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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

In England, how the hell do kids afford to a uni away from home?

46 replies

ssd · 27/07/2015 09:58

the course fee's are horrendous for a start

and going by MN, most kids go to uni away from home so need rent etc

it must cost a fortune

we're in Scotland and the fees are free and we are near to lots of uni's so ds will hopefully stay at home as we can't afford anything else

really feel for the English kids Sad

OP posts:
BareGrylls · 27/07/2015 14:59

Despite understanding all the arguments about student loans not being a debt it still feels like it.
Other than a mortgage which we paid off early I have never borrowed money. DC were brought up to save up for what they wanted and to avoid debt.
We are just below the boundary for grants (not that that will matter as they are doing away with them). DS1 started a 4 year degree course and will come out with £56K worth of debt. DS2 will no doubt be the same.
This £56K will actually be much more because it attracts interest at RPI plus 3% from the day they start. So DS1's debt has already grown in a year.

minkGrundy · 27/07/2015 19:15

They would still be at least 18k in debt in Scotland. A lot less but you still have to repay the living cost loans. (If Scotland had been independent the uni fees would also be free for English students in Scotland)

Want2bSupermum · 27/07/2015 19:34

With the new scheme in the UK we are planning on our DC attending school in the US, where we live at the moment. Community college for two years plus two years of university/college would cost about $90k all in which is about GBP55k. There are plenty more scholarships plus their schedules are more flexible as its expected students will work during term time, many in FT employment so its likely the cost will be significantly less than $90k and our DC can easily earn $40-50k/year so we only pay tuition costs.

I am conservative (not a Tory) and think the whole approach to tertiary education is wrong. It is so very wrong that our children start out adult life with these huge debts/ a tax on future earnings. GBP21k a year is not a lot and if that is your FT salary after 10 years of experience I don't think university was a wise use of time or money. Careers where the average FT salary is below GBP40k/yr should have university fees that are fully funded by the employer. Also, why should graduates earning more than GBP21k be paying a tax for their education. It is just insanity.

happygirl87 · 27/07/2015 19:39

It really really should be considered a tax not a loan, from the perspective of the payer. Eg when you're earning enough you pay income tax- if you are earning under the threshold or have a career break etc you just don't pay.

Athenaviolet · 27/07/2015 21:42

Supermum- lol the only (now middle aged) graduates I know who are on £40k plus are the gps/hospital consultants!

Most graduates are on £20-£35k fte (lots pt/sahms etc).

mumblechum1 · 28/07/2015 00:58

That's a depressing thought Athena!

Why would anyone do a degree if it isn't going to end up in a decently paid job?

Those figures sound more like admin roles tbh

Athenaviolet · 28/07/2015 01:19

The graduates I know in £25k + roles do think of them as well paid jobs!

£26k is the average UK ft salary. Half of people my age are graduates so it's quite a typical wage.

It's the younger graduates who are stuck in call centres/zero hour contracts/retail/clerical/hospitality type jobs who are regretting their degrees not the ones on £30k +. (Who mostly had to do postgrad to get that far)

Only a tiny number of people (especially mothers) ever get a high rate tax paying job ever, regardless of education.

Original poster
ssd · 28/07/2015 08:04

agree athenaviolet

OP posts:
SheGotAllDaMoves · 28/07/2015 08:57

The massive expansion in tertiary education means that a degree can no longer be considered the stepping stone to a well paid job.

It may be a stepping stone, but that's different.

The main 'value' for many degrees is in the three years of study. Those students who want to enter well paid employment need to be very choosy about which degree and where they study. It might also be necessary to enter further study after the UG years.

Athenaviolet · 28/07/2015 09:23

I don't know anyone in a decent graduate job who hasn't had to do a lot of further study.

BackforGood · 28/07/2015 23:42

I agree with everyone else, that you have to think of it as a graduate tax rather than a traditional loan.

I also agree with the poster on P1 who said she felt that students who live at home miss out hugely. I think the 'learning to live away from your parents' is a vastly important part of the whole process.

LadyDeGrump · 07/09/2015 23:55

Agree that it is better to think of it as a graduate tax different from other taxes because a) you may eventually pay it out and b) you still pay it if you move abroad.

As an overall sum it is large, but the only time the overall sum comes into account is determining the date by when you pay it off. You dont have to pay it if you arent earning, the rate of payment will be felt but not very much and you don't really get chased for it. The total doesnt come into question for mortgages, but obviously the monthly amounts do as it lowers your net income. Which is fair enough.

overthemill · 08/09/2015 00:00

It certainly isn't 'as it's always been' by any means. I'm extremely fortunate to be in my 50s and with low income parents I received full tuition, accommodation allowance (which more than covered my rent and bills even in London in 1970s) plus a bit of maintenance money. I think I got £10 a week accommodation, £10 a week everything else plus £30 a year for books and £30 a year travel costs. I think my parents paid me about £48 a year as their contribution when they could, afford it but 2 years (4 year course) they couldn't. I always worked Saturday's and Mondays in retail as a student plus all of the holidays to help me have enough money. I left uni with savings. I am lucky - bought first flat in London 2 years later. But I am frugal and never ever went to a club, unless you count the Marquee and the Roundhouse! My own kids have the ful loans and we try to help out but it's very very hard

Mrsjayy · 08/09/2015 12:32

Dd went to university of highlands and islands so there arecentres she stayed home and drove initially got the train because fees are paid the loans are lower and bursarys are like hens teeth depending what your son wants to do colleges d3grees

WorldsBiggestGrotbag · 08/09/2015 12:53

I don't know anyone in a decent graduate job who hasn't had to do a lot of further study

There are some of us around! DH and I are 30, both with an undergraduate degree (no further study). Both earn over 60k (well I did before becoming a SAHM. DH still does and is not at the peak of his career).

WorldsBiggestGrotbag · 08/09/2015 13:00

By the way that's not a stealth boast, it's just to point out it's not all doom and gloom. A lot of my friends have decent jobs following a degree with no further study.

motherstongue · 09/09/2015 00:12

I'm in Scotland but DS is aiming for a place at Oxford. (Please, not a stealth boast either) however, he will have to pay the ??9,000 tuition fee per year, the same as his fellow English students. If he stayed in Scotland he would get the fees paid but if he can and does achieve a place at Oxford on the highly competitive course that he wants to do, he's not going to turn it down to go to Edinburgh/St. Andrew's/Glasgow etc instead. But is that madness? Save ??27,000 or have an Oxford degree on your CV? The Scottish system is all about funding the Universities and nothing to do with the individual in my opinion. It makes our kids parochial in their thinking as it incentivises staying in Scotland to study even for those students who could perhaps get a place at some of the best universities in the world and bring back that experience and knowledge to the benefit of Scotland. If each Scottish student received free tuition fees to study at whichever university the chose then the Scottish Universities would have to work harder to woo Scottish students don't you think or have I got this all wrong?

vodkaredbullgirl · 09/09/2015 00:18

My dd is off to uni next week she got a total of ??7200 for the year and out of that she has to pay ??104 a week rent for her room.

Ive told her that she will need to get a job when she is there.

dodobookends · 09/09/2015 00:20

You may find that the maintenance loan/grant doesn't just have to cover termtime costs - for instance my dd's accommodation has a 51-week contract. She'll save on food bills in the holidays when she is at home with us, but her rent still has to be paid.

vodkaredbullgirl · 09/09/2015 00:23

Maintenance loan and grant stop next year and goes by another name not sure what i forgot.

Mrsjayy · 09/09/2015 09:35

Oxford meh face him towards St Andrews say crack on son his st Andrews degree will look just as good

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