Do you help fund your Dc through Uni?

[TheHullabaloo]

Do you help finance your Dc whilst at uni, particularly if they don't get the full maintenance loan due to parental income, or do you think as they are adults, and choosing to go to uni, they should work alongside studying to fund themselves?

@SockFluffInTheBath Arent all halls full of freshers? What halls aren’t safe. It’s possible to save money by sharing a bathroom and being a bit less fussy. When people quote prices it’s never the cheapest!

edited. I lost the quote.

Maybe they listen to people like you? On the "Some Universities will go bust" thread you were telling people that people from deprived backgrounds could go to university because there is the loan and you were insisting that it is enough to cover everything. I am so glad the @TheHullabaloo started this thread where so many people have clearly said that this is simply not true. It's an indesputable fact for the majority.

I also find it very puzzling that there are people much better off than me who can afford to pay off their children's student loans yet they'd rather it became an adittional burden on the tax payer, increasing with the added interest day by day. According to statista the total debt in 2023 was £225.85billion. Or people who refuse to help them with rent or don't allow them to live at home or give deposits because they have to "learn independence" because "it's not my responsibility anymore" or they simply want to go on another holiday or buy another property to add on their portfolio. So, it's not your responsibility when you are loaded to help them financially but it is the paxpayer's.

Whether students pay a loan or not there is still going to be a debt. At least if the debt had been money the government had spent on universities they wouldn't have been on the brink of collapse.

Yes, she got the minimal loan we helped with accommodation costs and then had to help with deposit for 2nd year - this came quite early on the year!

She also worked in term times and increased her hours in the holidays.

My parents could never have afford for me to go to uni or support me so I wanted to make sure my girls had choices - whether that was uni or other paths.

@chocorabbit There IS enough money with the full loan for many unis. If dc want more, of course they can work in the holidays or at uni to get it. It is not a case of the deprived cannot afford it and there are bursaries too. The numbers applying have barely dipped.

If dc are entitled to loans, why not? It’s not my responsibility to pay above and beyond any more than it’s other peoples responsibility to work longer hours or get promotion and pay a bit towards their dc’s maintenance. Many single parents keep work hours down to get full maintenance.

My DD1 pays a huge tax bill and collects vat on her work. We are no burden on the state and she paid off her loan. With arts subjects with no guaranteed work, DD2 took the loan and does not pay much back. She does pay tax though like many others in this country. The loan system is a grad tax and DDs are part of the system that’s been put in place. The last time I looked, as a high tax paying family over decades, we were included in that system. People have choices and our money has gone towards other things, including our impending old age.

There IS enough money with the full loan for many unis.

No, there isn't. 99% of pp having said that they HAD to top up their children's loans seems to have gone completely past you.

Of course people should work and pay off their loans. You can call it a graduate tax all you like but it is another 40 years of extra 9% and a burden on the tax payers whether you agree with it or not.

A friend's son left for Australia shortly after he graduated and has no plans to pay back his loan even though he earns over the threshold, he is never chased and it seems there is no mechanism to do so, he gets reminders of what his 'debt' is rising to with interest but that is about it. I understand that this isn't unusual. I find it distasteful that his parents think I am a mug by paying for DD's fees and maintenance so he has no debt as they see it as free money and 'wise' people just disappear off out of the country and leave the taxpayer to fund their son's education.

If I had £1 for every time someone said or posted to various forums 'but Martin Lewis says...' about student loans then I would probably not have to have saved quite so much!

We all lead different lives, have different pressures on our lives at different points but do think awareness of the cost should be made clearer to parents (although I am surprised how many are shocked at the expense) and there be a US style tax break for putting money into an account that can be used either towards education or a house deposit, or a rental deposit etc and might be anything from £1,000 to £100,000.

@chocorabbit Many are topping up because dc did not choose the cheapest accommodation. Also not all pp are on full loans. Many students work. Many unis have accommodation for £6/7000 pa. That leaves around £3000 for food and travel. I’m not saying it’s easy but it’s possible with judicious choices. Posters never quote the lowest prices for accommodation. They don’t look and believe dc when they say it’s £1000 a month for a room in a house when it’s plainly not. They forget the summer weeks when dc can work, so it absolutely IS possible with planning and sensible decisions.

@TizerorFizz I am sure other posters on the other thread who send their students to university every year have said that that's mostly not true. Rents are very expensive.

I am not going to argue that there are not many people who make wrong decisions. All the time there are posts about the university experience and nothing practical. Or the student dictating what they want and then the parents worrying about how they will pay for the extra. Or the vibe was not good on Open Evening when there are statistics and students to ask. How can you get a "feeling" from one visit when there are practical matters to take into account?

My DD is getting a few hundred under the full loan, unfortunately she didn't end up in the cheapest accommodation, (nor the most expensive) but had she I think it would just about be doable on the loan.

I think the poll probably gives a skewed view due to the demographic of MN. I'm probably in the minority that they are getting a full or almost full loan. I am fortunate that I can top her up, but if I couldn't she would have had to get a job.

How much help do people give? I earn 50k so would get no more than minimum loan, but DD is one of 4 dc so not loads of spare income… She could live at home but doesn’t want to. I can spare maybe £250 a month but that’s not really much…

This is the current rates, so she should get a little more than the minimum. Looking at that chart though I get more than my salary would suggest, so I presume that there is some allowance for my younger two children. I'm aiming that I will top up to the equivalent of the basic maintenance loan after halls have been paid. A key will be accommodation costs. (I am of course presuming your in England, but the other nations are on there)

https://www.studentbeans.com/blog/uk/how-much-maintenance-loan-should-you-get/#tableengland

Maybe I misunderstood, I thought the prices you found were for random houses shares, not halls. In our instance DS applied for the £160/wk room and got the £220/wk room 🙄 I’m not thrilled about it, but can stand it. I’m not looking for a scrap, I can’t even remember how this started 😁 I think my point was it’s bloody expensive.

@Howmanysleepsnow

I really don't think it's helpful to compare what others give to what you can afford.
People's circumstances vary so much, don't make yourself feel guilty or bad about it.
My son does get full loan but after hall fees were paid there wasn't much left.
I don't give him any cash. I set him up with what he needed- bedding, kitchen stuff and a food shop. He works 12 hours a week in a supermarket and managed ok.
He will be better off this year as he is a house share which is much cheaper.
If she wants to move away she will need to get a job

Eek, I'm counting my £172 blessings. 😂

She could have had an ensuite for less (sharing with one other). 😕

I can definitely set her up with kitchen staff, bedding, towels, food essentials and she has a weekend job she can transfer to a local branch. I’m just worried that I can’t spare hundreds a month. Over a third of my take home goes on my mortgage and I just can’t afford the same again for rent. I can definitely afford to feed her (I’m doing this already!) plus a bit extra but I think she’ll have to dip into her ISA to fund her tuition fees (she doesn’t want a loan) and that only leaves £3k a year plus wages for bills/ rent - that means working for anything above £500pcm

*kitchen stuff. I can definitely not afford staff 😂

@ShamblesRock its shocking, isn’t it. I could get a whole bloody house for less than he’s paying for one room.

DD uni 2019-2022. Got a £4.5k maintenance loan which did not cover annual fee of £7500.catered first year We paid the difference. She worked part time to save up £3k before she went o uni to pay for socialising. We paid train fares home. In year 2&3 we did the same but paid her £100pm for food.
We also paid her phone, and supplied all her household stiuff.