Paying for children at university

bylromarha · 3 January 2016 at 5:02PM

Had an interesting discussion last night. Wondered what your thoughts were.

The debate the friend and I were having was this:

If both kids were at uni and you were able to help them financially in a limited way, would you to pay more to a child at a London university than one living in a cheaper area of the country? ie if you offer to pay food and rent for them both, the one in London will get far more money than the one in, say, Lampeter. Both will however have full bellies and a roof over their head.

Or should you just say "you get £x each month", making the one in Lampeter far richer than the one in London?

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What's fair? Wondering what people would do? Or have done?

ciderwithrosie_2 · 3 January 2016 at 5:23PM

Well, DS1 was at Uni in London, DS3 is in Bournemouth. DS1 did get a bit more grant/loan but he is also much better at managing his money than DS3. I would say the rent/bills DS1 was paying 3 years ago is a similar amount to what DS3 is paying now. We did/do a monthly food delivery from Tesco for around £50 to keep them going with the basics and transfer some cash towards the end of term if getting short. However, DS3 also has more materials to buy than my oldest did.

So no, I would not say the one living in London necessarily needs more money, I would base it on their money managing skills and what course they are doing.

silvercar · 3 January 2016 at 5:23PM

Similar dilemma when the younger child has hall fees and rents that are much higher than the previous child, just because they are 3 years younger and student maintenance loans have hardly changed in that time.

sheramber · 3 January 2016 at 5:37PM

I gave both mine what they needed.

One stayed at home so was fed and if student finance ran out before end of term I subsidised as needed

The other one stayed in student halls. When he came home he went back with some food. When the supermarket had buy one get one free he got the free one.

Again if he needed money before the end of term I subsidised him.

There was no set amount. They got what they needed.

Both were very aware of managing money so I had no worries about them squandering the money.

Jagraf · 3 January 2016 at 5:41PM

The fees would be the normal student loan they would pay back when earning to the government.
The accommodation would be subsidised by me
Living money would be grant plus any money they earn / birthdays / Xmas

I won't pay course fees it doesn't make financial sense .

When_the_going_gets_tough · 3 January 2016 at 8:17PM

After pondering this very point we paid them all the same allowance on a monthly basis and made it very clear that they had to budget and manage their money including paying rent phone bills etc. Everybody got a shop on arrival once a year. We gradually increased the amount to allow for infation as 3 offspring passed through the system. Everyone managed , often in different locations and accomodation and work opportunities. Getting graduate jobs ... now thats another story...

chiefie · 3 January 2016 at 8:39PM

Jagraf wrote: »

The fees would be the normal student loan they would pay back when earning to the government.
The accommodation would be subsidised by me
Living money would be grant plus any money they earn / birthdays / Xmas

I won't pay course fees it doesn't make financial sense .

Ditto from me. Mine due to go bed the next two years. I will pay the accommodation but they will get the same small additional allowance, I expect them to get a p/t job

chiefie · 3 January 2016 at 8:40PM

When_the_going_gets_tough wrote: »

After pondering this very point we paid them all the same allowance on a monthly basis and made it very clear that they had to budget and manage their money including paying rent phone bills etc. Everybody got a shop on arrival once a year. We gradually increased the amount to allow for infation as 3 offspring passed through the system. Everyone managed , often in different locations and accomodation and work opportunities. Getting graduate jobs ... now thats another story...

Do share, I'm wondering how difficult it is now. I got my degree in the 80's and it wasn't that hard for me. I feel lucky now

tiernsee · 3 January 2016 at 8:48PM

We pay accommodation and if this is more for one than the other so be it, they both get the surety of a roof over their heads.

Jagraf · 3 January 2016 at 9:13PM

When_the_going_gets_tough wrote: »

After pondering this very point we paid them all the same allowance on a monthly basis and made it very clear that they had to budget and manage their money including paying rent phone bills etc. Everybody got a shop on arrival once a year. We gradually increased the amount to allow for infation as 3 offspring passed through the system. Everyone managed , often in different locations and accomodation and work opportunities. Getting graduate jobs ... now thats another story...

Are they unable to get jobs?

onlyroz · 3 January 2016 at 9:34PM

I went to uni in London, my brother went to uni in Grimsby. If our parents had given both of us the same either he'd have been living the life of luxury, or I'd have been living off porridge and sleeping in the gutter.

I think you should ensure that they've both got the same amount of money in their pocket once their accommodation is paid for.

Paying for children at university

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