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Original poster

Student finance and high household income

115 replies

tinyviolinforme · 19/04/2026 18:44

Honestly its so much pressure I can’t pull £8000 out of nowhere. We earn loads on paper but live in the southeast, disabled adult im caring for and financing, one gone through uni, one at uni, one due sept 2026 and I have had time out for caring, racked up some debt, why isn’t it just one standard maximum maintenance loan and you choose what amount to apply for? I’m sick of explaining to the kids what we earn, how much the mortgage is, how much the bills are, why we can’t buy them a car, why we can’t pay for ensuite halls etc etc.

massive mortgage for a shoebox, council tax £380 a month, I know we are lucky but this just is so stressful. No savings, they’ve gone on supporting the other kids.

please don’t all pile on about how I’m just venting , if anyone gets it please just let me know.

OP posts:
Shittyyear2025 · 20/04/2026 06:41

massive mortgage for a shoebox, council tax £380 a month, I know we are lucky

And an income over £60k?

Council tax at £380 a month puts you in one of the highest tax bands across England - your house is NOT a shoebox op, come on...

PersephoneParlormaid · 20/04/2026 06:43

Mine worked the summer before, then had a PT job the whole time he was at Uni.
But I agree, they should all get the same as they are adults, it should not depend on parents income.

Beyondamountainandoverthesea · 20/04/2026 07:01

PersephonePomegranate · 19/04/2026 19:03

Funny how the government sees them as adults or dependent when it suits. The whole system is shocking.

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100% hard agree too. With one DC graduated last year and one finishing 2nd year they are adult, everyone shouts on here at 18 BUT THEY ARE ADULTS. Only they are not in the eyes on the Government when it comes to student loans, in all other ways they are. Fucked up system.

Also doesn't take into account have two DC there are the same time. THANK GOD my DC is nearly done I have never seen so poor.

sausagedog2000 · 20/04/2026 07:08

Meadowfinch · 19/04/2026 19:09

Honestly, I'd tell your dcs to get over themselves. They want en-suite halls rooms and cars - fine, they can get off their entitled little backsides, and go get themselves a job each. 🙄
My ds is going in September. He's been working & saving since last August, and will work all summer, to ensure he has enough. I'm a single mum and he knows I can't help a huge amount. Thankfully my ds is a sweetie and we'll approach all the bills as a team of two.

I always think this when I see the uni posts on here. I had the full loan for my fees and a small loan from the SLC for living costs but other than that I completely self funded. I had a job before and during uni. Children are way too sheltered by parents on here.

Peopleshouldhavetails · 20/04/2026 07:11

redskyAtNigh · 19/04/2026 19:54

So it's alright for an student from a low income family just to get a larger maintenance loan, but OP's DC are entitled to expect that their parents can support them to the level that student finance expects, and must get over themselves?

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It’s perfectly acceptable to say you can help with a basic room in halls.
They don’t need en-suite accommodation.
They can work all summer, and earn some extra during term time if time allows , but young adults can be expected to realise it’s expensive to go to uni and choices have to be made.

Isekaied · 20/04/2026 07:14

Can tge one who isn't at uni take a gap year and maybe wprk?

Also it's would give you a years leeway

redskyAtNigh · 20/04/2026 07:46

BelBridge · 19/04/2026 22:26

I understand that but you should only need to tell them once and they need to suck it up, life’s unfair and they need to move on and work with you to find a solution. £6000/year is a relatively easy amount for a student to earn - it’s £500 a month, 10 hours of paid work a week on minimum wage. They can do that-it’s not hard.

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It's not just £6000 at a lot of universities though. Topping up to the full maintenance grant is still not an amount that you can actually live on.

And that's before you factor in that there are now way more students wanting jobs and far fewer jobs actually to be had. My daughter's uni is full of students wanting term time work, and there simply isn't enough. Working over the summer is helpful but limited in terms of time available (and again, jobs).

Students like OP's DC are in a really shit situation. If they were from poorer households they would be able to get the money as part of their loan. If they were from richer households their parents would give them significantly more than the money. For the students in the middle the only solution is to take a gap year (not always sensible depending on course) or hope you get lucky with a university town job (which you will have to work in all year round) in an employment climate where people are struggling to find work, full stop.

Why should the experience of an (adult) student depend on their parents?

