parental contribution for uni students

dreamdreamer

After fees and accommodation costs I had about £30 a week left from my loans (I wasn't entitled to any grants due my dad's salary, but got the full loan amount).

My parents subsidised this with another £50 a week, and I worked on Saturdays and made another £50 a week. So I wound up with £130 a week to live on, which was plenty.

Second and third years were much harder as private renting is much more expensive once you add utilities etc. I think I lived on about £60 a week those 2 years, there were a lot of tesco's value noodles consumed!

ska_lover

I think it depends on your offsprings weekly budget/what you can afford realistically as it is a long term thing.

After the intial setting them up at uni is considered (books, rent deposits, kitchen items etc etc) If you work out the loan amount for the term, minus the rent and other bills, which will leave you with the amount they have to live on for the term (food and basics) and divide that between the number of weeks it needs to last them - you will see how much they have for food per week.

There are lots of part time jobs students can do to supplement, which should be encouraged from day 1, IMO.

I have often witnessed parents handing over lump sums of cash per month enabling the child at uni to afford nights and meals out - that the parents themselves cannot afford.

missbiggles1

Seanymph wrote: »

Expenses depend upon where they are too.

We costed Bangor for one that ended up in Norwich which is about half the price for accomodation compared to Cambridge.

The grant/loan isn't enough to live on though, as a generalisation, and they have had to work as well as be supported financially by us.

There is also sometimes an issue (I've seen it with their friends) where the loan hasn't come in in time to pay the rent/deposit on the accomodation and kids have had to drop out.

I have to disagree with that. Outside expensive cities like Oxford, anybody who receives the full loan/grant should be able to manage perfectly well, only needing to work for luxuries and/or unusual expenses.

missbiggles1

dreamdreamer wrote: »

After fees and accommodation costs I had about £30 a week left from my loans (I wasn't entitled to any grants due my dad's salary, but got the full loan amount).

My parents subsidised this with another £50 a week, and I worked on Saturdays and made another £50 a week. So I wound up with £130 a week to live on, which was plenty.

Second and third years were much harder as private renting is much more expensive once you add utilities etc. I think I lived on about £60 a week those 2 years, there were a lot of tesco's value noodles consumed!

I should think it was! Depending on your accommodation costs that would've given you a net income equivalent to someone earning a decent salary!

Indie_Kid

rachy182 wrote: »

Personally I was entitled to the full loan and grant amount and this would have just covered rent with about £20 a week left over. My parents would not be able to give me much so instead i choose somewhere close by and my parents have contributed by letting me live rent free at home while i study.

You would have also been entitled to a bursary from the uni; so would have probably had more than £20 a week.

ska_lover

dreamdreamer wrote: »

After fees and accommodation costs I had about £30 a week left from my loans (I wasn't entitled to any grants due my dad's salary, but got the full loan amount).

My parents subsidised this with another £50 a week, and I worked on Saturdays and made another £50 a week. So I wound up with £130 a week to live on, which was plenty.

Second and third years were much harder as private renting is much more expensive once you add utilities etc. I think I lived on about £60 a week those 2 years, there were a lot of tesco's value noodles consumed!

This post highlights the main thing parents can do for their children before they go to uni. TEACH THEM TO BUDGET

Sorry, but £60 for food per week is enough to feed a family, never mind one single person, and if you are struggling to afford 8p noodles , makes no sense

I think parents would do far better to help their children to budget and attain some independance, rather than handing large amounts of regular cash.

GwylimT

missbiggles1 wrote: »

I have to disagree with that. Outside expensive cities like Oxford, anybody who receives the full loan/grant should be able to manage perfectly well, only needing to work for luxuries and/or unusual expenses.

My son is studying medicine in the midlands, he gets around £70 per year less than the full maintenance loan, this doesn't cover his rent/utilities and when he was still in university halls his rent per year was higher than his loan.

missbiggles1

GwylimT wrote: »

My son is studying medicine in the midlands, he gets around £70 per year less than the full maintenance loan, this doesn't cover his rent/utilities and when he was still in university halls his rent per year was higher than his loan.

Which is why I said the loan and grant, which doesn't take into account any university bursary as well.

GwylimT

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Which is why I said the loan and grant, which doesn't take into account any university bursary as well.

The grant isn't extra financial help while at university, it just isn't included when you start to repay your loan.

Skinto_7

This probably won’t help with your initial question, however as someone haspreviously highlighted the most important thing you can do is teach them tobudget and make them responsible for their finances.

My brother went to Uni and did not ask for or receive any regular allowancefrom my parents, he always had a part time job to help fund him through Uni, myMrs on the otherhand had regular monthly payments, never had to work andalthough had a much easier ride as a result, never really learnt the value ofmoney or what things are like in the real world.

Although they are your kids and you don’t want them to starve etc, it istheir choice to go away to Uni and IMO it should be upto them to find the wayto fund it, the experience of doing this is way more valuable and useful thananything they will learn in their classroom at Uni!