needed.

Just to note, I’m assuming you’re in England. But Scottish student finance is paid monthly not termly.

If money is a concern, it's worth remembering that some parts of the country are much cheaper than others to live. Also some uni locations have real problems with private rentals for 2nd/3rd years which pushes up the cost. So have a good look into things like that.

Uni halls are usually available at a range of prices depending on things like whether they have an en suite or not, how many share a bathroom etc. Although students are usually able to list their preferences, there is no guarantee that they will be allocated what they have requested so can end up with the more expensive accommodation.

To add to @Seeline's point, some universities have "first come, first served" for accommodation which means a guarantee of which price-band you'll be in. But not many, and it's criticised for encouraging people to firm them early. Can't win.

Appreciate all the information. we are in England and my son applying for medicine as this is very competitive course we are prepare to take gap year . we are not sure which one we get, if any! that's why he will start the ball rolling at march (applying to loan )then hopefully save some money for the beginning as I can see he will need some help (or maybe from his summer work)

I was trying to find how the system works . which all of you gave me a lot of advice . I really appreciate thanks.

And bear in mind with Medicine the standard term dates don't apply after second/third year so rentals become more problematic.

DCs maintenance loans are paid Sept, Jan and April.
Both have used their free overdraft when rent has been due before the loan and then paid it back when the loan arrives.

@PhotoDad Ds's friends also spend very little, they much prefer to get together in a kitchen/house and drink cups of tea or coffee, or supermarket bought drinks and have a good chat. In fact Ds's mate is from Hong Kong and has been teaching how to cook beautiful meals so he goes there for dinner. We got the benefit of that when he came home. Delicious.

My niece who is also at uni asked Ds if he just ate beans on toast so he had going out money like her. My son has an instant pot and slow cooker at uni to cook proper meals, so the answer was no. He complained the hob didn't get hot enough for a proper stir fry This year another flat mate has an instant pot and there is another slow cooker too so he doesn't feel quite so alone.

He is loving his life up there.

For anyone else reading this thread Durham has a set price for accommodation that increases or decreases slightly with shared rooms, en-suites, 3/4 beds etc. Plus they have catered and self catering. Others like Warwick have a vast range of hall prices.

I am not even thinking of other years ,NHS loans and all the other complication of placements !

step by step or everything becomes overwhelming

Once they've officially enrolled on line is when the loans, finance, bursary tend to get released

I have no idea re accommodation though