Going to uni in September, or have you been put off?

newsmonkey

Hello fellow moneysavers,

I'm doing some research into student funding, and was hoping to get some thoughts from you.

Are you going to uni this year - if so, what are your feelings on the new fees? Or have you decided not to go to uni because of how much it'll cost?

Are you currently in the first year? If so, did you avoid taking a gap year last year because of the new funding arrangements?

I'd also love to hear from recent graduates - do you think the uni experience was worth the money? Has it geared you up for a career you wouldn't have otherwise got?

Bit of a broad subject, but any thoughts would be great. Send me a private message if you'd prefer.

Regards,

Paul

[Just to add: this message has been approved by MSE Andrea before posting]

nearlyrich

newsmonkey wrote:

Are you currently in the first year? If so, did you avoid taking a gap year last year because of the new funding arrangements?

Hiya Paul

Mother of 2 students here, one in Y2 and one in Y1, as far as I was informed last summer, any student taking a gap year last year with a deferred place to be taken up this year will not be in the new system.;)

Ollieda

Hopefully I'm off to Surrey Uni in September (depending on if I can get 3 B grades).

In my opinion there isn't really much for people to fear about the financial side of university if you are from either a low-income household or a high-income household, it’s the people in-between that might find difficulties. Basically if you earn below the limits laid out by the government (which I think run along the same scale as the EMA scheme) you will get a maintenance grant (to help pay for things like accommodation) that does not need paying back. I think the lower limit is something like £19,000 or there about and if you are below that then you should be entitled to £2,700 and you should also be able to get a grant from your uni of £300 or more.

As well as this you can get a loan that will pay for your tuition fees (max amount chargeable is £3000 a year) and you will only begin paying that back once you are earning over £15,000.

My Brother is currently at the end of his first year (after also having done a gap year) and he wasn't able to get a maintenance grant but he did get the loan for his tuition fees so he only had to worry about his accommodation and other living costs (which are still quite high) and my parents had to help him with these costs although he had already saved some money during his gap year. He also said there are plenty of opportunities for people to get part time jobs nearby (such as bar tending) as the employers are expecting students to come looking and he was also able to get a job at the recent Cheltenham races as he is at Gloucester Uni.

In all fairness though a lot of the money problems my brother and his mates have found have just come down to bad budgeting.

When you get to uni just set your homepage to MSE and knockdown your expenditure!

Former_MSE_Andrea

Just to let you know, Paul has been given permission to post this

SamMoffatt28

HI Paul, I am going to start Uni in September. I must admit that I have very nearly given up because of the complicated forms. As I am going to study social work there are 2 lots of forms I have to fill in and my LEA are not much help. A couple of times I've just though stuff it I won't bother - the only thing that keeps me focused is the fact that I am a mum of 4 and I am doing this to make a better life for my kids. The GSCC are paying my tuition fees, but at one point I thought they weren't going to and I would have just given up then. I can't afford to fund £3000 p/a for tuition fees without any financial support.

surfcat

I did a 4 year course at uni and racked up 15K in loans. It was worth every penny in terms of the teaching I received, the people I met and the experiences I had.

littleange

I'm not sure it was worth it to be honest, I came out with an average degree in Accounting and finance and about £12k worth of debt, and out of my friends I was the only one who initially got a job related to my degree, they were all working in shops and call centres and were all earning more than I was.

I did enjoy the experience but kinda wish I'd got a job after my A levels and started studying ACCA (professional accounting qualification) as I'd have completed it by now and would probably be on a lot better wage, and have no debt.

I'm currently studying for my final ACCA exams and I'm finding it very very difficult to concentrate now as I've been studying for so long now, even been considering giving up.

sarah_2-2

Well I'm on a gapyear at the moment, but because I deferred from last year, I dont have to pay the top up fees :beer: So now I'm working my butt off trying to save some money in anticipation for the debt.

terized

I'm a mother of a student looking to start uni this year. She wasn't too keen and I have been encouraging her as I beleive it will be a good choice for her personally. She's not keen on the 'moving out and meeting new people thing'.
I now almost wish I hadn't been so pursasive. I have just started filling in the forms and feel quite sick.
What I don't understand is why they want to know the household income and not her father's. I have remarried and my husband has 3 children financially dependent on him. I have another daughter as will. We get £1050 discount per child from the household income that we have to declare. I pay my half of everything and am now worse off than when I was by myself as I lost tax credits etc. My new husband isnt financially responsible for my daughter, but because of my marriage we dont qualify for any grant. I simply don't have any spare cash to help her as I will loose maintenance for her and will be worse off myself.
I have to rely on her father to pay, but he lives abroad outside the EU (which according to the notes means he doesnt count).
Therefore we suffer.
I dread to think what debt she will incur. I almost hope she has a family quickly and doesn't earn much for 25 years! so as not to pay the government back.
It makes me very angry.

[Deleted User]

You hope she 'has a family quickly and doesn't earn much for 25 years'... way to use a degree. How about she just starts popping kids out now and forget about the education?

soolin

My son hopes to go to uni in September and we don't qualify for any grants or assistance at all and it is terrifying as we have two more sons yet that want to go.

His fees are going to be £3000 PA plus his accomodation is another £3000 and on top of that we have books, living expenses, travel etc which the uni have suggested we need to budget for between £1500-£3000 extra per year for. That is £9000 pa.

He is in the process of applying for a loan of £6000 for this first year and I have his passport and birth certificate sitting here ready to be sent off to the appropriate education authority.

As a family we have never had any debt and this is really frightening and we either have to choose which one of our sons to support, or expect them to pay their own way as we can't support all three without getting way into debt ourselves. How on earth this encourages young people to get on and better themselves is beyond me. We ar eof course exceptionally proud as neither me or my OH have a degree, but this is frightening.

Several family friends have had to explain to their children why they can't go to uni, one was borderline on the £32,000 (or whatever) assistance limit with both parents working and have been told they qualify for nothing and in fact would have been better off if they hadn't tried to help themselves by taking extra hours and overtime at weekends.

Soo