University 2019! Finances

[Monica53]

Hi there
Hope all okxx Just a brief query? Our Dd is awaiting Uni place confirmation for 2019! Scary, however the most scary thing I find is the money aspect! Yes they get the student loan etc however as myself and hubby have a relatively small monthly income and will not be in a position to pay very much towards her living costs? I worry a little about this and have discussed it with her and said they'll have to get a small p/t job to help living costs. Anyone I similar position or just gone through it. Sorry I said it was brief,not so.. Thank you for reading x

Sorry I don’t have any experience as mine are a little younger. Hopefully someone will be along soon.

We are in the same situation, I was shocked at the accommodation costs! I think they can apply for grants/loans which are based on the parents’ income. Trying to find out the threshold of what that is as the way I can see it the accommodation costs alone total about £700 a month!!

You can go online I think to either gov or UCAS website and calculate how much maintenance loan your DC will qualify for.

£700 a month for accommodation alone seems a lot. So far we've paid that amount including catering lunch and dinner. We've been saving since DC were born so that we can pay but fees were nil or £3000 a year back then so it's not going as far as we'd hoped. But yes money is tight and we can't afford what others deem to be essential.

The smaller your income, the bigger the amount they can get to borrow.

On MN when you see about people giving their dc £X a month to top up, that is because the parents income is higher, so their dc can borrow less.

However, yes, it is normal for students to have PT jobs. Both PT jobs in the University town during term time, and hopefully FT jobs during the time they are at home for 18 odd weeks a year.

Hi Thanks for replies, I'm hoping Dd gets maintenance Grantham bursaries as we aren't in a position to hand out £ss ..so they will have to get a job of sorts to help them through. Also chatting to various people it seems common place now whatever degree they do for students to work, only the very few very lucky ones don't. We have a relative small income as I work FT and oh on state pension. I've looked at costs for accommodation and it's mad! I do think they'll do self catering which maybe a bit cheaper! Thank you for joining discussion x

My daughters maintenance loan doesn't even cover her accommodation costs. What isn't taken into account is your outgoings other than a prescriptive formula they use.
She worked through the summer and we have agreed £50 a week when that runs out but she's supposed to be looking for a part time job as well.
If your income is very low then they will get the maximum loan and that will usually cover all accommodation costs if you go for the cheapest halls and don't have an en-suite bathroom.

If the income where the student usually resides is low then the maintenance loan will be higher. So the student will be in more debt after the end of the course, but can afford to pay their way (generally).

There are no grants now - although some Universities offer their own incentives.

It is a very unfair system. My DS is now in his third year. He is only entitled to borrow the minimum amount for maintenance due household income being over a certain limit. I say our - that is me (who doesn't work) and my DH (who is DS' stepfather). We have to sub him a monthly allowance as his loan covers rent only. If his 'home' was with his dad then he would have been able to borrow much more as he has a lower income.

So check out the calculator and see how much DD will be able to borrow.

I'd def put her in for self catering - it will be cheaper and offer more freedom too.

just to add OP there is a section on Mumsnet for Further Education - it can be a useful page to read.

Have you been to any Open Days with your DD yet? There is usually a talk on student finance and we found it very useful as it clearly set out how the maintenance loan works and what the household income brands are which is relevant to how much your DD might get. For some students who are entitled to the maximum grant there may be the possibility of an additional bursary to bring the student’s income up to the recommended annual sum needed which I believe is around £11k - as an ‘average’ guide.
Our DS is in the same position and we calculate that his maintenance loan will be around £4K leaving us (& him) to make up the difference. Fortunately we are in fairly comfortable financial position (& only have one child which helps!) but we will be expecting him to get a part time job as well to help towards expenses.
Accommodation costs are very high, around £7k for self catering where he is looking.

lego that's exactly the same situation we're in.

Rather than worry about it why don't you find out exactly how much loan she'll get based on your income, then work back from that.

Oh and no one gets grants any more.

Correction, I should have used the word ‘loan’ instead of ‘grant’ in my post above.

The living cost element is means tested, if you are on a low income they can borrow more. Most students do work part time during term time and holidays are long so opportunities to work then. I would recommend working for a chain eg McDonald's as you can transfer between branches for term time and holidays.

Accommodation is typically £100-120 /week self catering outside of London

My son is in his third year and gets virtually the full amount, we just have to top it up a bit, he is careful and has managed fine. He doesnt have a job at uni but this Summer he worked 3 jobs. What I can advise that you will need a deposit to book the halls this will vary but my DS's was £300. Then when they move into a house you have to pay a deposit , half of Julys rent, half of Augusts and Septembers in full, this was £1070 for his first house!

I'd say it's pretty normal for a student to have a part-time job. My DD has lined up a job with an events company where she can work on an ad-hoc basis for £12 an hour plus tips.

Other than that, she gets a full maintenance loan and has £4k left from that after paying for accommodation which she uses for transport/books etc.

I pay for a Tesco order every week which is around £40 a time and also take her supplies when I visit.

She's doing ok and managing fine. Doesn't seem to be missing out on anything anyway!

Oh, should have said she gets a £2000 bursary too because we are a single parent family under the earning threshold.