True University Costs for Bank of Mum and Dad

[Richielogic]

Nothing anyone can really help me or advise on, its more of a gripe / moan really:-

I have two teenagers both going to UNI. Daughter this year and Son who is a year two student. My wife and I work our socks off full time, usual costs as you can expect and cost of living crisis will hit us like everyone else.

For child 1:-
The uni tuition fees are paid in full at £ 9,250 - great
The maintenance loan is £ 4,524 discounted from £ 9,706 due to means testing.

So Bank of mum and dad are on for £5,200+ to make up the short fall according to SFE.

In reality the uni accommodation alone is £8,096. Yes there were some cheaper ones but due to covid last year and deferred applications for this year, numbers are high and its difficult to secure them.

Also allowance on top to support whilst they settle in, for food and costs to support whilst they find part time jobs etc. So i estimate it is going to cost bank of mum and dad about 9k per child per Uni year

I guess my point is we talk a lot about student debt but in reality it doesn't even cover all the costs associated with them going to University. The maintenance loan doesn't even cover accommodation. Bank of mum and dad cop for a chunk of it.

So in my case i need to net £18k earnings to ensure my two children can go and despite that they will both finish a three year course with £41,322 student loan debt - ridiculous.

What about those children whose parents don't support them??

The way its going, seriously its going to end up that only the elite go. The costs are just obscene.

Some children are having to factor in accommodation costs at the specific university in deciding the University Rather than going to the one that's best for the subject matter and their development

Anyhow it is what it is

Any parents out there helping support this years costs i feel your pain..

At the moment, only about 20% of students repay their loans before they get written off (after 30 years). So giving out more in loan money would cost the government a lot! It's a daft system.

The loan rules are being rewritten, starting with next year's cohort, and that will mean about 55% of loans get repaid.

Can you imagine an open day showing the type of accommodation we had in the 1980s? Mine was an old RAF block, 12 to a corridor, who shared a couple of bathrooms and a kitchen. It's become an arms race which parents are forced to fund.

I genuinely don’t get it though. 12 to a corridor is far better than a little group of four. You have far more chance of meeting a good friend in a larger group.

I was at university at the very beginning of the 90s. We had a long corridor with boys at one end and girls at the other and a girl kitchen and boy kitchen. There were 14 girls rooms sharing one bathroom (which had four toilets and four showers). Our rooms just had sinks. It was amazing. Everyone was desperate to try to get back into campus in the third year if there was space.

which university was this?

It's Anglia Ruskin. Way down the league tables so it definitely does what it can to recruit, but it's a lovely place. (Cambridge School of Art, now part of ARU, punches WELL above its weight for the super-specialised vocational course my DD is taking.)

. Everyone was desperate to try to get back into campus in the third year if there was space
My DS did move back to the campus for his third year as we was always there using the gym and playing for a sports team. He loved it, there were special houses for the older students.

The maintenance loan is £ 4,524 discounted from £ 9,706 due to means testing.

Sounds like a lot of means reduction. We're quite financially comfortable. DD got a lot more than £4524 (over £7k) from student finance last few years and (now we have 2 lined up to go to Uni) each DC will both get more than DD got alone. Plus the full tuition loan.

People I spoke to 3 years ago talked generally about subsidising their Uni-located offspring at cost of £300-£500/month (each) in term time.

As for Americans... my parents didn't save from when I was little. A lot of Americans can't ever save, they don't have spare money. My parents were bitterly divorcing when I went to college so I tried hard not to rely on them. In the '80s, they paid maybe 40% of final total cost & I paid (earned) rest.

American student debt lasts until you pay it off or you die, btw. It's kind of brutal.

I know the costs are rocketing, Dts are only 12 but already thinking about it. I think in a few years time degree apprenticeships are going to go become much more of a thing, and students will stay at home to study.

I was worried about this - few years to go yet.

But if they work a minimum wage job for 2 months full time in the summer - that is £3200 which is a good chunk of money.

I am thinking my kids will need to work most of the summer - maybe three weeks off for a holiday.

Thanking god that there's three school years between mine so hopefully won't have two at uni at the same time. If eldest takes a gap year youngest will have to also!

My children got a small sum from me each month for food. For the rest of the money they had to get jobs to cover it.

Why aren't your children getting jobs to support themselves?

Dd has lecturers and seminars that can start at 8am and finish at 6pm, and has some lessons in most days a week.
She is expected to do a minimum number of hours independent study on top.
She has assignments and coursework elements ongoing (no exam degree) which need doing in evenings and weekends, if her week is too busy.

For at least 1/3 of each academic year she is working a full time job as a compulsory part of her course. This involved full time days and a large element of time is spent at weekends and evenings doing prep and assessments during those terms.

