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?

The loan is means tested, and what my dd can borrow doesn't even cover her basic rent, let alone food and other costs. She can't work much because of the intensive nature of her course, so topping up is the only realistic option.

Parents who don't top up with the expected parental contribution are really letting their kids down imo. Anything above that is up to them, but they should at least cover the expected minimum.

The maximum parental contribution, for outside London, is £5327. Or £444 a month. Even when taking off her food etc we pay at the moment, DD (13yo) doesn't cost us that much...

I'm very grateful right now that we've been saving since birth and my parents have too.

I went to uni from 2018-2021. I had a student loan, as per, for the course and then I had around £3,000 maintenance loan (which is just backward anyway because maintenance is calculated off of your parents joint income with the assumption that every parent is going to financially support). I stayed at home during my degree, rent free. However, I worked a part time job (alongside working a healthcare degree!) and paid for my own life still. My parents helped me with a travel card and if I needed some extra cash for uni supplies or if they saw I was struggling but it wasn't anywhere near £6k like someone else has put here! It was always a couple of hundred once or twice every 3 months. IMO if a kid decides to go to university, then they should take on the responsibility of sorting out their own financial situation as best they can. Accept help if offered but also don't expect it. I'll do the same for my child eventually if he decides uni is something he wants to do but not going to be splashing £6k when most of it (as witnessed) goes on freshers, nights out etc. My parents supported my brother at uni because he moved away and they gave him £400p/m towards his rent because he couldn't afford it even with a job... but then he spent his earnings on games, nights out and a VR head set so... each parent to each child I guess.

I went from 2001-2005 but stayed at home for 3 of the 4 years. Got student loan and bursary. Worked in a pub a few nights a week and the weekend and in the post office on a Sat and during holidays. Parents very supportive and gave me what they could. I don’t know how I would have afforded to move out the full time tbh!

I lived at home for uni (started 1998) because we couldn’t afford for me to move away without loans- and the £1500 per year seemed terrifying to me (gives you an idea of finances).

Now DS gets about £4500 maintenance loan, and I pay for his halls which is £920 per month.

I went in the 90s and missed tuition fees by a whisker. It was a completely different era. Accommodation was very cheap, you could get a lovely meal for 99p etc. The days of grants. Universities seemed to have funds for doing well in exams, which I also received. I had summer jobs and my mum gave me money. So money was OK.

These days, everything has changed beyond recognition. I've paid £8,600 for DS's pretty basic year 1 halls room which is mouldy and worrying me half to death. I feel sick about it. It's only for 9 months of the year, so essentially it's a thousand pounds a month. More than any mortgage we've ever had on a family home. The fees are £9,250 per year and set to rise. So you're looking at almost £20k before you've even picked up a pencil (or, rather, the laptop you just spent £££ on). I went to uni with a biro!

Yes, I would say every parent (who is able to) is topping up by £5-10k and in many cases, significantly more. There are serious financial barriers to going to university. Loans aren't the answer IMO. You end up paying them off for life - the value of student debt these days is comparable to a small mortgage.

I was at Uni 2005-2009, my parents didn't pay anything towards my studies. Drove me to the airport so I could fly, cheaper and quicker than train travel back then and sent me a care package occasionally.

I got full maintenance grant and some additional money for being the first in my family to go. I didn't work whilst at Uni but I live in a seaside town so worked in the holidays.

I managed to save £5k over the years, I was frugal and didn't waste money but had more than enough to live on.

DD on the other hand is year 10 and I'm already worrying about how I'm going to Contribute to it. She has autism so would benefit from a single room and en suite but they seem to be £££ now, I think mine was only £83 a week possibly less

If your DD has Autism she should get DSA at Uni. If her needs special accommodation then extra costs should be part of this.
In addition if the family has a low income there may be University specific Bursaries and Scholarships.

You were living at home rent free. So you didn't have to cover food, bills, cleaning products, internet etc. So your parents were actually contributing a lot more than My parents helped me with a travel card and if I needed some extra cash for uni supplies or if they saw I was struggling but it wasn't anywhere near £6k like someone else has put here! It was always a couple of hundred once or twice every 3 months.!

I went in 1986. Full grant was £1800ish. I was awarded just over half this based on my parents' pretty low income. Despite this, they made my grant up to the full amount. Most parents contributed in some way. I was pretty annoyed as one of my friends was much better off than all my other friends, but he got a full grant automatically because his dad was self-employed. Had a massive building company, and earned a fortune!
According to google the max. grant then is the equivalent of about £5.5k in todays money. But we were able to claim housing benefit against the cost of accommodation (I was paying £110/month for a room in a shared house), and we were able to claim the dole over the summer months if not working (I worked all my holidays). Very few of my friends worked at all.

