More than 1child at uni!!!!

Worried_sick

We have 3 sons all a year behind each other. Our eldest began uni a few weeks ago. We didn't get the full maintenance grant and having to top it up ourselves plus £200 per month for food etc. the problem is number 2 son wants to go to uni next year and number 3 son the year after. How on earth are me and my husband going to afford it? Do student finance take any of this into consideration, will our boys get extra help.

Lokolo

£200 a month for food etc.???

Food will be a maximum of £100 a month.

I think you need to sit down and work out a budget.

How much is his accomondation? What loan is he getting?

notanewuser

Nobody thinks of this when they have children so close together.

DigForVictory

What I saved on getting maximum use out of toys, clothes etc, I should have saved. Ah well.
As I understand it, your disposable income is part of the grant/loan calculation?
The less you have, the better your odds of bursaries etc.

"Food etc" I translated as food, drink & live wires.

whitegoods_engineer

Well no! YOU didn't get the full grant! The person going to University is your child. The child didn't get the full grant, not you. It isn't you going to university, it is your child.

Well your child could go and find a job, or go to university for perhaps a degree in media studies lol.

If your child decides rather than go to get a job, to go to university then that's the choice he or she makes.

If they can't afford it then why moan?

rogersnm

DigForVictory wrote: »

As I understand it, your disposable income is part of the grant/loan calculation?
The less you have, the better your odds of bursaries etc.

As far as I'm aware only your gross household income is taken into account, that generally equates to the combined income of the parents of the student before tax and NIC. This is also generally the case for the bursaries offered by the various universities (although it's always worth checking just in case!). No additional allowances are made if you have more than one child currently studying (again this is only as far as I know).

Check out these links (intentionally not hyperlinked as I'm newly registered):
gov.uk/apply-for-student-finance/household-income
gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31980/10-1259-government-proposals-student-graduate-finance.pdf
gov.uk/student-finance-calculator

silvercar

notanewuser wrote: »

Nobody thinks of this when they have children so close together.

Don't they? At what point does the penny drop? When they start primary school a year behind each other? secondary school?

At some point you must think that the reason you had your children close together was so that they would be at the same stage at the same time.

Dunroamin

Worried_sick wrote: »

We have 3 sons all a year behind each other. Our eldest began uni a few weeks ago. We didn't get the full maintenance grant and having to top it up ourselves plus £200 per month for food etc. the problem is number 2 son wants to go to uni next year and number 3 son the year after. How on earth are me and my husband going to afford it? Do student finance take any of this into consideration, will our boys get extra help.

Bear in mind that the money you're paying to them for maintenance will be replacing the money you've been spending on feeding them when they were living at home, as well as the additional utility costs, pocket money, school trips etc.

You may actually be better off!

Florasaurus

Student finance do take this into consideration, both me + my little sister are at uni + we get more funding because of this, which is nice

CH27

Is there any reason your son can't get a part time job to top his loan up?

devildog

Worried_sick wrote: »

We have 3 sons all a year behind each other. Our eldest began uni a few weeks ago. We didn't get the full maintenance grant and having to top it up ourselves plus £200 per month for food etc. the problem is number 2 son wants to go to uni next year and number 3 son the year after. How on earth are me and my husband going to afford it? Do student finance take any of this into consideration, will our boys get extra help.

There is a small income disregard for any other dependent children but it isn't much.
As previously stated you will find your household living costs dropping as each one leaves for uni (and increase again when they come home for summer/easter/xmas etc)
I think you have to start as you mean to go on (treating them all the same) What are you prepared to help with and what will they have to fund themselves(via part time job)? In my opinion help with rent/food is acceptable and IF you can afford it and wish to do so(and can comfortably do it for all three) then you may wish to sub them a bit for extras, but you have to draw the line somewhere, do you mind them drinking it away, do you mind paying for their phone calls, clothes etc? You have to do what is comfortable for you.

I have had two at Uni simultaneously and costs at home did lower but tbh more was spent with them being away.