potential fees, what do i say to DD

nickj_2

have just been to the royal college of music with daughter, she wants to study singing/. the course is 4 years with a reccomended post grad of 2 years , obviously the tuition fees of £9k p/a will give a loan of £36k + whatever the post grad fees are , however the accomodation and living /studying expenses are an eyewatering £11 - 13k p/a.:eek::eek:

unfortunately, me and mrs j are not loaded,we are debt and mortgage free, however the monthly mortgage came to less than a weeks living costs, although we have some savings earmarked for uni fees , however it's nowhere near enough .
the upshot is that it would take the equivilent of at least all of mrs j's earnings plus some of mine to cover the living fees.
needless to say that i was having breathing dificulties when this was discussed, and has left me feeling quite depressed about it , we are going to look around other uni's to see what they have to offer ,but as the rsm only take in 90 students a year ,you have to be top dog to get in
there is a possibility of a scholarship which would cover 1 years fees ,and possible help in later yars, but adding it up she is going to have a total cost of at least £80k+,

any thoughts or ideas would be welcome

bargainbetty

I'd explain to her how much per year you are going to contribute if you choose to offer some savings, and then ask her how she is going to find the rest.

She could live further outside London and commute or get a bike, which would save on costs. She can also looked at smaller, shared accommodation. She can learn to live and cook more frugally, and get a part time job to maintain her studies.

I know a student at Goldsmiths doing that subject. She works several part time jobs to cover her costs. I see no reason why your daughter shouldn't part-fund her own studies. She should be able to obtain a student loan to covers the course fees and then the living costs should be cut according to her cloth, not the other way around.

Just a thought, but what are her career plans? It's not a very secure industry and she should have an idea in mind of what she intends to do with her qualifications when she obtains them.

jackieblack

bargainbetty wrote: »

I'd explain to her how much per year you are going to contribute if you choose to offer some savings, and then ask her how she is going to find the rest.

Exactly this ^^^^^^^^^^^^

Indie_Kid

Where do those high living costs come from? Not everyone will need that amount of money to live on. I never did.

duchy

It is all down to research and her doing her bit too.
There will be cheaper areas to live -with a commute -and there is part time work. Maybe not how she visualized her student life to be - but hey sometimes you have to "suffer" for your art.

If you won't/can't fully financially support her then that is just how it is.
One way you might be able to help her if you are mortgage free though is to buy a small flat in the outer suburbs as an investment for her to live in and then sell when her studies are complete. Just a thought.

Where did you get those "living expenses" figures from btw ? If from the college - do your own research -before accepting them as a given.

poet123

I would be asking about career plans too.

borkid

She should find it relatively easy to get part time work in London also she could get work in the summer holidays, both mine did this. Basically this is how I worked out what my son would need to live in London when he went to uni.

Paid his lodgings, shared house, unfortunately had to pay for the whole year even though he was only there just over half the year but this is the norm.
Allowed basic amount for food , half of what I spent on the 3 of us.
Need to consider other bills but with my son they were included in the rent.
Then a small amount for books, less than the recommened amounts. Can share, buy second hand, it is much better to wait and see what is really needed.
Then I allowed a very small amount for socialising any more than this and he had to pay for it himself or make economies elsewhere.

From the above worked out what he would need for the year and divided by 12. That was it anything else he had to work for. I did the same for my daughter who went to uni 3 years earlier but not in London.

The people I know who have been to music college have earnt extra money by teaching/ playing in groups/ ensembles etc. Good experience to be had there.

I wouldn't worry about the extra 2 years just yet,see how things go after all she might decide she doesn't want to be a professional musician. Both mine changed career goals whilst in uni.

borkid

nickj I've just thought do the tuition fees include the singing lessons or are they part of the living/ studying expenses? If they are part of the living/studying expenses I suspect that will be why they seem so high. I have private guitar lessons and pay £45 per hour for that level of tuition luckily only have a lesson per month but if she has a lesson per week and needs to study another instrument then you are looking at a hefty amount for private tuition and that would be almost the same which ever part of the country you are in I should think.

amiehall

Your daughter should be entitled to a maintenance loan/grant to cover living expenses. I don't know your earnings but you can get a rough estimate of how much: https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator

How much you need to top that up by depends really on what is included in that estimate for living costs. Your daughter may need to consider shared housing further from uni and then travel in, but obviously don't forget to consider transport costs.

I honestly wouldn't be worried about the total size of the loan she's building up. If she wants to go to university, she's basically going to have to accept that she will pay an additional 9% tax for the bulk of her working life so the actual amount of the loan makes little difference as she's unlikely to pay it all off unless she becomes the next charlotte church lol

cosette

I have two children at conservatoires in London, including one at the RCM, and I would agree that it is difficult to live on less than £10000 a year. However, depending on your income, some or most of this may be covered by student loans/grants.

Don't sweat about the total owed - as a music graduate if she is lucky enough to earn well, she will repay it. If not, there will be a 'tax' until it is written off. Child number two will owe at least £64,000 after the 4 years in fees and loans.

Part-time jobs in London are actually not easy to come by these days, and an RCM student will not find it easy - my child often has evening and weekend rehearsals as well as daytime classes so 'regular' jobs do not suit. Zero hours contracts or work in the college library is a better bet. However, there is scope for music teaching, although many students do not manage to build this up until year 2 or 3. Current rate is about £25 a hour, so a couple of pupils a week makes a real difference (most have half-hours lessons, some an hour)J>

agrinnall

Busking.

http://www.london-performers.co.uk/issue3/isstreetperformingillegal.html