Teen wanting to go to uni

Morrigan_2020

74jax said:

Morrigan_2020 said:

74jax said:

Morrigan_2020 said:

74jax said:

Morrigan_2020 said:

74jax said:

For my DD, Her 9k loan covered the course and she got minimum student loan of around £3.5k, her rent was £6k and she kept her job on that she had at 16.she worked for Clarkes so could swap between branches when he came home for holidays so never stopped working. She took as !!!!!! shifts as she could over summer (prime back to school shoes time).
I sent her £15 a week, so I knew she had something for food - I doubt it ever went on food! 

If your daughter got the minimum loan then your household income would have been high enough to essentially ‘make up the difference’.  I think that’s the general idea? 

Yes I think so. But even if she could have had more loans, she wouldn't have needed the full loan (if that makes sence) as her work etc allowed her ample money - she says she had more money then than now.... 🙈
So it's less to pay back I guess. 
It's a very tricky situation but I definately think I'd be putting my DD off for a 2021 intake... Not that she'd listen... 

Her work also meant she had to study in the middle of the night though.  She wouldn't have had to pay you back as her parents, hopefully!

She had the job right through from 16, absolutely loved it.  Even when she left uni to be a teacher she was going to keep it on for school holidays 🙈.
She's too much like me and so independent.
She preferred the library at night (hence me saying students get weird body clocks) no idea why, my idea of hell...
Her course was only so many hours a week - she was away more than she was in - all for 9k too..... 🙄

Do you think she would have worked so many hours and studied at night if her parents had 'topped up' her loan?  If so, fair enough, I'd be surprised though. 

This is why I disagree with student finance being assessed based on parental income.  For one thing they are adults and should be considered as such, but also there is no way to guarantee that parents will provide the intended financial support. 

Her 'parents' no, her dad was never going to pay for uni when he never paid to bring her up.  She would never have expected him to - or to be honest would have wanted him too I don't think, she wanted nothing from him.  She wouldn't have wanted a bigger loan, even if she could have had it either, she never used her overdraft and hates any type of debt. She worked out what she needed, got a job to make up the difference and 'spending money'. Clarks would swap her from store to store if she came home and was amazing. She worked her way up from aged 16 and left at ages 21 after a management training program. Her hourly rate was more than mine, she did so well. 

Yes I believe she totally would, like I say, when she left uni and was a teacher, she loved it so much she planned on continuing with it during holidays but covid put a stop to that plan.
She said she looks back at uni and loved it. She had 3 days of uni, 2 days of work and 2 days off, shes in touch with all uni friends and I would  recommend it to any parent who is worried about their child going . But, definately not in this pandemic.
I completely disagree with using the household income, they are independent adults with their own jobs/lives, she left home at 18 and never fully moved back, yet my household income was used for the 1st year. In the 2nd and 3rd year she didn't submit info as she worked out finances and only wanted the lowest loan, so didn't see the point in completing. 

I'm going to read between the lines here and assume that as you were on a lower wage than a Clarks shop assistant, then the bulk of your household income that led to her getting the lowest loan came from a new partner.  This is another reason why the system is flawed, partners/step-parents often don't want to support children/young adults that aren't biologically related even though their income has put them at a disadvantage.  Your adult daughter is punished because you remarried/are cohabiting.

I think if you're an adult at 18, you're an adult, and the government shouldn't treat you as being in any way still supported by parents. 

74jax

Morrigan_2020 said:

74jax said:

Morrigan_2020 said:

74jax said:

Morrigan_2020 said:

74jax said:

Morrigan_2020 said:

74jax said:

For my DD, Her 9k loan covered the course and she got minimum student loan of around £3.5k, her rent was £6k and she kept her job on that she had at 16.she worked for Clarkes so could swap between branches when he came home for holidays so never stopped working. She took as !!!!!! shifts as she could over summer (prime back to school shoes time).
I sent her £15 a week, so I knew she had something for food - I doubt it ever went on food! 

If your daughter got the minimum loan then your household income would have been high enough to essentially ‘make up the difference’.  I think that’s the general idea? 

Yes I think so. But even if she could have had more loans, she wouldn't have needed the full loan (if that makes sence) as her work etc allowed her ample money - she says she had more money then than now.... 🙈
So it's less to pay back I guess. 
It's a very tricky situation but I definately think I'd be putting my DD off for a 2021 intake... Not that she'd listen... 

