Parent top up - what did you get

[Awayinthewindow]

I read a lot about parents top up to the max loan and the amount parents contribute these days. As someone with young dcs who went to uni around 15-20 yrs ago I'm curious how much did your parents contribute around the 2095-2010 era and is it really every parent topping up £5-10k a year now?

Do you mean how much did my parents give me in addition to my loan? Nothing, and I didn't need anything. In fact I felt like the loan was more than I knew what to do with. I should've saved it but instead I for some reason felt like I had to spend it at all costs!

I didn’t get anything from parents either, just took the loan and I had a small grant (not sure they do these now). Parents would give me money for petrol, some food, pocket money etc but I also had a small job.

Same. I knew one person who had their tuition and accommodation paid for.
But from reading here that's not the norm now. Has it actually changed or is it just mn ways...because I don't know how anyone affords it now

I went to uni in 1998. My parents were awful so did nothing for me despite having money. It was a struggle. I had to work a lot and it was a hard time.

My son is at uni now. Last year he got the minimum maintenance loan of around £4.5k. His first year rent in halls was £8k, so thats 3.5k more than his loan before he's even eaten anything, bought anything needed for his course, clothes, travel, phone and god forbid actually has a bit of fun and a night out.

We want our son to have time to study and have a bit of fun so we gave him £6k last year and will do similar over this year.

He works 6-10 hours a week and does a further 6-8 hours volunteering which is related related to his course. I never want our children to struggle like I did so we're happy to top up and he manages well. We'd give him more if he needed it. We do also pay his car insurance as he uses his car when he's home and we help him out with other bits too. Friends do similar for their children.

This explains a lot. So basically the minimum maintenance loan has barely gone up in 20 years? In 2005 it was £3,070. As we all know, everything has rocketed since then.

Got very little from my parents ,lived at home and was skint
Did not want that for my DC so we fully fund them ,no loans and they all went away
The system is designed on the basis parents will make the loan up to the maximum loan amount,so that is the minimum parents should contribute

I went from 1995 to 1999. My parents generously paid my hall fees and also gave me £40 a week which made me comfortable. I didn't take out any student loans and even had a grant which was about three thousand a year. Even with my grant my parents really struggled.

I didn't work during term time but did work every holiday and saved the money to supplement my £40 a week.

We will try to pay living and tution expenses for my DS. He is likely to be a high earner and a 9% tax on everything over £25,000 is best avoided.

I went mid 90s and got nothing from my parents - borrowed £1000 a year to live off which I spent mostly in Miss Selfridge and on bottles of Hooch as I recall. I also worked part time in the holidays.
DD is in year 13, we are budgeting £500 a month to top up her loan depending on where she ends up. It’s a very different world these days!

I went to university in Ireland education and education was ‘free’ at the time. And I suppose it was I only had to pay €800 for my registration fees. My parents pay my accommodation which I think was approximately 4k. I had a weekend job at a very fancy restaurant, working somewhere between 16 to 24 hours a weekend. With my tips I usually had about €300-400 to live on each week. It was more than enough. I worked every summer also.
I then went to the UK and did post graduate for which I got a bursary. I paid my accommodation myself from savings.

Yes I think that is a major issue. I went 2005-2008 and got minimum loan (in my head this was a bit over £3k, as you say). This easily covered catered accommodation in the first year and almost covered rent in the second and third years. My dad said as it was his income which prevented me getting more he felt he had to top it up to at least the maximum loan amount. In the first year he gave me around £2.5k, second and third years more like £3-3.5k as my accommodation was more. My mum felt strongly she didn’t want me to have to split my focus with a job so I only worked in holidays. I wasn’t rolling in it but never felt super hard up - plenty of nights out and the odd takeaway and so on. I also used my overdraft of approx £1k.

I went to university in the 1980s and had a full grant, however it was possible to live on it. My grant was £2100 per year and received a termly cheque of £700 and my fully catered hall fees were £350 leaving me £350 to live on. My parents didn’t give me anything and didn’t need to. I worked in the holidays. A full loan today often doesn’t cover accommodation costs so parents need to top up or students need to work in term time.

I was at uni from 2004-2008 (MFL degree). Parents paid my tuition fees (around £1200 per year i think?). I got the full maintenance loan. No maintenance help in first / second year really other than at the start of each term, after dropping me off, they would do a big shop for me. I asked everyone for money for birthdays / Christmas, which all went into the pot, plus worked all holidays. I had around £4k saved from working during sixth form for first year. Second year I had a part time job in a campus shop. Final year DF sent me £100 per month towards rent so I could be in a houseshare very close to campus (which actually really did help with late night studying) and not need a part time job. I used my full overdraft every year but got it paid off fairly quickly over the holidays.

