Students confused mum

Lavendyr

Aha, sorry, for some reason I thought the son was over 21 - thanks

BruceyBonus

CLAPTON wrote: »

i'm still curious which Uni she's going to that charges over 6k for a hall of residence

Bristol charge £4980 for their most expensive room - I can imagine others charge more than this.

Broke_Student

Helix wrote: »

The minimum wage for ages 18-21 is £4.25ph. Its only when your over 21 that it becomes £5.35ph.

The development rate for 18-21 year olds increased to £4.45 an hour from £4.25 an hour, at the same time as the rate for workers aged 22+ rising to £5.35 an hour.

From October 2007 the development rate for 18-21 year olds will increase again to £4.60

RocketMan

Student accom has gone up a lot in the last seven years or so, when I first started uni I was paying about £35 a week for a duplex room, and my mates in the singles were paying just under £50. By the time I came to do my masters course single rooms had jumped up to £70 in that hall, the newer ones were about +£80 a week. Some unicom requires you to vacate during the hols which does mean moving a lot of stuff out but it does save you a nice bit on the rent.

Any unicom, and lets face it in your first year you are going to want to be in it, should never cost as much as £150 a week which is I guess what your daughter will be paying based on 40 weeks spent at uni. (Unicom generally includes all the energy bills as well)

As to how to survive on a low budget homemade sandwiches are the way to go and not too much eating out with a bit of part time work on the side. The first year was like a crash course in budgeting. I worked during my hols and I took a year out to save some money up before going. By the final year me and my friends had very little money left to spend on going down the pub like we did in the second year so we lived of tuna fish sandwiches for lunch and lots and lots of spag bowl in the evenings. Also having less money meant we could really focus on the final year. When I finished uni my savings were pretty much all used up, I am still a student now although PhD’s are better funded.

I hope your daughter finds some cheaper halls or a student house from the universities accommodation office. If your daughter is not staying in central London (~£150 a week for a room in a flat in Islington) then she is being ripped off.

Lavendyr

My university accommodation in the south-east (which I was in within the last five years) ended up costing me £2700 per year in the final year, and slightly less prior to that. So I'd expect £3000 per year to be a reasonable guestimate maximum.

RocketMan gives some very good tips. It can be difficult being a student on a low budget when others seem to have endless money to eat out, buy drinks, get textbooks first-hand, etc. But university is a great time to learn about the value of money, that sounds dead patronising but it's true. I wish I'd been more careful with my money at uni as I now have a big student debt and if I'd been more careful, I wouldn't have needed it and wouldn't be stuck paying it off now.

Some general tips to help other than those already mentioned:

- Buy fruit & veg from a local market if possible, not from the supermarket, it will be cheaper that way
- Cook in bulk - make enough spag bol sauce for the week and heat up a tub a night
- Food based on canned tomatoes is brilliant as they only cost about 15p a tin and are good for you (obviously) - students do not have to live on baked beans to survive cheaply!
- Charity shops are great for student clothes, if she can sew/adjust clothing herself (or make friends with someone who can) so much the better
- Faculty libraries normally have all the books she would need, if she needs specific textbooks/workbooks which are core requirements, try Amazon or suggest she looks on the faculty noticeboards early in term as many second-years often sell off their old books (often with useful notes already in margins )
- If she has to go out, student bars are usually much cheaper than pubs and clubs in towns!

violetviolin

does the uni not provide cheaper accommodation? i know at leeds, there's a really big price difference between the halls. and also, maybe there's a scholarship your child could look into? maybe ask at the uni what financial help like scholarships your child might be entitled to

Rosieeex

The Independent are realising their parents guide to uni and ucas today, I'm not sure what's in it, but it might have some helpful advice for you.

DrFluffy

6k does sound a lot. I'm at a London uni, and out most expensive accommodation (massive rooms, ensuite bathroom [not just shower/wet room, but own bath!]) is £4,300 pa for a standard length course (non-catered)... And that accomm is only a few years old... Cheapest is £2,700 (shared bathroom).

Are the halls catered to put them in that high? Catering is a con! I went to catered halls for my first year of my first degree, and the food was nasty! Cost a fortune as I often had to go out and buy additional grub!

Penniless_Wonder

Hi,

I believe the basic non-income assessed student loan is around £3,300. For 9 months BASIC student accommodation in official university halls shouldn't be any more than around £2500 - £3000 (dependent upon Uni), any more than that you really are getting ripped off.

You don't have to have an en-suite, shared bathrooms from my own experience are shared by fewer than 6 people which really isn't too many if you consider the length of time you spend in the shower and the fact that they are cleaned weekly.

You can appeal to your LEA also for a reappraisal of your finance claim (and how much loan you're entitled to) if you would consider making an income-assessed claim. It might be the case you think you earn too much when you don't. If you have other dependant children they are factored in, and I could be wrong but mortgage payments could be taken into consideration too (again ask your LEA - they're paid to help).

Important: It could be the case that you have been non-income assessed and been given the minimum loan amount when you ought to have been income-assessed. I used to work for Lancashire County Council and people were often not assessed on their income when they should been, purely because they did not supply sufficient evidence of their income.

Work out how much you are entitled to roughly on this calculator:
http://!!!!!!!.com/3xd6jt
(replace !!!!!!! with t i n y u r l )

Also, try the university's student services dept for what scholarships/bursaries your daughter may be entitled to.

And 8 - 12 hours part-time work per week really isn't a lot (especially if you consider the amount of partying your daughter is likely to do). If she knows where to look, then chances are she could land a bar job which won't even feel like work and might even benefit her social life.

Hope this helps

kari59

First of all the Uni is Kingston. A room in Halls is £97 per week.
Thanks to everyone for all your replies and advise.

So I guess now she should try to open a new current account, she is with Nationwide which is no good for student life. HBOS have turned her down, which is a mystery to us all, so will try Martins next suggestion.