moral dilemma - student issue

silvercar

Thanks all.

Some useful comments, some that my son could do with reading! To be fair to him, it was only a throw away comment from him, that I could give to him rather than to students I dont even know, that set me thinking.

As LazyDaisy and Miss L say, it really is a separate issue.

Oldernotwiser

silvercar wrote: »

Some useful comments, some that my son could do with reading! To be fair to him, it was only a throw away comment from him, that I could give to him rather than to students I dont even know, that set me thinking.

.

Perhaps worth pointing out to him that your donations go into a hardship fund which is closely monitored to make sure that the money goes to those in genuine difficulties. You give your son all that the state recommends and more, whilst he can't even be bothered to get a part time job. If he were to apply to his own hardship fund he'd be very unlikely to be awarded any help whatsoever.

knitknack

I think that throw away comment of his probably tells you all you need to know... LOL

Keep donating, that's a fantastic thing to be doing - you're really changing someone's life in a very practical way.

Your son? The others are right, any more you give him will only go on partying etc. and ultimately may even lead to a lesser degree. When he's older he'll look back and know what an amazing thing you were doing with your charity, maybe he'll even be able to donate to something similar himself!

Good luck

x

morg_monster

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Perhaps worth pointing out to him that your donations go into a hardship fund which is closely monitored to make sure that the money goes to those in genuine difficulties. You give your son all that the state recommends and more, whilst he can't even be bothered to get a part time job. If he were to apply to his own hardship fund he'd be very unlikely to be awarded any help whatsoever.

Really? When I was at uni, pretty much anyone could get a hardship grant, all you had to do was show your bank statements which showed you were truly broke. They didn't ask about how much cash you had squandered over the previous few months to get yourself into that position. So a rich kid too ashamed to ask bank of mum and dad for more money to spend on vodka red bull and a new outfit from topshop could get a cash hand out just as easily as a poorer kid who worked part time and had had their hours cut so suddenly the sums just didn't work any more and they couldn't afford food for next week. I had a couple of friends in each category.

Oldernotwiser

morg_monster wrote: »

Really? When I was at uni, pretty much anyone could get a hardship grant, all you had to do was show your bank statements which showed you were truly broke. They didn't ask about how much cash you had squandered over the previous few months to get yourself into that position. So a rich kid too ashamed to ask bank of mum and dad for more money to spend on vodka red bull and a new outfit from topshop could get a cash hand out just as easily as a poorer kid who worked part time and had had their hours cut so suddenly the sums just didn't work any more and they couldn't afford food for next week. I had a couple of friends in each category.

I don't think silvercar was talking about the ALF, which I agree is quite laxly administered. Private donations would go into some kind of charitable/ benevolent fund and, in my experience, these are administered very cautiously.

littlebird22

I agree with morag_monster, at my uni the hardship fund is given out pretty liberally. A couple of my flatmates applied for it last year who would probably admit themselves that they didn't need it (both running brand new cars and going out at least twice a week) but their opinion was if everyone else is doing it why shouldn't we?

The other issue of whether to give your son more money. Some courses are very work heavy, especially vocational courses. The £5 a day I get whilst on placement is a nice gesture from the university but is nothing compared to the money I could earn if I spent that time working on a part time job. On top of lesson planning, teaching and evaluating I also have lectures, essays etc like any other student and so I would find it very difficult to get a job as well. I do however, make deliberate choices because of this, I don't drink alcohol or smoke and I don't go out much because I have 6:30am starts to get public transport to school. Sometimes as a student you have to make those choices and your son will be a much more mature individual when he leaves university if he has to make some sacrifices along the way.

One other thing though, you mention that your son in in first year. This tends to be a transition period between school and university and often doesn't count towards your final degree classification. You may want to encourage your son to get a job now to save some money so that he doesn't have to work whilst he is doing his disseratation in a few years time. I did work in first year and now don't and I am very glad that I did it that way round rather than some of my friends who didn't work in their first few years and are now very stressed juggling a job and very intense 3rd year work.

Oldernotwiser

littlebird22 wrote: »

I agree with morag_monster, at my uni the hardship fund is given out pretty liberally. A couple of my flatmates applied for it last year who would probably admit themselves that they didn't need it (both running brand new cars and going out at least twice a week) but their opinion was if everyone else is doing it why shouldn't we?

Perhaps you missed my post above and also silvercar's op. Charitable donations don't go into the ALF, this comes from the government; you're talking about a completely different pot of money!

bestpud

silvercar wrote: »

Thanks all.

Some useful comments, some that my son could do with reading! To be fair to him, it was only a throw away comment from him, that I could give to him rather than to students I dont even know, that set me thinking.

As LazyDaisy and Miss L say, it really is a separate issue.

That's all I'd need to make my decision tbh!

You know he'll manage, and be better for it in the long run, so leave his allowance as it is!

You could also suggest he try maintaining himself on the money some students will be getting from the government before he makes such suggestions...?

The fund you contribute too sounds a great idea btw. Do you mind me asking how much you pay? Is it a set amount or can you pay anything you like? Also, who manages it at the uni?

silvercar

OK enough about my son's comment, which was only said in jest.

The Alumni fund was set up by the uni as a way of keeping former students involved (or cashing in on the wealth that having a degree supposedly created ). Current students are roped in to phone former students and asked if they want to donate to the Alumni fund. The fund spends its money on scholarships for students who would otherwise be forced to drop out and also buys computers and books for round the uni and makes some grants to some clubs and societies.

The fund has a committee that scrutinises each application, so I can only hope that it does its job properly; it does seem to be well set up. The most deserving cases (students have to apply) are given a scholarship of £2,000.

You can donate what you like; the "normal" range is from £10 to £1000 plus about 40 donations of over £10k from foundations and trusts and really rich bods.

I went to uni in the early 80s, everyone had grants that really were enough for most people to live off, if you were sensible. Parental contributions were set at a higher level, so anyone who didn't get a full grant had parents who really were able to make a contribution. Hardly anyone worked while studying and we didn't have the financial pressures that today's students have. At that time unemployment was high and there was the odd student able to make a contribution to their parents out of their grant! Just my way of contributing back to make student life easier for someone out there.

mummytofour

Silvercar,

IMHO your son sounds like he has enough to get him through uni.
The fund helps those that may well drop out due to lack of money. It is no contest, your donation may well help somebody stay in uni and in the long run pass their degree and get a better job. Keeping that person off the dole and in payed employment allowing them to stand on their own two feet.

You know you wanna, give the money to the uni :-)