University Fees

chirpchirp

I was talking with a friend last night who is financially sound ie has been able to pay off her mortgage many years ago and send her sons to a private school for their primary years. We were discussing a family issue regarding potential inheritance and she stated they could do with the money to fund their kids through uni.

It started me wondering if I'm being selfish as any spare money I throw at my mortgage to ensure that in years to come I can be more secure. I went to uni in the days when tuition fees were paid. I had no help from my parents to fund my time there and had a part time job to help me out. I left with some debt but nothing like students of today face. My ex husband on the other hand was often given handouts by his parents ( which I think has led to him being crap with money) and I feel this has continued through out his life whereas my parents have never been in a position to help me out.

Am I being selfish in not putting aside for my kids to go to uni? What are you doing?

mountainofdebt

No I never did (Junior currently in yr 2 of Uni)

tbh its a double edged sword - yes it is alot of debt to have but if the student knows that they don't have this debt will they be as motivated to go to lectures etc?

Mrs_pbradley936

When my son went we had to fill out forms about what we were earning and that dictated how much loan he could have.

I think his fees were just over £1000 (early 90s) and I paid those. He used his loans for living expenses. In those days they could not graduate if they owed any fees but now I think that do not have to pay until they are earning a given amount. I could be wrong but I am out of touch with it all now.

clearingout

My parents have always helped me out and I am excellent at handling money.

moromir

My dad paid for my accomodation (Cambridge rents) for which I am forever grateful as it meant I didn't have to get a job and could concentrate on my studies which were quite intense (chemistry) - depends if your kid is likely to knuckle down like I did or go out on benders constantly.

I paid the tuition and living expenses out of the base rate student loan and I think a £1000 overdraft which i paid off with my first pay cheque.

onejontwo

If you search on the main forum all will become clear as the loan is only payable when the student earns above £21,000 and even then only at 9% on anything above £21,000. Some in some cases they will never need to repay the loan as it gets wiped after 30 years. At the end of the day it is their loan and not yours and because it's a student loan it's not a true loan as we understand a loan to be, but more of a tax payable if the student earns above a certain amount.

Person_one

The student loan on its own sometimes doesn't even cover rent, never mind food, bills, books, transport, any materials needed for the course and a bit of a cheap social life.

Jobs for students aren't as easy to come by as they used to be, with unemployment so high older, well qualified, experienced people are taking the jobs that used to be practically reserved for students in bars/shops/McDonalds etc.

Please don't believe that helping your kids out will make them bad with money, its just not true. If you teach them how to budget, about things like credit ratings, interest rates, bank charges and the art of shopping around then they'll be fine, no matter how generous you are. The school of hard knocks doesn't actually get very good results.

Person_one

mountainofdebt wrote: »

No I never did (Junior currently in yr 2 of Uni)

tbh its a double edged sword - yes it is alot of debt to have but if the student knows that they don't have this debt will they be as motivated to go to lectures etc?

I honestly don't understand this, do you really think its the thought that they are getting into debt for it that gets the motivated students up in the morning?

I'm currently a mature student on an NHS funded course. The young students I'm with everyday will hardly owe anything compared to the majority (6Kish) but their enthusiasm and commitment is inspiring.

claire16c

I wouldn't put money towards fees but I'd save money towards helping with living costs if you think you wouldn't be in a position for that to come out of your everyday money.

My parents paid for my rent & I'm excellent at budgeting and saving now. I simply could not have paid it myself at the time the loan was lower than my rent & my course had a lot of hours, even a weekend job wouldn't have paid for it.

bylromarha

OH and I met and fell in love at uni in the mid 90s (awh)

Neither of our mums could help us, so we both had loans - I was one of the last to get a full grant from the LEA - it paid most of my rent each term.

We are in a better position to support our kids than our mums were. However we aren't saving up for their uni - we're just saving what we can when we can and they can use it as they see fit.

MIL is saving £25pm for them both which they get to access aged 18, so there will be a little bit for them to start with.

FWIW, I don't care what Martin says about the whole "uni debt is fine" thing. I would NEVER have gone to uni had I been faced with the debts that todays students have to take on for their studies. Aged 19, I struggled knowing I would take on a £3k debt each year - a £12k debt each year would have been too much for the young me to contemplate.

mountainofdebt

Person_one wrote: »

I honestly don't understand this, do you really think its the thought that they are getting into debt for it that gets the motivated students up in the morning?

I'm currently a mature student on an NHS funded course. The young students I'm with everyday will hardly owe anything compared to the majority (6Kish) but their enthusiasm and commitment is inspiring.

to be honest yes but it was a question rather a statement....and the crucial word in your statement is motivated.....what motivates a student? The thought of spending £27K and not getting a degree becuase they've bunked off lectures (but apparently even unis have re4gisters these days for lectures) ? It would me!

Its been reported that students are getting more demanding from their unis and this has come about as a result of them having to pay £27K for their courses rather than getting it free, so it stands to reason that the tutition fee causing a change in attitudes