I went at the start of the 80’s. My grant was the minimum at about £400 so there was a definite expectation that parents would contribute. Not all did. A student on my course had to drop out after a few weeks because his wouldn’t. Mine gave me an endowment which at the time meant income tax could be claimed back against it. Together with my grant, it amounted to about £1600. The full grant was around £1400.

When I wasn’t working I could claim the dole in the summer vacations. I wasn’t eligible for housing benefits during term time although I vaguely remember them being available during the vacations if you weren’t living at home.

I'm just saying that this is the way the student loans were sold. Until your DC or someone you knows DC reaches university application stage, most parents aren't aware that the difference between minimum and maximum loan is so vast.

Martin Lewis had a campaign to make it clearer on paperwork what parents contribution is. It’s definitely not widely known how low loan is for many and how much parents are expected to contribute. I’ve seen it on here - why are you paying they can get a loan and in real life. My colleagues with small children had no idea contribution is £5500 per child per year to bring them up to full loan let alone any extra they may need due to sky high rents in some cities.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2021/11/student-living-parental-contribution-win/

Oh of course! I'm not saying parents shouldn't be expected to top up, more just curious that I have no memory of this from my own time at uni!

I worked unpaid 12hr shifts three/four times a week. I then also worked my part time job in between that too. Bought my own food etc. I basically just slept at home. I was paying for my own phone bills, finance I’d got out.. so yeah my parents actually really helped me out with staying at home. Financial support in literal terms, not as you’re indicating.

I got maximum loan and £1500 a year from my parents. I also worked 20 hours a week and didn't drink or smoke. I was still using my overdraft. Joys of studying in London and exorbitant rent.

I went to uni in 1996. Got a grant but stayed at home (which was common in Scotland). My parents took half the grant off me every time I got a cheque for "room and board".

I worked unpaid 12hr shifts three/four times a week. I then also worked my part time job in between that too. Bought my own food etc. I basically just slept at home. I was paying for my own phone bills, finance I’d got out.. so yeah my parents actually really helped me out with staying at home. Financial support in literal terms, not as you’re indicating.

Do you want a medal? I don't get the mentality of people who had it quite hard wishing that on others.

It was me that said we give out son £6k per year that you seem to have an issue with. I remember struggling at uni because my parents wouldn't contribute. I worked loads, volunteered and was doing a demanding course. I was so tired. We never want our children to feel under that much pressure when we can afford to help them and I believe it is our responsibility too. It's no ones business but ours. Our son studies and works hard but I believe he should enjoy being young too.

I feel sorry for some kids having parents with attitudes like yours.

The current student loan system has been designed around the assumption that parents contribute. Not that parents "top-up", they are 100% expected to cover the shortfall between the loan and actual living expenses. This is why loans are means tested on the parental household income.
It is weird and unfair in a number of ways and all my DCs friends have jobs while studying.

My parents weren't in a finical position to give me anything at all. I never expected them to.
My dad was self employed when I was in ini. His wage looked good, so my loan was little, but he had to put a lot of his money back into his business at that point.
It was like a double edged sword for me.
I really struggled and whilst I worked I still got into debt which later ended up in a debt management plan.
I do think it's unfair the loans are calculated on parents income. That doesn't paint a full picture at all.

Oh god I don’t have a problem with you giving your son £6k. By all means, if you have that money then be my guest! I was just explaining my situation/experience. You shared your experience and I shared mine. If it’s your business, why post it on MN? My parents are amazing people but I also didn’t expect a top up. I don’t have a negative opinion of people who do top their kids up. I don’t really know what you’re trying to insinuate. No need to feel sorry, just don’t disrespect my parents because they didn’t top up. They were the most brilliant support system during an extremely difficult degree (which I chose to do). Perhaps not all parents are in a financial position like yours. Congrats?

@NavigatingAdulthood

I posted because some people are under the impression that the maintenance loan covers costs and the 'youth of today' just expect so much, when the truth is that the minimum loan doesn't even cover rent. Even the full loan would only leave a couple of thousand spare, which when you need to pay for a laptop, other things for your course, bedding, kitchen equipment, travel, food, washing etc, it doesn't go far. Some people are living in the past, don't have a clue how unaffordable uni is for a lot of young people and therefore complain how useless the youth of today are.

You said you think young people should sort their finances themselves, but with only the minimum maintenance loan and a demanding course, they would be running themselves into the ground working, without help from parents. Only shit parents would allow that if they had the funds to help.

Between my sons contact hours, study, work, volunteering and travel, he is doing 50 hours a week. If he needed to cover all his rent himself, that's a lot more hours he'd need to work on top.

Also the crap about students spending all their money on freshers and nights out seems very out of touch. Most students, even with working, really don't have much spare money. They work what hours they can, but with rent and food costs so high, they're certainly not out drinking every night.

@RecallItAll 👏

I agree that ‘I had it hard and turned out alright, so you can struggle too’ means you didn’t in fact turn out alright. Of course we as parents want to help our kids. Some of us are able to help more, but the sentiment remains.