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!

If his "issues" are due to a disability, he may be eligible for Disabled Students Allowance. One possibility is that they will pay the difference between a "standard" room and a "studio flat" if that is needed because of his disability.

My DS is at university now, getting the Scottish loan (I don't know the amount of it, someone suggested above that it may be more than in your OP) and I give him £500/month. I do also pay for his contact lenses. He doesn't do paid work during term (not allowed to at his uni) but nevertheless keeps saying the £500 is more than he needs, and saves out of it! His accommodation will be a bit cheaper than your DS's but not hugely. I think the main thing is that he lives a lot more cheaply than you're assuming yours will. (TV as a student, really? Why? He'll be busy!)

Probably the best thing to do to get him off to a good start is make sure he understands basic nutrition, can do basic cooking, and develops a sense of which ingredients are cheap.

Hi
As pointed out above your SAAS figure is way too low. If he takes the loan over 9 months then he will get over £800 a month (double payment 1st month) and so that is his rent and bills covered (no bills in halls). Student halls are very expensive compared to a private let, although great for the first year. I would advise him to go for an ensuite room rather than a studio flat though as it really does help to widen your social circle and can provide a support network in the early days. Studio flats are very hard to get as there are much fewer of them.
He will only have to fund his food/going out etc from his wages and any contribution you give him.
If your son is working full time but only managed to save £400 is he on a ridiculously low wage? Places like the co-op or Tesco pay a decent wage for 16 year olds and, if they are lucky, the can transfer branches when they move.
He will have a great time.

He wants to rent his own flat though.

I think he’ll be fine in the larger loan amounts quoted by pp, but £400 is not a reasonable amount to have saved over the year. Is he working very very part time? I think he need more hours to get a bedrock of cash in his pocket before he goes. We have a slightly different issue as have a large family so multiple children at uni. My children take a year out and work rather than travel so they go with a years wages in their accounts. You could always do that. It’s hard to have to wait but we can only do our best.

Student account with Santander gives them a free 4 year railcard.

What's the household income OP? Just wondering if anyone in here would know from looking at that if you've been placed in the right bracket?

Thanks so much everyone. Yes, he gets paid £6 odds per hour. NMW. He’s taken some earnings as spending money for a holiday with grandparents at the start of the summer and also bought a cheap laptop as his old one finally gave up a few months ago. He works at an independent takeaway as it was the only place hiring in our extremely rural location. I can’t commit to driving him to town for better jobs. And we have very poor public transport. He gets a contracted bus to and from school that’s a 90 minute journey as we’re at the very end of all the rural routes the driver needs to pick up/drop off at. So he’s stuck there for now. His friend that lives in town says he gets paid about £12 an hour working at Costa. I’m not sure how accurate that is though.

If the updated SAAS amounts are correct then that would be amazing! I used the below calculator to work out the 5100 figure.

In hindsight, I can’t afford to give the full £500 a month. It would leave me in a very desperate situation. I need to get my own savings sorted and have normal living money. My outgoings are so high just now due to debt repayments (spent all my savings retraining and returning to uni myself a few years ago - has massively increased my income from NMW but I won’t see the benefit for a while until the debt is repaid.)

Great to know his own predicted outgoings were maybe overestimated. I’ll look into it and recalculate. Also we will look into any bursary options available elsewhere to help pay for books etc.

He could absolutely take a year out to work but due to where we live, he’d still need to rent somewhere to get a job that pays decently or spend money learning to drive so I don’t actually think he’d be able to save much.

I need to stay where I am as i live very close to the primary school where I now work. Unfortunately teaching jobs are incredibly difficult to get in Scotland so I’d be a fool to give up my currant perm contract for a temp one in the town. I have been applying every single time a perm contract arises (not just in my local authority - totally open to moving home for another perm contract) but they have almost always been appointed to an internal candidate. That’s when I st least get to interview stage. I will continue to apply for more permanent jobs including the university cities but my chances are slim so I’m being realistic.

Sorry, that was very long winded! Clearly i’m quite stressed by all of this as i Feel much better having written it down. Also realising how guilty I feel that we’re not able to move home easily to improve DS’s chances of getting more savings.

Sorry, just to clarify, my household income is 40k and take home is about 2.5k each month. Saas put anyone over 34k in highest bracket.

Also, Ds has been working full time only over the summer so about five weeks. During term time he works one weekend day and the occasional evening. This pays for his phone, lenses and ‘extra’ money. He takes whatever shift is offered to him and fits around school.

He will be returning to one shift a week very soon as he will be starting 6th year.

Great to hear about the student memberships and offers that come with things like bank accounts. This helps enormously.

His friend that lives in town says he gets paid about £12 an hour working at Costa. I’m not sure how accurate that is though

Many chains pay the same rate to all staff so don't pay the lower NMW rate to younger people. They also often pay above NMW, which is £11.44 an hour, so it could well be the case that his friend earns that amount in Costa.

Definitely something to bear in mind when he's looking for work while at university. Most service sector employers constantly need staff so with experience he's gaining now, he's got a good chance of finding work.

The figure you are quoting is very out of date. We are in the highest income bracket and last year the SAAS was over £6000. It is due to increase to £8400 this year. Dont know what calculator you are talking about but the figures are clearly laid out on the SAAS website.

Yes city places like costa, restaurants etc will pay at least £10 ph regardless of age so that should help.
sounds fine OP.
we are ok financially now but it was v tight when our first went to uni. We got a 0% interest credit card for car emergency etc, remember once he’s finished uni you’ll be £500 a month better off and can really clear any acquired debt.

He needs to look at the phone contract, I currently pay less than £5 a month with Lyca, but I don't have much data. If his phone is paid off then SIM only is much cheaper.