ButterYellowHair · 20/04/2026 07:46

BelBridge · 19/04/2026 22:14

I worked throughout both my Masters and PhD and I’m always surprised by just how many excuses people can come up with for not working. And then they wonder why they find it difficult to get jobs when they graduate without an ounce of work experience.

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Yep, this is my third degree, I’ve worked through them all. 18-26hrs a week during my undergrad and masters, only a few hours here and there this time because of the unpredictable schedule. But I have savings this time.

ButterYellowHair · 20/04/2026 07:50

Ownyourchoices · 20/04/2026 05:46

Why do all UK students have to live out of home for uni? Doesn't anyone go to their local uni?

They don’t, but it’s seen as a right of passage. A way to gain independence and freedom to do what they like. Lots of students stay home though.

Original poster
tinyviolinforme · 20/04/2026 07:52

Shittyyear2025 · 20/04/2026 06:41

massive mortgage for a shoebox, council tax £380 a month, I know we are lucky

And an income over £60k?

Council tax at £380 a month puts you in one of the highest tax bands across England - your house is NOT a shoebox op, come on...

Apologies I’ve just checked the bills account and it’s £307 a month. Band E, four bedrooms two of which are box rooms and a galley kitchen plus large reception room downstairs.

(the adult is a child, one has returned home following some worsening of their condition, worded that badly in op.)

OP posts:
Original poster
tinyviolinforme · 20/04/2026 07:55

I have tried to press a gap year and that was originally the plan, however all friends are going this year and they have completely discounted the idea. I don’t really know how to say again that this is causing a lot of pressure on us, and I think there’s some stubborn optimism that finding a job etc will be easy and they can just go and make it work.

OP posts:
Bonden · 20/04/2026 08:00

All those saying the student should work and study … an English degree allows for that but what if they’re doing eg medicine?

Bonden · 20/04/2026 08:02

It’s an appalling system. All Thais stress and debt for what for so many is a useless “degree” that will if they are lucky get them an admin job that 20 years ago would have been done well by a school leaver.

Bezaz · 20/04/2026 08:17

FunUser · 19/04/2026 22:10

I think having 50% of young people going to university in the current format is not affordable.

We should have only a small percentage of young people doing the traditional university route where you live away from home and don't really work at the same time. Everyone else should be doing apprenticeships, local university, online OU-type degrees etc. As a society we want an appropriate mix of educated young people but the university system is just too expensive in its current form.

I feel for you OP and for young people who are disadvantaged by this system. It makes no sense at all to base a loan for a 21 or 22 year adult on their parents' (or step-parents) income. It infantilises them completely.

People say this a lot - but these courses still have to be funded - and unless the government is going to make massive investment to overhaul the system and fund the new institutions (spoiler: they're not), fees will still have to be paid.
What difference if it's called a degree or is some other qualification? It's still a period of time which takes young people out of the workforce and has costs incurred which need to be paid for.

ohtowinthelottery · 20/04/2026 08:48

Even if your DC doesn't want to work in term time, they get extremely long holidays in which to work. My DS worked full time in a warehouse for 3 months every Summer to earn some money towards the following year's Uni costs.

FunUser · 20/04/2026 08:51

Bezaz · 20/04/2026 08:17

People say this a lot - but these courses still have to be funded - and unless the government is going to make massive investment to overhaul the system and fund the new institutions (spoiler: they're not), fees will still have to be paid.
What difference if it's called a degree or is some other qualification? It's still a period of time which takes young people out of the workforce and has costs incurred which need to be paid for.

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The format is expensive though - a break from serious employment for 3-4 years combined with living away from home. There are many ways you could educate many people to a suitable level without it looking like this.

If you think of it as akin to boarding school (which it actually is in terms of cost) you see what a luxury it is. Society would never subsidise three years of boarding school for every kid who wanted to go.

Chewbecca · 20/04/2026 08:57

Bonden · 20/04/2026 08:00

All those saying the student should work and study … an English degree allows for that but what if they’re doing eg medicine?

You can absolutely still work during the (long) holidays.

