Please help me work out if DS can afford to go to uni next year?

[YoulieBear]

Scotland.

DS didn’t do as well as was predicted in his highers. He’s unlikely to get a significant upgrade next year with resits so he’s accepted his uni choices are more limited. Regardless, we’d be in the same situation whichever uni he applied to!

Luckily, he has done well enough this year to get onto his first choice of course even with the average grades achieved so far (is staying in for 6th year though to try and upgrade his results) at a nice uni. He’s only 16, so much too young to be applying for clearing for this year.

I would love your help please to work out if he can afford it though. We live in the arse end of nowhere and commuting to any uni in scotland would be a minimum 3hr trip each way.

So he will need to rent somewhere.

I take home about £2500 a month on a yearly income of about 40k. Single parent, dad never been on the scene, so it’s just me. My own essential outgoings come to just shy of £1900 a month.

SAAS put us in the highest household income bracket so DS will not be entitled to a young person bursary. He will get £5100 student loan only which, spread over 9 months, will be about £565 per month between September and May (he’d stay with me over the summer).

DS has various issues and really doesn’t want to share living spaces. The uni offers a student studio flat for about £800 a month between September and May (shared accommodation only about £100 cheaper so not worth it for the stress it would cause).

He will also need money for phone, contact lenses, tv licence, food and groceries - lets realistically say this will come to a minimum of £400 per month (phone - £20, lenses - £20, Tv licence - £15, groceries and food - £55 per week). So his essential outgoings will be at a minimum of £1200 per month.

I can afford at the most to give him £500 a month (though this will really stretch my own finances). So that’s say a monthly income for him of £1065 with my contribution and his loan. He is keen to get a part time job to make up the shortfall and pay for extras like socialising and clothes etc.

This sounds very tight but is it doable? I struggle to see how SAAS label our household as high income. I really thought he’d be entitled to a bigger loan.

Has anyone with similar finances been in this situation? I would love some reassurance and tips!

That should be doable if he can get a part time job. Can he work at all this year / next summer to build up a bit of a buffer?

He could probably reduce costs a bit if he needs to as well - cheaper phone contract, not having a TV licence, spending less on groceries / food.

DD accommodation is £5,900 a year.

She gets £50 a week for food phone and clothes.

She works one week day a months for party money.

Phone contract is £10 a month food less than £20 a week.

I think your budget is too high. I also think he needs a job now to save for extras.

Can he start working now with the understanding he needs to be tight and get it all in savings?

It is doable. Should be looking for part time work now so that he can save. Also if he gets taken by major retailer students can often get work from the same business in their student area during term time and get some casual work in their home town from same firm in long holiday. As well as getting some savings started, if he manages to get a job now he is building a good reputation/ reference for work when he's away.

Thanks so much for the replies. Reassuring that it is doable. I’m selfishly worrying about me. My own savings are next to nil and this will put me in a tight spot if something goes wrong with the car etc.

Should have said sorry that he already has a job at weekend and odd evenings in our local takeaway. He’s been working full time over summer so has managed to save about £400 in his account. He doesn’t normally waste money and already pays for his own phone and lenses and spotify etc. He’s quite sensible with budgeting. Doesn’t socialise much (due to there not being much to do here) and asks for nice clothes and toiletries on birthdays and christmases ( i get him essentials the rest of the year).

I just hope it’s easy enough for him to get a job in the city. He’s been working in his current place for over a year now so i’m sure they’ll give a good reference.

Thanks so much again everyone. I’ve been fretting over this issue and my spreadsheet all afternoon and posted here due to not being able to sleep because of the worry.

Very relieved to know money won’t be too much of a barrier for applying next year.

He doesn’t normally waste money and already pays for his own phone and lenses and spotify etc

Which reminds me - definitely worth looking up what discounts he might get as a student when planning the budget. Spotify Premium, for instance, is really discounted for students.

Remember you've got this year to save as well so maybe start putting away the money you're planning to top him up with from now.

It'll give you an idea of how it's going to affect your day to day budget, plus give you a buffer in case of financial emergencies.

Even if you can't afford the full 500 since you're still supporting him at home, any money each month should hopefully give you a few month's emergency fund.

