Student Loans 2012

Lokolo

setmefree2 wrote: »

Parents have a responsibility to give their kids a sum of money towards their maintenance costs - that is built in to the UK system. (Why else would they ask a student about their parents income?). Kids are not expected to live on £3.5K per (how could they?) their parents are expected to top that money up. If a student's parents can't afford to give you the money you get a grant. If a student's parents can afford to give you the money you don't get a grant.

If, as a parent, you are expected to pay for your kids maintenance at University and you don't, then you are failing your kids.

In my house of 5. I am the only to recieve contribution from parents (although grandparents in my case).

silvercar

To support your children through school, encourage them in their education and then say that once they are 18 they are on their own, seems very strange.

It is also a little odd to assume that topping up their grant/ loans just to the value that the government give to those whose parents are on a low income will automatically be enough to live on is like assuming that benefit levels are sufficient.

Some university towns are very expensive and will require more money than the cheaper cities. You can see this just by comparing the typical student rents in different towns.

To expect students to have a part time job during term time is fine if it doesn't interfere in their studies and there is work available. In some areas there is little work and some courses require students to be in college all day every day. There is no one-size fits all.

Oldernotwiser

setmefree2 wrote: »

Parents have a responsiblity full stop..... not just whether they can afford it! They should make sure they can afford it! THAT'S THE SYSTEM - PARENT'S ARE EXPECTED TO PAY.

It's not optional and anyone who thinks it is, is lettng their kids down and putting their kids at a serious disadvantage.

In an ideal world you're probably right. However, just like many other people, students' parents may have other responsibilities, heavy debts etc which don't allow them to fulfil their responsibilities.

All anyone can do is to ensure that they do what's right for them - what other parents do is their own business.

olly300

silvercar wrote: »

To support your children through school, encourage them in their education and then say that once they are 18 they are on their own, seems very strange.

Strange to you due to your family background, but there are parents out there who do it and they are not all poor either.

silvercar wrote: »

It is also a little odd to assume that topping up their grant/ loans just to the value that the government give to those whose parents are on a low income will automatically be enough to live on is like assuming that benefit levels are sufficient.

Some university towns are very expensive and will require more money than the cheaper cities. You can see this just by comparing the typical student rents in different towns.

Well it's not odd to assume that part of going away to university is to use it as a stepping stone to be an independent adult.

Very hard to do if your parents are controlling everything.

Plus most of my friends and I weren't rich students, lots of us actually had more money as a student than up to 5 years after.

silvercar wrote: »

To expect students to have a part time job during term time is fine if it doesn't interfere in their studies and there is work available. In some areas there is little work and some courses require students to be in college all day every day. There is no one-size fits all.

There is a difference between guiding young adults and controlling them.

Guiding them includes making them fully aware of conditions of loans, bank accounts etc and showing them ways to get further information that doesn't just include you as a resource. After all what would happen to them if you dropped dead tomorrow? And it does happen.

melancholly

olly has said it all - there's helping and there's interfering. explaining to children why choices are made and empowering them with financial skills is massively important.... i'm not sure that making every decision for them is 'good parenting' in the long run. there's always a halfway house of reality, but the longer you spend on this board, the more you'll see financially illiterate graduates who don't know what they're doing.

OP - all ONW is saying is that you should involve your son in this. that's good advice! it makes sense that you get a handle on the situation first, but i think organising his weekly budget this far in advance is moving towards the interfering end of the scale.... that's just my opinion though. we've seen the worst possibel outcomes of 'parental help' and so are likely to be much more cynical!

jennifernil

setmefree2 wrote: »

Yes if we can do it for cheaper than that that would be great!

I should think you can do it for a lot less, especially as your child can contribute too.

As per my previous post, we covered the accommodation costs for our daughter, paid for books as required, and gave her £200 per month in term time only for food and other essentials, so £1600 per annum.

A part time job of say 12 hours per week will yield around £70 per week, and 40 hour weeks in the summer vacation will pay around £250 before deductions. So it is possible for the student to earn quite a bit.

When she graduated she not only had no debts, she even had savings.

setmefree2

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

In an ideal world you're probably right. However, just like many other people, students' parents may have other responsibilities, heavy debts etc which don't allow them to fulfil their responsibilities.

All anyone can do is to ensure that they do what's right for them - what other parents do is their own business.

Which is all we are trying to do

setmefree2

melancholly wrote: »

OP - all ONW is saying is that you should involve your son in this.

I really don't understand why you are making assumptions that we are not involving our son in any of this? Where did I say that?

setmefree2

melancholly wrote: »

but i think organising his weekly budget this far in advance is moving towards the interfering end of the scale.... that's just my opinion though. we've seen the worst possibel outcomes of 'parental help' and so are likely to be much more cynical!

If I don't know what it costs to put my child through Uni, how I am I suppose to budget my own finances?

Edit - my son said to tell you he doesn't think we are interfering and he said he's glad we are interested.... :-D

Lokolo

setmefree2 wrote: »

If I don't know what it costs to put my child through Uni, how I am I suppose to budget my own finances?

You shouldn't be deciding your son's future based on your finances. At 18 you can have sex, get married, get a house, run a business, buy shares - your finances don't have to be a deciding factor.

By all means if you want to give him money you can, but its not a neccessity.