OP, if I were you, I would be absolutely clear with the DC how much you can manage to give them and let them work out / decide how to get the rest they need. Help them work through the cost of halls + spends, how much they will have coming in and what the shortfall will be. Discuss options how to fund. Did they have a CTF? Any childhood savings accounts? It's a good life lesson to learn how to budget.

lovealieinortwo · 20/04/2026 08:58

mondaytosunday · 19/04/2026 20:46

This is why people plan and save! Why are the fees such a shock? Tuition has been at least £9000 since 2012, and maintenance will be ever increasing. Of course I believe people should be able to apply for maximum maintenance loan irrespective of their parental income, but this is nothing new. A gap year to earn, choosing a uni with lower accommodation costs or near home are options

A lot of people don’t have the spare money to save though. My colleagues with dc at uni spend on average £500/600 a month supporting them. Many families cdd as not save this per dc.

Soontobe60 · 20/04/2026 09:02

redskyAtNigh · 19/04/2026 19:54

So it's alright for an student from a low income family just to get a larger maintenance loan, but OP's DC are entitled to expect that their parents can support them to the level that student finance expects, and must get over themselves?

Show quote history

In a nutshell, yes!
The vast majority of children from higher income families have benefitted throughout their life from being in a higher income bracket, my DD included. I made the decision to start a stocks and shares investment when she was born, initially with a small monthly amount from the Child Benefit, that increased every time me or DH got a pay rise. By the time she was 18, there was enough saved in there to top up her loan so she could afford reasonable accommodation. Not en-suite, not luxury. She was given a small monthly allowance but still had to work in the holidays as a minimum.
Having children who are close enough in age to potentially be at university at the same time, it shouldn't be a shock to suddenly be presented with a financial challenge 18 years later.

Soontobe60 · 20/04/2026 09:03

lovealieinortwo · 20/04/2026 08:58

A lot of people don’t have the spare money to save though. My colleagues with dc at uni spend on average £500/600 a month supporting them. Many families cdd as not save this per dc.

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If they had started minimally saving when they were born it wouldn’t be such a shock 18 years later.

catipuss · 20/04/2026 09:09

Can any of them live at home, choose a uni within reasonable travelling distance?

Or do a semester based degree, not sure if they still exist it was a while ago! I did six months on six months off, working in the appropriate field during the six months off, so I could self fund and I lived at home so didn't need accommodation.

lovealieinortwo · 20/04/2026 09:09

And an income over £60k?

Which isn’t even high, it’s not even the threshold for winter fuel allowance!

redskyAtNigh · 20/04/2026 09:10

Soontobe60 · 20/04/2026 09:02

In a nutshell, yes!
The vast majority of children from higher income families have benefitted throughout their life from being in a higher income bracket, my DD included. I made the decision to start a stocks and shares investment when she was born, initially with a small monthly amount from the Child Benefit, that increased every time me or DH got a pay rise. By the time she was 18, there was enough saved in there to top up her loan so she could afford reasonable accommodation. Not en-suite, not luxury. She was given a small monthly allowance but still had to work in the holidays as a minimum.
Having children who are close enough in age to potentially be at university at the same time, it shouldn't be a shock to suddenly be presented with a financial challenge 18 years later.

Show quote history

But that's an entirely different situation to the OP. You have saved money for years so you can give her something to top up her loan. That's what OP's children feel entitled to (as that's what the SLC expects parents to provide).
OP is saying she doesn't know what she can give her DC.

How would your daughter feel if you didn't give her this money? Particularly if she'd had older siblings who had been given money.

lovealieinortwo · 20/04/2026 09:18

The vast majority of children from higher income families have benefitted throughout their life from being in a higher income bracket, my DD included. I made the decision to start a stocks and shares investment when she was born, initially with a small monthly amount from the Child Benefit

child benefit is means tested now though? higher incomes have to pay it back….

Are we really classing an income
of 60k as high income?

60k today is the equivalent to 47k in 2020 & 31k in the early 00s.

Plus the OP may not have always had this income.

Talking about the past is pointless as that ignores wage stagnation, inflation, and frozen tax bands

smithers99 · 20/04/2026 09:20

ohtowinthelottery · 20/04/2026 08:48

Even if your DC doesn't want to work in term time, they get extremely long holidays in which to work. My DS worked full time in a warehouse for 3 months every Summer to earn some money towards the following year's Uni costs.

This is what I did. Appreciate the cost of living wasn't what it is now, but I had one parent who had a high income, so didn't get any grants. I had to work whilst I was at uni then worked all holidays. Worked in bars in the evenings and in a supermarket during the day. Saved loads as my parents charged me minimal rent when I was at home (just contribution to food and bills).