How much should parents contribute financially?

Derivative

Find out how much accommodation and bills are, take off maintenance loan.

Then add on £20 per week food and £5 for textbooks and stationery (less if they have a decent library).

Assuming travel is dealt with by you that's about all the expenses I have as a Uni student, rest is optional

irstaroo22

I got no money from my parents when at university, I know they could not afford it for me and both my brothers. I didnt get a grant and my loan covered my rent and left me 100 pounds spare each time. I had two part time jobs, to pay for food, and everything else I wanted. I managed just fine, could afford to go out and buy the odd new thing I wanted

Person_one

Its worth bearing in mind that getting a part time student job is a lot harder now than it used to be.

Older, experienced, qualified people are now applying in their droves for the jobs that used to be almost exclusively the domain of students.

Fang_3

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I agree with your first point, but not the second.

£500 pm is a ridiculous amount to expect a parent to pay, giving a student double the amount they would have on JSA and, allowing for the accommodation being already covered, more than they might expect to have in a full time job.

For students in halls, even if it's not possible to get a job, I would say that about half that would be the right amount and, if they're not on the sort of course you mention, considerably less.

There's no expecting a parent to pay, hence my 'if you can afford it'. My parents could and so they did. I also worked every weekend and earned just under that amount each month during term time thanks to a long shift and time and a half on a Sunday. I could have easily survived on much less (I do now, though that's because I have to pay my fees each year and don't have a loan).

There's this belief that all students should go down to the lowest common denominator living and be forced to live off Aldi beans and the occasional frozen burger. It doesn't work like that. Some people are better off than others - that's life.

It's also worth noting that actually part-time jobs aren't as easy to come by as they used to be and the cost of living has risen quite a lot in a short time, so what was sufficient during my first degree, would not be sufficient now.

Fang_3

EdgEy wrote: »

Find out how much accommodation and bills are, take off maintenance loan.

Then add on £20 per week food and £5 for textbooks and stationery (less if they have a decent library).

Assuming travel is dealt with by you that's about all the expenses I have as a Uni student, rest is optional

Again that depends on the degree. With my first degree I barely needed anything like that thanks to the library. With my second and current I need a lot of expensive books, and a lot of expensive equipment in order to do the work required. And quite often they are a front-loaded expense so spreading the cost throughout the weeks is completely pointless unless Blackwells and Amazon are likely to let them pay in such a way.

Person_one

Fang wrote: »

Again that depends on the degree. With my first degree I barely needed anything like that thanks to the library. With my second and current I need a lot of expensive books, and a lot of expensive equipment in order to do the work required. And quite often they are a front-loaded expense so spreading the cost throughout the weeks is completely pointless unless Blackwells and Amazon are likely to let them pay in such a way.

You're on your third degree? Aren't you only 22?

Fang_3

Person_one wrote: »

You're on your third degree? Aren't you only 22?

Third? Second. And I'm 23, very nearly 24.:eek:

Person_one

Fang wrote: »

Third? Second. And I'm 23, very nearly 24.:eek:

Ah, the phrase 'second and current' threw me.

Are you paying full ELQ tuition fees for a second UG degree then? That's an awful lot of money!

Fang_3

Person_one wrote: »

Ah, the phrase 'second and current' threw me.

Are you paying full ELQ tuition fees for a second UG degree then? That's an awful lot of money!

Yup. Luckily my uni let me split it into two payments if needed and usually I have enough to pay it from my earnings in the summer and then I pay the rest of my expenses out of my current earnings so it's not too difficult.

Person_one

Fang wrote: »

Yup. Luckily my uni let me split it into two payments if needed and usually I have enough to pay it from my earnings in the summer and then I pay the rest of my expenses out of my current earnings so it's not too difficult.

You must have a pretty good summer job, ELQ fees at the uni I'm heading to are £14,000 a year!