Affording living costs at university

Katiemcd

Hi all, I can’t afford to give my son extra money to fill the gap between his maintance loan and his living costs. His student loan doesn’t cover his rent. Do I have any options?

Thank you for any help.

CakeCrusader

I'm sorry if this seems harsh, and I'm a mum too and I'd really struggle if my child was in the same position, I'd want to help, but your son's an adult, you really should leave him to it. His options are to get a part time job, or to approach the University and ask about their hardship fund (they have funds available to help students out if they are struggling). I know that you feel as though you should do something to help him, but part of growing is learning how to cope with bills and manage cash yourself. My dad used to send me £40 every now and again, and I'd go back to Uni after the breaks with food parcels, but I had to learn and look after myself.

dawyldthing

There’s plenty of Christmas temp jobs about now. If I was him I’d look at what’s available and apply loads. He could get near full time hours for the next 2 month which will help massively then over summer do the same. Most unis finish late may time and don’t return until nearly October. It is tough but if he’s savvy it’s manageable

Mrs_Soup

He can get a job although some/many unis will not allow students to work more than a certain number of hours per week during term time- at my uni this is 20. There is no limit on hours during vacations.
Is your son getting less than the maximum living expenses loan on the basis of your household income so there is an expectation that you will be making up the difference?

breaking_free

As others have said, he will have to get a job to "fill the gap between his maintenance loan and his living costs".

When I was a student I delivered pizzas for 20 hours a week in the evenings. Money in my pocket and often a free pizza to share with my colleagues :T

spadoosh

You can take up extra work and give him your earnings.

spadoosh

breaking_free wrote: »

As others have said, he will have to get a job to "fill the gap between his maintenance loan and his living costs".

When I was a student I delivered pizzas for 20 hours a week in the evenings. Money in my pocket and often a free pizza to share with my colleagues :T

When i was a student, i ate pizzas for 20 hours a week.

Owain_Moneysaver

Katiemcd wrote: »

Hi all, I can’t afford to give my son extra money to fill the gap between his maintance loan and his living costs. His student loan doesn’t cover his rent. Do I have any options?

Ask him where he thought the money would come from as he chose to rent somewhere more than he could afford.

martinthebandit

Katiemcd wrote: »

.......Do I have any options?

Thank you for any help.

You have lots of options but, in my opinion, the best one is to let your son grow up and shoulder his own responsibilities, your responsibilities should probably be limited to providing tea and sympathy.

ReadingTim

Some universities offer bursaries or hardship funds for those who are struggling, so the pair of you could look into those.

Alternatively, he gets a part time job, and/or you get a better paying job. Appreciate this probably isn't what you want to hear, but you're far from being alone in this situation.

owen_money

It aint cheap. My daughter had student loans, course loans and had a part time job and it still cost me £10,000 over four years. Plus an extra £3k as she had a internship in the US.
She showed me all the uni photos, she had a great laugh! (thanks dad, ummm)

Sorry the my post doesnt help, only to show it costs a lot.

On the plus side she's going to choose my care home so hope she remembers how I helped her!!!