The Garden Fence - help and support in tough times

Nargleblast

Yippee, school days over, no more uniform, shoes or school trips to pay for!

Hang on a minute - he starts at university next month, four years, maintenance loan will cover accommodation but then he needs to eat, travel, buy books, have a life.....I think the bank of Mum and Dad will be called on to assist.

moneyistooshorttomention

Sounds like it Nargleblast....

How on earth do people manage to go to university these days if they don't have parental help? (serious question time......:eek:)

Floss

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

...How on earth do people manage to go to university these days if they don't have parental help? (serious question time......:eek:)

They take out the loans as an investment in their own future, as DS2 did, and then funding his Masters and now his PhD by doing them part-time alongside working in his chosen field. He has had a little help from me (9 months of free board & lodging) and none from his father.

moneyistooshorttomention

Clarifying - the "maintenance loan" seems to cover accommodation (ie having to take out a loan anyway) but there are still all the other costs - food, books to study with, social life, etc, etc. That all needs covering too.

That must be the most difficult part for students to deal with and I must admit that, if I had children going to university, I wouldnt want them to spend much/if any time on earning a bit of money on the side. All the more so - if they were attractive young women (having read just how some of them are earning money:eek:).

Floss

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Clarifying - the "maintenance loan" seems to cover accommodation (ie having to take out a loan anyway) but there are still all the other costs - food, books to study with, social life, etc, etc. That all needs covering too.

That must be the most difficult part for students to deal with and I must admit that, if I had children going to university, I wouldnt want them to spend much/if any time on earning a bit of money on the side. All the more so - if they were attractive young women (having read just how some of them are earning money:eek:).

An awful lot of students have paid their own way thru uni, for many years, even in the days of grants, and especially before grants. In America it is common for students to work alongside studying.

FairyPrincessk

Evening all,

Its been a long two days--productive but I'm feeling a bit deflated at the moment. I'm sure it will pass. We just had falafel for tea.

I worked throughout two of my degrees, for one (the shortest one) I wasn't permitted to work. I also had scholarships/bursaries, a fellowship, need based grants and I'm also in what many in the UK would consider an unfathomable amount of student debt. I squeaked out with substantially less than many of my cohorts in the states by working, living very frugally and applying for merit based money.

Hugs to all who need them.x

Islandmaid

Re: Uni - I could pull my hair out with frustration.

DS is due to start Uni in Sept for 4 years, all loans, no grants, didn't get halls, so has to find £1300 for deposits, advanced rent, estate agents fee,s - he has been working since finishing school in April earning aprox £759-1000 pm and assured me that he has been saving - DS major panic mode when he found out he hadn't been allocated halls (he applied as early as he could) - turns out he hasn't saved a penny - and he supposed to be the 'sensible' one of my kids - his Dad (we are divorced) has basically said tough, so I need to find the money to home, equip, and feed him for the 'start up' costs - great....

Major words have been spoken - and he will 'repay' the first months rent and replay the deposit at the end of the tenancy, also he will save like mad and will have to take his duvet etc from home to uni rather than the new he expected - most 'miffed' with him....

Hard_Up_Hester

I work with someone whose DD ran up £21k debt in excess of her student debt, she told her mum 'Well they will never find me when I move back home'
It took them less than a month to track her down!

monnagran

Gosh Islandmaid: there is a cure for DS2 you know. I think its called infanticide. I'll stand as witness for the defence if you like.
I'll try to come back later. The whole family has to watch Bakeoff. It's autistic DGSs favourite programme and just about to start.

x

ivyleaf

Oh dear, Islandmaid, no wonder you're cross :eek: