how do you live off student loans if it all goes on rent

Helix

kelloggs36 wrote: »

That is misleading - it says that on 30k she would get over 5k, but at 40k only the loan rate, but we are at the bottom of the scale and get all of the loan reduced due to the grant.

Those figures only apply to those starting university this year. Those already at uni are on the old thresholds where the maximum for getting any grant is £38,000 (not £60,000 like it is now). I think that's where all the confusion has come about from.

cupid_s

When I was at uni (5 years ago mind you) I was paying £40 a week in rent in Leeds. Now looking at prices you can get decent ones for around £55-60 which is about 3k a year - but many give you half rent over the summer. So if you get maximum loan then I don't see why you can't manage quite well. If you don't get the maximum loan then theoretically you're parents must be well enough off to help out a bit.

kelloggs36

If you don't get the maximum loan then theoretically you're parents must be well enough off to help out a bit.

That is a very naieve theory - as they don't take outgoings into consideration, it is not possible to say that somebody on 30k per year is well off and can help out a bit.

Oldernotwiser

Helix wrote: »

Your going off this years figures though, so they wouldn't apply to Kelloggs daughter as she is already at uni. Those of us already at uni got shafted with the old maximum income threshold of £38,000. The new £60,000 maximum threshold only applies to those starting this year.

Sorry, I thought I gave the relevant dates for those figures, I should've been clearer.

Oldernotwiser

kelloggs36 wrote: »

If you don't get the maximum loan then theoretically you're parents must be well enough off to help out a bit.

That is a very naieve theory - as they don't take outgoings into consideration, it is not possible to say that somebody on 30k per year is well off and can help out a bit.

Well, it's also pretty naive to think that people's outgoings should be taken into consideration. That would mean that someone with a large mortgage would get more help than someone with a small one. In effect you'd be subsidising someone's mortgage with student finance!

cupid_s

kelloggs36 wrote: »

If you don't get the maximum loan then theoretically you're parents must be well enough off to help out a bit.

That is a very naieve theory - as they don't take outgoings into consideration, it is not possible to say that somebody on 30k per year is well off and can help out a bit.

but in general you choose your outgoings, with the exception of the amount of other children you have to look after.

it is a naive theory but there is probably no better way to allocate loans than they do already. they have to base it on something.

what we should all do is what my parents did. from pretty much when me and my sister were born our parents saved money for us to go to uni. If we didn't go they thought we could use it for something else. So when i went to uni, despite my parents being retired and having a joint income of 7k pension, they paid for almost everything for me and I am extremely grateful.

Oldernotwiser

Students have been assessed on their parents' income for at least 40 years, under a variety of governments and bridging the grants and loans periods. It seems to be one of the rare things on which there's a political consensus. Some people have been complaining about it all that time as well!

Given this, I don't think anyone should look to the system changing, particularly as the government's current policy is to encourage more students from lower income homes to go to university. I think that most people consider it to be a fair system, although it must be annoying to have income that's just the wrong side of the threshold.

kelloggs36

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Well, it's also pretty naive to think that people's outgoings should be taken into consideration. That would mean that someone with a large mortgage would get more help than someone with a small one. In effect you'd be subsidising someone's mortgage with student finance!

I wasn't suggesting that they should - I was merely pointing out that it is naive to think that people have more disposable income than they actually do just because of the headline earnings.

kelloggs36

cupid_s wrote: »

but in general you choose your outgoings, with the exception of the amount of other children you have to look after.

it is a naive theory but there is probably no better way to allocate loans than they do already. they have to base it on something.

what we should all do is what my parents did. from pretty much when me and my sister were born our parents saved money for us to go to uni. If we didn't go they thought we could use it for something else. So when i went to uni, despite my parents being retired and having a joint income of 7k pension, they paid for almost everything for me and I am extremely grateful.

I was never in a position to save for my children's university so as nice an idea as it sounds, it isn't always practical. We had to live from day to day.

Rikki

kelloggs36 wrote: »

I was never in a position to save for my children's university so as nice an idea as it sounds, it isn't always practical. We had to live from day to day.

I do feel guilty that I'm not my sons safety net while at university, but I hope the money education I have given him will enable him to budget and get through without creating unnecessary debt.