It's a different world today. My DC are 3y and 6m and we are trying to put as much away as possible for them for either uni or house deposit.

Nothing. They sometimes paid for my train tickets home, and bought some practical things as I needed them early on. I worked in the holidays and part time from my second year and luckily my rent was cheap even for up north so I had just enough to live on. One of my otherwise lovely housemates liked to plead poverty while calling me a posh southerner (I'm not, lol!) and was a stingey sod. That stopped a bit when we were both shocked to discover that he had his rent paid by his parents leaving his loan for "spending money", and I did not...

I was at uni in the mid 90s and y rent was about £35-45 per week. I didn't get a grant or loans and my parents gave me £300 a month. Actually, it came from my mother, which I realise must have been about half her part time salary at the time. I was always very grateful.

My DD is in final year and we're paying about £3000 to top up her rent per year and £350 per month for food and living (she also has savings from summer jobs)

Nothing.

I went to university in 1981 on a 'full' grant that covered my halls room and half my bus ticket. Nothing left for food, books, or the other half of the bus ticket. One text book alone was £100.

The issue then, was that there were no student loans. Banks wouldn't lend to students because we had no income.

So it was literally work or drop out. I worked five nights a week in a pub for two of the three years, plus all three summer holidays, and most Christmases.

The up side was that I graduated with £4.35 in the bank, four years NI already paid (since I was 16) and no debt. The downside was I got a 2:2 and had no social life.

People with generous parents got much higher marks because they had an extra 25 hours a week to study.

I matriculated in 1998. My parents covered everything (I was expected to work FT in the summer holidays). They paid halls (Cambridge so relatively cheap because term time only) and gave me a more than adequate allowance. DM is American and had hated having a loan so overrode DDad who thought it might be a good idea. We’re saving with a view to being able to at least top up DSs as required (which baring any catastrophes it will be).

I went in 1998. Worked the summer before going and earned £1k which saw me through the first few terms and I did that the following two summers too. Got a weekend job which also helped. No grant but maximum loan. I felt quite well off most of the time.

DH was at uni in London in the late 80s to early 90s and got a grant that covered everything. He never paid more than £50 a week in rent, didn't have to work and spent all his spare time seeing great bands.

Yes min loan has not gone up with inflation and cost of accommodation has skyrocketed - the actual weekly cost and the length of tenancy. 40 plus weeks norm, some private halls 51 weeks. The parental income levels to get loan haven’t increased - some parents on £30,000 a year have no idea they are classed as wealthy by SFE and teen only gets min loan as a result. Only those with households earning less than £25000 get full loan.

Yes it has changed. The loan the student gets is based on their parents income.

I’m mid 1990s. No tuition fees. No grant (parents both worked) but my accommodation was so much more affordable. It was £58 a week catered and I only paid term time. Didn’t start until October. That was the norm - normal uni not Oxbridge. My low paid factory job in summer got banked - 1 weeks wage covered 2 weeks at uni. So my parents did help but it wasn’t in league we need to top dd. We pay her rent and she lives on min loan.
Husband got full grant as his mum didn’t work. His step dad’s income was ignored - these days he’d be on lower loan as they would take into account step dad’s income. They classed his mum as a single mum even though she was married in 1990s.

Student live on min loan £4700 (£90 a week) and parents pay accommodation is a very common set up for teens on min loan.

Both daughters managed on their student loans and we chipped in with a monthly meal out and an occasional bag of meat for her freezer.

It was up to them to manage or get a part-time job. They are both still paying back x amount from their wages.

When I attended many years ago it was all paid for and nothing was paid back.

Started 2004. Got minimum loan. Parents gave me £1000 for each year. Also got access to my bank account at 18 with inheritance in (only £7 or 8k, so a lot at 18 but not rich rich!).
With my part time job...I actually added to the savings instead of using them!

1996-1999
My Dad paid my accommodation and gave me £200 a month. I also had a job, full grant and no loans.
I actually had loads of money then, I worked 18hrs+ in a popular clothes shop with good discount and was out most nights having a blast, dressed up. Living the dream! I’ve never had as much disposable income since alas.

I got full grant as technically resident at my mums and they didn’t require my dad’s income (divorced).