How much for parents to save for university?

[Deeprug]

Just starting to get my head into this. Two dc at secondary close in age and potentially would be at uni at the same time. We have an average income; how much would you try and save for each child to try and take the pressure off us when we get to that point? What would be a good amount? We are not rich, so it would have to be for a basic level iykwim. Is it £5K per child, per year? £10K??

I would start by trying to save enough to cover accommodation costs. Aim for £7.5k per year per child as a starting point. TBH I think it is reasonable to have a conversation with your child as they finish GCSEs to explain what the budget for accommodation will be. The £5k student loan can cover living expenses. Tuition fees can also be borrowed. You cover accommodation and then they get a job to cover anything extra.
Yes, I know it all depends and not everyone can save that much, but it has helped me get my head around finances for my children in terms of setting targets.

When my 2 went to uni we did save a fair amount on the food bill during term time so that saving will help if you haven’t saved the whole amount you need.

The reality is rent in halls is often over £8k for 40 weeks a year. My Foster Son is paying £8320 for his 40 week year and he got a slight discount because he had a disability.

DC has just started. Her accommodation alone is well over £9,000pa. Hers is a Masters, so four years at £15,000 (which is manageable), a year that's £60,000. Just topping up to maximum student loan level would barely cover her accommodation.

If you’re in catered accom at Durham, it’s over £10k for accom.
Quite a few places now charge for 44 weeks and an en-suite self catered can hit £10k in a newer block.

Once they are in private accom from yr2 they pay 52 weeks a year - usually starting 1 July. So they pay July, Aug, Sept of yr 2 and 3 before any loans for the following year arrive. Parents need to consider how that will be funded.

Plus it’s usual to sign for a 2nd year house before Christmas in 1st year. The deposit is often £500.

So basically you’re looking at front-loading a lot of the parental contribution. Can all be a shock for the unsuspecting!

What loan would DD get on combined income before tax of 42 plus 20

@clary there is no way we can pay 833 a month to support DD what do people do ??

Possibilities

1. Take a gap year and save
2. Go to a university within commuting distance (that should work out cheaper)

We paid for our DDs rent at Uni, and then she lived off her maintenance loan which was sufficient. We expected her to work if it wasn't.

The issue now is that rents are ridiculous. She was paying £400 all bills Inc in 2014.

But that's what I would try and save.

My DS did a degree apprenticeship and while he was applying we said we would also pay his rent so he could apply for whatever suited him. Luckily he got one paying enough salary to have a HMO room, run his car and buy a few treats.

The other big ticket items are driving lessons, a car, insurance and house deposits. So, if you can save more it helps! We ended up funding the driving lessons and giving them some money towards a decent car. The rest they've managed themselves with saving from their work.

@StatuteofLiberty Very close to minimum maintenance plus full fees, but check an online calculator e.g MoneySavingExpert. You can just apply for fees plus minimum maintenance if you don't want to fill in the forms. Remember, income isn't the same as gross salary.

Yeh she’d get the minimum, about £5k this year. So you are supposed to top that up to about £10k. That’s less than £833 pm tho, more like 500 if done over 10 months.

She and you will need to look carefully at accommodation as mentioned - plenty of unis have cheaper options, shared bathroom, self cater, smaller room, older building.

Where is she going? Gap year and earn yy another good option.

We budgeted £500 a month x 4 years each they had to earn any more they needed in the holidays, they both managed ok on that.

@clary 500 would be a problem ,next sept probably bath .

If you can't afford it then you need to talk to your DC and set out what the options are. So they take a gap year to work and save, they choose a uni in a city where rents etc are not so high and opt for the cheapest halls they can (although there is no guarantee that is what you will get allocated) and/or they look for work they can do remotely whilst studying eg tutoring etc so they aren't reliant on getting a job when they get there as not every location has a plentiful supply of student jobs. Or they pick a uni they can commute to from home.

It's all gob smacking I can't believe more people aren't up in arms about this ? The fees were capped at 1 grand when Blair kicked all this off and now goal posts have moved all over the place on everything student related.

Ironically the cheaper accmd is Oxbridge .

Bath is ridiculously expensive. If that's where your DC wants to go, they need to come up with a plan to fund it.
You can be very clear, tell your DC how much you can contribute and let them work out from there how much they will need and how much extra that is and consider their options how to find that, whether that is working now, in summers, PT all year round, gap year, there are options other than M&D. As well as cheaper Unis where it is entirely possible to live on the max loan, many do.

There are lots of unis offering accommodation around £100-150 pw.

I've pisted before (maybe on this thread haha) but look at Leicester, Lboro, Newcastle Sheffield Brum Leeds iirc, and plenty of others.

Also look at private rental costs, these can indeed by ££££in eg Bristol, Bath, London. Cheaper in some cities for sure.

If it has to be Bath then there are sums to be done. I told ds2 he would have to defer uf the only option at lboro was catered. Luckily he got a place in an older hall for £4k forv the year.

As much as possible.

Plus try to encourage your DCs to get a job at 16. I would especially recommend becoming a lifeguard. Both my DCs earnt a lot of money doing this. DC2 is currently a student in London and does a 12 hour shift every Sunday and earns about £170. DC2 also had a gap year and worked full time and saved nearly everything.

DC1 had too full on a course to work during term time or even the Easter or Christmas holidays but they earnt a lot in the 6th form and in the long summer break.

100 from me max a month and possibly 100 from DH a month

Only wants bath
Has a part time job and does well with it and is a saver
Could potentially save 4 grand before uni maybe more

Tell them that then and let them work it out. If they can't work it out for themselves, they're not ready for Uni.

It's not the best idea to focus only on one uni, as they may not get an offer or make the grades.

But yes, tell them how much ££ they will get and they can do the maths.

Tho if you are a single parent on £20k (apologies if I am misreading but when you said x from me, x from his dad) then he will probs get max loan. Ah sorry you say DH so assume you are together. Ignore that then.

I agree but it's what she wants she only likes bath .
She said she would defer should something go wrong but hopefully she will be fine wants biology and has a star for predicted grade ?

Apols @StatuteofLiberty I think I called your DD “he”. So if she only wants Bath (and A star PG is a great start for sure) and she is going to have a total of £7500 for maintenance, she will have to compromise.
Options:

• Take a gap year and earn and save
• Get a job while a student (not sure how easy this is in Bath – not so much hospitality work for example as a bigger city, and if it's essential it may be an issue)
• Choose a very cheap halls room – there are rooms at Bath that are less than £4k but they are shared which she may not like – I mean a shared room not shared bathroom

Otherwise the cheapest uni halls in Bath this year are just under £6k which will leave her less than £40 pw for a 40-week year (or just over £40 if you look at actual weeks at uni) which is unlikely to even be enough for food (I reckon £30 minimum), and certainly won’t leave her much money for socialising or clubs or travel.

Agree with pp my Dd is at Bath and it’s very expensive. Dd was in the quads last year and that’s £235 per week. Ds went to Warwick where you can have a single room with shared bathroom for just under £5k per year which is £1000 cheaper than the cheapest Bath option.