parental contribution to student finance

[aah]

Hi please move this thread as appropriate, tried to find the best place to post and this seems the best fit.

OH and I earn a reasonable amount of money between us - and are quite prepared to finance our kids through college / uni.

That is until I find out what others are doing.

Split up parents! Only the resident parents income is taken into account, despite HUGE paternal earnings. Adding up to at least as much as we get between us.


Our children get no grants, no EMA. smallest loans and have to pay their own fees.



Other kids (same parental earnings, same outgoings) get all of these things paid for them.

And we have to pay for a second residence (for my work, a small flat in a run down area of a poor and distant city).

is this right and proper.

Should we split up?

Advice gratefully received.

[belfastgirl23]

I suppose the question is whether this is the type of parent you want to be? I sense from your post that you don't exactly approve of this type of carrying on :) and rightly so in my opinion. Also as someone who did play the system a bit when I was younger and a student, you spend a lot of time looking over your shoulder which isn't nice.

I guess no one can make the decision for you, you just have to figure out where your own lines are...

[wmf]

Yes, the rules changed between my eldest going to uni and the youngest, so in the last 3 years. Now it is the parent with whom the student was residing whose salary goes on the form. Now also it includes the salaries of any partner living there, so my OH's salary goes on (my kids' step dad). i think that only 25% of uni loan is means tested because my son got a bit less than his older sister. They still have to pay it back though when earning. I think the same applies to kids going through uni from lower income families. EMA is paid out for FE education (college) but not uni.
Hope this helps.
I just grin and put up with it and am delighted to have found my wonderful OH.