University Fees

Person_one

FBaby wrote: »

Might be, but if you read properly what I wrote, I didn't say I would stop them, I said I would not pay for it. I would still provide support when needed, still opened my door to them, just not pay for their studies. They would be free to take the route of the loans mentioned above.

Sounds like opposition to me.

Flugelhorn

FBaby wrote: »

But it is still a loan and will still need to be repaid. Ideally, I would prefer to help my kids avoid taking this loan so that when they do start their career, they will be able to save up to get into the property ladder at some point. However, as stated before, it might become a better investment to take on this loan and then get on the property ladder earlier with a deposit already available.

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I considered this but felt that there was a significant chance that a future government could abolish all fee loans and introduce a graduate tax... to be paid even by those who have not taken out the fee loan.

I add to the maintenance loan for acccommodation (6-7k a year) and save a bit so that if the interest rates on the loans gets too high and there is no sign of them being written off then can hel out then

Prothet_of_Doom

Ah the dilema of middle class parents.

We have said to our kids, take out the loans, work hard, and we will see what we have in the pot when you graduate. As it stands we could use all our savings to pay off thier loans, which for 2 of them will stand at £66K approx in 5 years time, when the youngest is due to graduate.
We have suggested that it won't be much... enough for a second hand car to get to work.

Quite frankly That £66K would be every single penny we have saved in the last 20 years, our pensions are not brilliant, and they are both studying or want to study subjects which will pay reasonable salaries, so I might want to be a bit selfish.
I'd rather help them onto the property ladder, than pay off loans, but one will owe £19K and the other (younger) will owe £47K. At present I've told my wife that my preference is to Loan each of them a £15K equity share in thier first property, such that if they sell at a profit I'd get a bit of profit and if they sold at a loss, I'd loose a bit too.

No rush. But my wife has suddenly realised the figures we are talking about, and is now horrified that she originally though she'd give it to them on graduation.

Spendless

If I'm following correctly what FBaby is saying we have an example of this at the minute within our own circle of friends. DH's Godson has just started Uni on an IT and games development course. This is the industry he has wanted to work in for many years. His girlfriend has gone on the same course not because she wants to work eventually within the same industry, but because she wanted to be with her boyfriend. She's even initally struggled with the course because she hadn't studied IT for a couple of years - she's an academic year older than Godson and spent an extra year at college, waiting for him to 'catch up'. My understanding is that FBaby would fund Godson if she was his Mum, but not gf if she was hers.

I queried in the playground recently to the parents of a Uni student how much they were sending their 20yo to help with living costs. They told me they'd worked it out recently and it was £130. 'Per month?' I queried. Nope per week. :eek: They said they were grateful for the 10 year gap they'd had between their kids!

adindas

Looking into the way student loan work (Martin actually refer it to graduate tax rather than a loan) you always be better off by asking your children to take the loan even if you as a parent could effort it without taking the loan.

You will only need to pay once you start earning £21.000. You only repay 9% of everything you earn annually above £21,000 of pre-tax salary once your children left university. So if say a graduate earn £22k, they only pay 9% of £1000, so £90 a year. This is tiny amount for a year. After 30 year this loan will be wiped out. So no brainer here to ask the children to take the loan as many as they are allowed to take. If you have diposable income save it and you could use it in the future to assist your kids to get into property ladder.

I know a few mature students are actually went to university and taking Micky mouse degrees just to top up their income and this is legal loop-hole of the student loan.
If you are on minimum wage for many years, and you know no chance to improve it beyond £21k you will never pay the loan back. This is especially true if you are already close to retirement age. In the meanwhile, you could get monthly maintenance for about £700 a month for a year or two.

Also, it is also difficult to track it down when your children stay abroad for many years.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loans-tuition-fees-changes

FBaby

Person_one wrote: »

Sounds like opposition to me.

I'm not surprise, you see opposition quite easily

My understanding is that FBaby would fund Godson if she was his Mum, but not gf if she was hers.

Yes, most likely, although it is not so black and white, and who knows, things could change in 5 years time depending on my finances and what the kids are up for.

poet123

As a parent I can't imagine making the choice not to help fund university for my kids. Obviously, some people are not in a position to do so but if you are then I don't understand those who wouldn't.

That said, it is a big commitment even to fund living expenses which we have done for three of our four sons. They went through when the dearest tuition fee was £3000, we now face the prospect of a five year Medicine course for our youngest with a £9000 pa tuition requirement. Such is life, we cannot hope to level the playing field for him with regards to what he will owe v what his brothers owe. With that in mind leaving those fees out of the equation means we can treat them all equally and fund living expenses.

Because it is such a big commitment and because graduates are more plentiful we have always had the conversation about prospects before doing uni applications.

Yes, learning for the thirst for knowledge is important but when learning has such a high price tag attached I believe that we would be negligent as parents if we did not advise and steer them down a path which has real employment prospects at the end of it. Obviously, that path has to be something they want to do and have an aptitude for, or there is no point bothering.

Fortunately all ours chose that kind of path, but we have friends whose children did their own thing with no thought as to what employment that would lead to and they are now in jobs which they could have got at 16.

To me, that would have been a waste of our hard earned cash.

adindas

poet123 wrote: »

Fortunately all ours chose that kind of path, but we have friends whose children did their own thing with no thought as to what employment that would lead to and they are now in jobs which they could have got at 16.

To me, that would have been a waste of our hard earned cash.

I fully agree that you can not entirely leave it to the kids if you are there to help funding with their study. They will choose the easiest one the complete even with a daunting job prospect.

That is why you will see so many graduates, people with Micky mouse degrees working in the job which does not need university degree at all.

Person_one

The world would be a far far poorer place if people only ever went to university with the goal of a steady job and a mortgage.

I hope the innovators and inventors and artists and thinkers of the future aren't missing out because their parents think only a steady salary has any value.

poet123

Person_one wrote: »

The world would be a far far poorer place if people only ever went to university with the goal of a steady job and a mortgage.

I hope the innovators and inventors and artists and thinkers of the future aren't missing out because their parents think only a steady salary has any value.

The problem is that there is a dearth of cold garrets for those who want to pursue that kind of path.;)