Her work also meant she had to study in the middle of the night though.  She wouldn't have had to pay you back as her parents, hopefully!

She had the job right through from 16, absolutely loved it.  Even when she left uni to be a teacher she was going to keep it on for school holidays 🙈.
She's too much like me and so independent.
She preferred the library at night (hence me saying students get weird body clocks) no idea why, my idea of hell...
Her course was only so many hours a week - she was away more than she was in - all for 9k too..... 🙄

Do you think she would have worked so many hours and studied at night if her parents had 'topped up' her loan?  If so, fair enough, I'd be surprised though. 

This is why I disagree with student finance being assessed based on parental income.  For one thing they are adults and should be considered as such, but also there is no way to guarantee that parents will provide the intended financial support. 

Her 'parents' no, her dad was never going to pay for uni when he never paid to bring her up.  She would never have expected him to - or to be honest would have wanted him too I don't think, she wanted nothing from him.  She wouldn't have wanted a bigger loan, even if she could have had it either, she never used her overdraft and hates any type of debt. She worked out what she needed, got a job to make up the difference and 'spending money'. Clarks would swap her from store to store if she came home and was amazing. She worked her way up from aged 16 and left at ages 21 after a management training program. Her hourly rate was more than mine, she did so well. 

Yes I believe she totally would, like I say, when she left uni and was a teacher, she loved it so much she planned on continuing with it during holidays but covid put a stop to that plan.
She said she looks back at uni and loved it. She had 3 days of uni, 2 days of work and 2 days off, shes in touch with all uni friends and I would  recommend it to any parent who is worried about their child going . But, definately not in this pandemic.
I completely disagree with using the household income, they are independent adults with their own jobs/lives, she left home at 18 and never fully moved back, yet my household income was used for the 1st year. In the 2nd and 3rd year she didn't submit info as she worked out finances and only wanted the lowest loan, so didn't see the point in completing. 

I'm going to read between the lines here and assume that as you were on a lower wage than a Clarks shop assistant, then the bulk of your household income that led to her getting the lowest loan came from a new partner.  This is another reason why the system is flawed, partners/step-parents often don't want to support children/young adults that aren't biologically related even though their income has put them at a disadvantage.  Your adult daughter is punished because you remarried/are cohabiting.

I think if you're an adult at 18, you're an adult, and the government shouldn't treat you as being in any way still supported by parents. 

You include things like savings (I had a large inheritance) other properties (had been left a house), so was over the amount anyway. But yes I had married the year before and so we had 2 incomes (his way more than mine). 
My DD and I discussed and she preferred our holidays. Once a year her and I have a holiday, I said she could have this xk for uni instead and each of the 3 years she wanted the holiday instead. I did send her £15 week for food, kitted her room out, etc but she did fine with her job. She had the hourly rate from a large store as her base store, got extra for Saturdays, double for Sundays and any evenings she did. At the time of uni she had been there 2 years so was able to have our local big store as her home store and transferred to her uni store in semesters. I also remember every November she was paid around £1k as a uni student staying on. It was to try and keep trained fitters with clarks whilst they went to uni. 

MoonChild91

My parents were in a similar position and I never had to lend money from them; I got the full loan + the extra £1000 for studying in London and the full maintenance grant plus a bursary of £1000 for being the first person in my family to go to university (it's definitely worth asking her choices about these as there's often something in place for students who are first in the family, come from a postcode with low university progression, or have low incomes).
I never had to work throughout university, and only went into my overdraft afterwards whilst looking for jobs. I did budget but I never felt like I couldn't afford anything I wanted to do. I might have been lucky but I don't think she should worry too much about going to university from a low-income family! 

Like other people, I'd be inclined to wait a year before applying. For one thing it would give her chance to save a bit and for another with the coronavirus situation as it is she might not even be able to start properly in September. I had a year out between college and uni and I really valued having a bit of time off from education; it helped me finalise what I wanted to do and where I wanted to study and I felt a lot more prepared to start when I did.  

MrsStepford

I would also suggest a year of between school and uni, I did this btwn school an college. I went to uni as a mature student 24+ and you get assessed individually, not via UCAS so anything that daughter does by way of semi- relevant job and short courses, Open University would help. 

Equally, if she can get even part-time job in field, she can maybe get employer to help. Aldi managers get £46,385 TO START Store Manager | Aldi Recruitment UK so if she got a part-time job they might help her do business courses and German, for example and degree as well, who knows. 

