University Fees

claire16c

FBaby wrote: »

I don't think any degrees are totally worthless. Depends what you want to do with it, but are they all worth the investment of 30K



That is exactly my point. If the degree my kids decide to go for is unlikely to pay much, then why should I pay for it? Not sure about seeing student loans as a door not to care much. These will either have to be repaid, even if at a very low level each month, or if they are never repaid, it's a waste of tax payers money as the government will just lose the income it invested.

I thought that it was a bad idea to pay for the fees upfront however rich you are though, in case it doesn't actually need to be paid back. So irrelevant of the subject choice.

It's the living costs that kids need help with. Are you saying you wouldn't help with those either?

Spendless

claire16c wrote: »

It's the living costs that kids need help with. Are you saying you wouldn't help with those either?

On paper we are 'too rich' for my kids to qualify for help beyond the minimum. The reality of course is something different. The income we'd submit is £x more than hubby's income due to him having a company car, which we are already taxed on and have a lower net income because of it. We've looked into alternatives of not having the car but it doesn't help matters due to distance he travels to work. We live in an area of high unemployment, after losing my job when it was on the brink of becoming permanent due to employer losing contract, I was only able to find work on an ad-hoc basis. I've not had a pay-rise in the 18 months I've been with the agency which now puts me pennies above NMW. I am restricted to what jobs I can apply for as I can only work during the hours I can find childcare for, due to a younger child.

All this concerns me that at a point in life where my parents were able to pay more money into a mortgage or put more into a pension or spend more money on leisure stuff now they were child-free, that for us that is limited whilst we need to support adult children. I too would be less inclined to support a lifestyle choice at my expense of wanting to be highly educated as a 'poet' than supporting a particular career path.

fluffymuffy

Not all courses are eligible for student loans. We have a 20 year old "child" on a course for which the funding was withdrawn after they were accepted on the course. This has meant we have had to find both the course fee and the accommodation fees for three years. It's going to be about £30,000 by the time we stop paying next summer. We've had to find this money and pay it in real time. I still think it was a good choice though as our 20 year old is now part-time self-employed earning £45 and hour doing something obscure and very specialised.

Mrs_pbradley936

claire16c wrote: »

I thought that it was a bad idea to pay for the fees upfront however rich you are though, in case it doesn't actually need to be paid back. So irrelevant of the subject choice.

It's the living costs that kids need help with. Are you saying you wouldn't help with those either?

I think it must have changed since my son was at university because they could not graduate if their fees were not paid.

Person_one

Mrs_pbradley936 wrote: »

I think it must have changed since my son was at university because they could not graduate if their fees were not paid.

Fees are paid to the university upfront by student finance. Then the student repays the loan once they're earning.

Its like a mortgage, the sellers get their money upfront, and then you pay your lender back over many years.

When I was at uni the first time the fee in my first year was only just over £1000 and was payable upfront in September, in either 2005 or 2006 top up fees were introduced and paying upfront was no longer realistic.

Mrs_pbradley936

Person_one wrote: »

Fees are paid to the university upfront by student finance. Then the student repays the loan once they're earning.

Its like a mortgage, the sellers get their money upfront, and then you pay your lender back over many years.

When I was at uni the first time the fee in my first year was only just over £1000 and was payable upfront in September, in either 2005 or 2006 top up fees were introduced and paying upfront was no longer realistic.

Thanks for the info - my son started his course in 2001.