Ds has deferred and taken a year out as he's young for his year group and doesn't feel ready, but it's also giving him time to get some savings under his belt. Life's a long game and its not the end of the world to get off the conveyor belt for a bit if you need to.

I think you're being quite generous, we all want the best for our DC and to help them out as much as possible, but don't leave yourself too short.

He could earn quite a bit with a part time job, and if he works full-time from exams finishing through to uni I Sept he could easily save £3-4k. If he does the same every summer and 2-3 shifts a week term time he'll be fine.

There is the student overdraft as well, which is an extra buffer for him. We all used to live off our overdraft as students.

Lots of shops offer student discounts so it’s worth always checking. He’ll also get free bus travel and other discounts with his young scot card . The TooGoodToGo app is good for food bargains.

I don't know about in Scotland but many unis in England have bursary/hardship funds. Loads of students get a bit of help eg £300 so basically £100 per term. Do they have anything like that in Scotland? I know you're lucky because Scottish students get fees paid for them. It might be worth getting a student rail card if he will need to travel by train.

Are you sure about your figures on the loan that he'll be entitled to from SAAS? Funding has increased for the coming academic year, the maximum loan for the highest income households is now £8400 per year...

https://www.saas.gov.uk/news/increasing-financial-support-for-scottish-students

He’s been working full time over summer so has managed to save about £400 in his account.

Worked full time for the last month or two with 400 quid saved? What were his outgoings, does he pay you rent? It would be great to save nearly the whole paycheck if possible, better to have the extra bit of money going to uni than spending it on random stuff now.

If you think you'd be able to give him £500pm at a push why don't you start saving just now? even £250pm will give you £3000 in a year.

Seeing as he's not really saved very much so far, and he's so young, might it be worth him deferring and getting a job to save some money and go next year?

Is he set on going to university? Has he thought about alternative career paths with an apprenticeship or other job that includes training? He could use the next year to see what's around and try some jobs out, but still keep the university option open for next year.

He should definitely work while he's at university to boost his budget. You both also might want to review your budgets to cut costs where possible, £20 is quite expensive for a phone contract for a start.

Cheaper phone contract, spotify is free, no need for a TV license one of the subscriptions would be cheaper with ads - they aren't intrusive, and can be swapped each month or so for variety. Permanent lenses would probably be cheaper than monthly or disposable ones, glasses cheaper still.

£400 is not a lot saved for a summer of working full time while living at home, if he's serious about university and being able to afford it you both need to look at what he's spending money on.

jus a minor point - if I remember correctly students don’t need a separate tv license for their student accommodation if their permanent home address already has one. Look it up on their website

Look ar a
Bank account carefully some offer extras like free railcards etc

I'm in a similar situation, if you're a single parent you might be able to apply for a bursary for your ds. My friend managed to get one for her dd, not sure if it's something all unis offer though.

My dd is taking a year out to work and save for uni, I think she'll easily be able to save 10k (she's already up to 4k just from working around college hours).

I earn the same amount as you op and £500 a month would be unaffordable for me 🤷‍♀️

He won't need an individual tv licence in uni halls.

The SAAS maintenance grant has increased for 24/25 to £8400 per year for the basic level
Thats £700 per month over 12 months.
It's hard for students to only rent accommodation for 9 months of the year though, for most places you will need to pay for the full year.

Also worth looking for local charitable trusts that offer educational bursaries. I know I'm in England but know of 2 or 3 that are able to offer sums typically £100-300 for books etc.

https://www.lead.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Guide-to-Educational-Grants-for-Individuals-.pdf

I'm in Scotland - my parents couldn't afford to contribute to uni. I worked part-time my loan covered most of my bills and wages were my money for fun and extra stuff going out etc. Many students work around their course is there a reason he can't?

Edited to add I also worked in 6th year as I had already achieved most grades required at higher so wasn't as under pressure as 5th year.

Might help to think about what it costs you to have him living at home as you know you can find that much-
Food
Toiletries
Subscriptions
Petrol
Taxis/bus fare
School/college supplies
Lunches
Clothes
Takeaways
Pub tea
Clubs
Tutoring
Gym
Sport
Cinema

Etc.

He’s worked the whole summer and only saved £400?!!