Continue living with mum or not?

Oldernotwiser

lynzpower wrote: »

My income for three years were loans, overdrafts and credits cards, until I was fortunate enough to find some part time work.

I did not know a sinlge person who got a grant or a bursary. aside from one of my mates who did nursing and got a bursary for that.

All universities give bursaries these days, although some are as low as £300 pa. You must have known only people from comfortably off families as people from lower income homes get grants as well as loans.

Tish_P

It depends such a lot on your relationship with your mum and what you want to get out of your course.

I lived at home for part of my course, but moved out in the final year and shared a flat with friends - and while I did miss out on some aspects of the social life at first, I'm glad I did it that way as it meant I left uni with no debt. (This was in Scotland where living at home seems to be a lot more common.)
It also helped that my home was not remotely strict. If you're looking forward to late nights and beer and dating, but your mum's likely to disapprove of that, then living at home might be more trouble than it's worth.

If you do decide to live at home, I recommend joining some societies so you have an easy way to meet likeminded people. Good luck!

Oldernotwiser

Lunar_Eclipse wrote: »

No, none of them. I wasn't eligible for a grant and have no recollection of bursaries, unless that was how fees were covered. Thankfully I was lucky enough to go to uni before students started paying fees.

You must have gone before loans were introduced and your parental income was too high for you to get a grant. Nowadays all students can get a loan to pay their fees and most of the maintenance loan isn't assessed on parental income, with students from lower income homes receiving a grant as well.

Pee

I was in Uni in the 90's. My parents are quite well off and therefore I only received a small grant. Lots of people got full grants then and it was enough to live on if you worked in the holidays and didn't drink....

thisuseridistakenagain

I dont think this will make you feel more independent, as you wil still be able to go round to your mums and have her help you with things, also the more money you can save now the more you will have later when you get a real flat.

If i lived five mins away at that age, id be round at home for tea every night anyway!

fayhare

I would also check with the university that 'home students' are eligible to live in halls. Many universities will only offer you a place if you live 50 miles or more away as halls are oversubscribed.

Loz01

I lived at home during Uni - and the amount of money Ive saved compared to people who lived in halls/shared house is mind boggling.

If you can stay at home, do it. You wont miss out on "uni life" - theres nothing very glam about living in a small room with a TV and bed and thats it.

Some of my mates live in a house which is £2000 a month rent, so they pay £400 each per month, and have been for the past 2 years. Now there moving back home with there parents, its not even like they were paying towards a mortgage or anything. It seems like madness to me

fabforty

lynzpower wrote: »

My income for three years were loans, overdrafts and credits cards, until I was fortunate enough to find some part time work.

I did not know a sinlge person who got a grant or a bursary. aside from one of my mates who did nursing and got a bursary for that.

Meant to say 90 a week seems rather steep- are there any other accomodations that are cheaper? I chose ythe self catered shared flat optioon and this was slightly further out, somewhat basic,but the cheapest. I wont tell you what wepaid a week ( show my age) but its was a lot .less than 90 per week!

I studied at university in London in the 90s (92-96) and grants were definitely around then. The grant rate had been frozen for several years, student loans had just been introduced and the grant payments were being phased out. Perhaps you didn't receive one because of the course you did. I studied law and received the maximum grant available - for a student over the age of 21, living independently, living and studying in London. I received approximately £2600 per annum.

As for the OP, as your decision to leave home seems to be more about gaining independence. I agree with a previous poster. I would continue to live at home, but ensure that I live as independently and responsibly as possible - i.e. contributing financially to the household bills, preparing your own meals, doing your share of the housework,do your own washing and ironing, find a part-time/Saturday job etc. By the end of the first year, you will have settled in to student life and made new friends and if you still want to move out at this point, you will find it easier to find someone to share with.

debidoodle

I agree with Loz01 although my daughter lived at home she did not miss out on the "uni" experience. She has just finished university and was very independant.

She has zero debt which she considers a godsend as some of her friends have thousands of pounds of debt.

She will be moving out in a few weeks as she has secured a job at Gloucester, she has chosen to live in the hospitals accomodation purely for cost reasons.

KarrieBee

It depends how your relationship is with your parents. Would you both feel able to move the relationship onto a more adult footing i.e. you pay board and take your share of the chores (sorry I dont know if you already do this?) and you generally live a more independant life. Or do you feel this would be difficult and that you parents would continue to 'baby' you and see you as a child living at home rather than an adult with an equal share of teh household responsibilities.

I went back to Uni at 23 and lived with parents for a year. It worked very well as I had previously lived away from home and basically did everything I would have done in a flat share in terms of bills and chores. We were considerate of each other but basically got on with our own lives.
I think as you live so close to the Uni as long as you join plenty of societies and get involved in Uni life you won;t necessarily miss out by living at home.
Good luck and enjoy your gap year!