If your daughter is eligible for an EU member state passport, she could study in EU far more cheaply and do ERASMUS and, if she wants to work for a company like Aldi or Lidl for example, she would be able to access their training courses in Germany. 

Getting a part-time job + doing part-time/distance learning seem like a sensible option to me. I she takes a year out but does NOTHING then she would be further down the queue for people wanting to defer to 2022.

For people wanting to start uni this year, are employers going to think their eventual degree is second rate, with so much onlime teaching ??

tooldle

It’s a interesting question.
Degrees differ from one institution to another. Some but not all will be accredited by a professional institution. As long as the accreditation is not somehow lost before the degree is awarded, i wouldn’t be concerned.
The OP hasn’t mentioned what the young adult wants to study, unless maybe i’ve missed it. If it were for example History, how would a lecturer speaking in a 100 seat lecture theatre differ to the very same lecturer, delivering the very same lecture via an online learning platform? 
In many cases an employer is not taking on a graduate for specialist knowledge in their field (there are of course exceptions to this statement). Often its the skills developed through successful semi independent learning, which the employer seeks. 
I might think of deferring if i were going to study Civil Engineering, or French for example. A lot of courses are largely unchanged in terms of content, just the mode of delivery has changed. Our libraries are still open, free wifi is available to all onsite. Some sports facilities are closed, as are some catering outlets and bars. Definitely the experience for first years is different but the culture has been changing for some considerable time. Many students don’t drink, and alcohol free accommodation is very popular. 
The world may be a very different place come the start of the next academic year. Equally, we may still be as we are. Faced with a choice of moving forwards or waiting a while, i know i would choose to take the plunge. 
 
Edited to add, many EU countries don’t have an difference in fees between local and international candidates. Fees in France for example are very low, think hundreds of Euros versus thousands of pounds in the UK. A lack of language skills is not necessarily a barrier. I know of EU institutions who deliver modules in English.

CreditCardJunkie

It can absolutely be done with the student loans and as others have mentioned, a part time job. The best thing you can do is help her budget so that she doesn't take on an overdraft or credit card debt which is very tempting as a student.
I went through uni without being subsidised by my parents (I worked part-time and full-time during holiday times), it can absolutely be done.

pickledonionspaceraider

Put it off for a  year to save, and get Covid out of the way
The Students are being stitched up at the minute on rent on rooms they arent using and online lessons and if it were my child, i wouldnt be making any concrete plans to send them this year

Spendless

pickledonionspaceraider said:

Put it off for a  year to save, and get Covid out of the way
The Students are being stitched up at the minute on rent on rooms they arent using and online lessons and if it were my child, i wouldnt be making any concrete plans to send them this year

Yes, I would agree with this. My own son went back to his student digs just after Christmas and before Boris told them they weren't to. . My nephew in his first year in halls just made it back. Otherwise we'd be paying out for accommodation that they've been told not to return to. The Government might be able to tell the Unis they've got to hand a proportion of the rent back, they won't be able to tell the private landlord the same thing.


I tried looking for guidance last summer on returning students and found nothing. If we'd lived a more commutable distance away from his Uni I'd have told son to  stay at home and just travel in for his face to face classes whilst they were happening. 
Son's girlfriend graduates this year. She was considering a masters but says she's not doing it for this Autumn due to the risk of it still being online, she'd rather take time out and work.

essex123456

Given that in 2020 the average UK degree cost 27k, it might be worth considering some of the suggestions above e.g. could she live at home? but also could she study the first couple of years of a degree at a local further education college, has she considered degrees in-demand where tuition is paid e.g. some teaching degrees, or degree apprenticeships e.g nursing / software where again the the fees would be covered. 

Spendless

essex123456 said:

Given that in 2020 the average UK degree cost 27k, it might be worth considering some of the suggestions above e.g. could she live at home? but also could she study the first couple of years of a degree at a local further education college, has she considered degrees in-demand where tuition is paid e.g. some teaching degrees, or degree apprenticeships e.g nursing / software where again the the fees would be covered. 

It's not the tuition fee that's the issue  In most cases it's enough to cover the course fees of around £9K per year. Problems arise with the maintenance loan because how much you get depends on the household income of the parent(s)/step-parent where the student lives. If the parent can't/won't/doesn't help out with any shortfall, it means the student may not have enough to live on or even cover their rent. Just living at home wouldn't reduce the tuition fees, but could help affording to go due to reduced living costs. I've got friends with kids who've had to take this option.