He will have to pay the TV licence monthly at the same rate as if he was in accommodation all year, but as soon as he finishes for summer he can claim back the overpayment.

But he might not need a licence if he is not watching live TV so it is worth checking.

Is he paying tax on his part time wage? If he is he might be able to claim some of that back.

Look out for student discounts on everything.

Look at student bank accounts, they often offer a credit card and free overdraft. These are not a good idea unless you are really disciplined.

If he gets a free overdraft it might be worth taking it out and sticking it in a bank account he can't access to get a bit of interest.

How will he be travelling? Look at railcards for 1/3 off train fares.

Good luck with his studies this year.

His friend that lives in town says he gets paid about £12 an hour working at Costa. I’m not sure how accurate that is though.

@YoulieBear Very accurate. My DD's boyfriend started on around £10 per hour at 16 and by 17 he was at £12 an hour. It's pretty much the same in Starbucks etc.

Yes it looks as if my figure was not accurate at all! I swear this is the same calculator I used yesterday but it’s now giving me a much larger figure - i’m clearly losing my marbles! It’s now saying he can apply for a maximum of £8400 which, spread over 9 months (apparently you can request that instead of 12?) would be about £930. Amazing! If he works enough alongside that, he won’t be reliant on me. I’d be able to contribute a much smaller and more realistic contribution each month.

The uni accommodation he's liking the look of is a block of studio flats alongside nearby the cohabiting ones which offer contracts Sept - to start of June.

I feel as if i’ve wasted everyone’s time now as this post was started based on inaccurate figures. I’m really grateful for the reassurance and advice though. Lots of great information and tips that i’ll be taking away and relaying to DS.

Thanks do much again everyone. I feel loads lighter!

www.studentinformation.gov.scot/students/saving-money/funding-calculator

You haven't wasted anyone's time! And got some useful info. It's hard to work these things out on your own and easier to talk it through with people - which is the point of mumsnet! I found it very difficult to predict and calculate the cash for uni and had my own posts on here to help work it all out! DD now going into 3rd year, sorting her own flat and bills and loan and job, to the extent we can reduce our support.

sending you a hug and feeling your relief!

@Tippexy Op says it is a uni run studio flat.

Not a waste at all. The information is useful to others.

@Worried1305
I think a 16yr old working for £6ph for the past month; saving £400 is very good.Wind your neck in.

I think the key is to let him manage things more NOW so that he feels better able to manage when there. so here is what I would do
Hand over all his bills to him - save what you are not paying (and put aside - you will need a few things when he goes - bedding, towels, basic kitchen stuff etc)

Start collecting kitchen stuff, bedding, towels etc NOW and do a "bottom drawer" if he is in a shared flat he gets his own room (often a small double bed rather than single) and bathroom and then they share a kitchen and tv watching area. My daughter very much likes her own space and rarely sees her flat mates as such when she is in the flat. She has made friends elsewhere.

Teach him how to cook on a budget and include his favourites and filling things. Mine has gone veggie and I am proud to say converted my recipes that I taught her to veggie versions - was so impressed!! She is central London and loves having access to asian supermarkets for good inexpensive foods that she likes. I also let her loose at home baking so she makes friends and influences people with brownies and choccie cake

Teach him about Olio and too good to go - you prob dont have them near you but they are great in London and suburban areas. Basically reducing food waste by selling bags of end of day goods inexpensively - some are better than others.

Starter for 10 on the bottom drawer

Towels
Sheets & Duvet covers etc, we also got matress cover
Pillows
Duvet
My daughter also took 11 blankets and some cushions. (She has the hottest room imaginable on the 8th floor lol)
Clothes airer 7 soctopus type thing
Frying pan small pan and large pan
glass, cup, plate, bowl maybe 2 of the more well used
Cutlery - only need 2 or 3 settings really
Colander or sieve
Baking trays - 2
Back of the door hooks to expand hanging spaces

We also packed using the vacuum pack bags which shrinks everything to a manageable size. But lots of people don't buy stuff till at college and go out and raid Ikea for e.g.
spatulas and fish slices, maybe a wooden spoon

If they are working as well its great - my daughter clears around 600 a month working at a cafe around a course that is pretty much 9 to 5, 5 days so it is doable and I am very proud of her sorting everything out for herself. I just said to her, if you want to do this you have to work, so you need a good paying job and she gets London rates Living wage. I would suggest on move in day - take him for a quick shufty round local businesses and get him asking before everyone else and get the emails etc in asap for application.

We took the decision with DS to pay an allowance along with his student loan, but he gets nothing else. It’s generous enough but he also has to budget. We don’t pay for extras so taught him to live within his means.

If your DS has a need for a self contained studio due to a disability then the uni may offer studio at reduced rate if he qualifies for DSA (Disabiled Student Allowance)
Sorry not sure if system is different in Scotland.

If your DS wants a studio because he is nervous about sharing a kitchen then I'd be encouraging him to give a shared kitchen a go, not least because it's cheaper.

Mine has got shared kitchen and bathroom in September because it's London so he has to cut his cloth.

What sort of degree is he hoping to do? One of mine was unable to work in term time (science degree) because of all the time in labs/lectures, but the other was only in uni 2.5 days a week. She managed to do about 20 hours a week in retail.

If long distance travel is needed, look at buses & Megabus

Usually cheaper than train

Look at Olio & Too Good To Go fir cheap food

Just a tip. My DD went to Uni in Scotland and used the YoungScot card for free bus travel. This meant she could get a cheaper flat and commute into Uni. Her rent was £400/mo and her commute was 45mins. She also got a job and worked 20hrs/week.