In the holidays we encourage her to do voluntary work experience in her field, which will be good for her CV and future job prospects. Obviously this is a privilege we are able to help her with financially.

Not al courses leave students with ample time to dedicate to part time working, especially as so many of those employees expect students to prioritise the paid work and are very inflexible with hours/times these days. Annoyingly holiday time only jobs seem to have dropped in availability these days - many places round here simply won't take on students just for a few weeks over the summer.

We are fortunate that financially we can support dd fully throughout her time at university. But it's not the case that all university courses leave ample time for students to get part time work.

It’s a shocking system, both parents only have to earn a little over average wage for the student to get minimum loan.

That doesn’t take into account costs e.g the cost of renting vs mortgage, and of course you’re still expected to either have them home in the holidays or fund them, so you wouldn’t be saving any money by downsizing. And thanks to housing costs they’ll most likely be moving home afterwards anyway!

Its all very well saying you know about the costs ahead of time and to save, but not everyone has been a “high” earner for long enough to save. Or if you are a single parent for years and then have a partner move in that would again change what you are expected to contribute.

I think it’s good for all students to get a part time job, I understand in some courses they have a lot of placements but then parents shouldn’t be expected to prop up the NHS and schools using their child for what is basically free labour.

We had two at University last year, also on minimum loans. We paid for hall fees and food for both which was about £14 k. Most came from a savings pot that we started when they were born. We top it up with whatever is left over at the end of the month. Only 3 more years to go - hurray!

A part time job would make it affordable. Yes we have topped up the rent/ bill but the loan takes care of most of it and dd gets £60 a week in term time. Her summer job has earned her enough to cover all of that without any parent contribution.

@Bumpsadaisie I agree they should work but minimum wage for under 20s won't pay that much in 2 months!

Ah will it not? I did £80 a day x 5 x 8 weeks.

Perhaps a bit optimistic!

What's not being said here is that once they've done theirs first degree that is by no means the end of it ... 😮

We have 2 at uni and they are in cities costing very different amounts of rent.

We pay their accomodation, the loan (minimum) pays for everything else. They work when they can for going out, clothes and holiday with mates money.

We saved from the start of secondary school as it was looking like we'd need to.

I'm dreading it. DD1 starts in 2 weeks, but has chosen a 6-year course. Meanwhile, DD2 is 3 school years behind. Household income is enough to give us minimum loan. So at current rates for the next three years we're going to have to find £5k out of taxed income for DD1. DD1 may qualify for extra support for her last 3 years, but for 2025-2028 it's looking like we'll have to come up with £11k each year. We have semi-planned, but still it's a lot and any idea of retirement is retreating rapidly into the far future!

To be fair to us parents, the 18-19 year olds starting University this autumn were born in 2003-2004, when student finance was a lot different.

The reality is too that when people look at uni they look and think ah we can afford the less expensive accommodation. However most unis allocate accommodation and you get what you are given (for us that neat an expensive Bristol option which still reflected a 1980s block and catered (not requester either)) but they operate a one offer only system and with the accommodation shortage well known there you take it. This year other unis have suffered similar Manchester and Glasgow to name 2.

Don't assume you will get the £5.5/6k accommodation as you may not.

Most people don't appreciate the nuances of SF and expectations of parental top up until it directly effects them although people like Martin Lewis are bringing it more mainstream.

It may be better if year7 talks at schools included a talk on saving for uni for both parents and students.

I can accept and own my own typos above but Autocorrect can just bugger off changing my "affects" to effects!!

I work in the skills sector and have encouraged both of mine not to go to uni. There are some amazing apprenticeships out there and if kids are bright they can progress really quickly. Going to uni is seen as a rite of passage for all middle class kids, but in these days of high cost of living and extortionate housing costs then saddling yourself with a load of debt is a luxury few can afford. Unfortunately DD wants to be a teacher so there is no way round her going - but she’ll need to live at home while she studies - particularly as a physical disability which will make it hard for her to secure part time work.

Students don’t need £200pw to live on outside rent/bills.

We were lucky in that I have older nephews so I was aware of how it all worked
I went full time when the youngest child went to High school
Saved a lot and am still working full time
This allowed me to support our 3 through Uni

Completely agree that it shouldn't be an automatic assumption to go to uni. As you say, it depends on the work that they want... a lot of jobs now require a degree. My DD is going into art/design, which in theory she could study on her own, but in practice employers talent-spot people at degree shows, and freelancers need to build up contacts through placements etc. Plus her course includes lots on the 'business' side of things and the kids work on real briefs/commissions.

DS (currently starting Y11) is more techy and academic, and I'm gently pushing the idea of a degree apprenticeship. We'll see.