Teen wanting to go to uni

Spendless

olgadapolga said:

My daughter is at uni in London, on full maintenance loan. Admittedly that is slightly higher than the non-London allowance but my daughter seems to be managing just fine on it. Her rent is half of her loan then there are bills, food and uni stuff on top. She hasn't asked for any help with anything (apart from getting her to and from university, which we are obviously very happy to do for her).

I think that I said this before, my daughter and her friends all say that going to Uni in September would be a waste of time and money, as the pandemic will still be ongoing and it will affect not only the delivery of the courses but the overall student "experience". My daughter feels very cheated and is considering a year out so that at least one-third of her student days are more like she was expecting.

That's the idea of being on a full maintenance loan. The student's household income is considered too low for there to be a parental contribution, so the student gets given what is considered enough to live on without any additional help. When the household income is higher, the maintenance loan is reduced accordingly and then a problem arises when parents can't/won't/don't contribute.

Totally agree with you about the experience. I feel so sorry for my Nephew who delayed going for a year so he could save up first and get on the course he wanted and it's just been nothing like the experience he should be having. 

Mickey666

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. 

Absolutely!  I've always thought this, right from when student loans were first introduced.  It's also potentially very destructive to family relationships.  Uni students are old enough to get married and join the forces and fight/die for their country, they should not be treated like schoolchildren dependent on hand outs from their parents.

RAS

oystercatcher said:

Some universities like Cambridge don't like undergraduates working , I believe they don't allow it, not sure how it is enforced..................
 
Accommodation is much cheaper at some uni's compared to others as well so it's worth looking into prices when deciding where to apply and there is no guarantee of being offered the cheapest accommodation either,

It's also worth noting that some universities like Oxford and Cambridge have massive endowments which mean that their accommodation is incredibly cheap. So whilst a student from a less affluent background may be put off by the expectation of no paid work, it can be a good deal. 

It's usual for red brick and new university approved student accommodation to cost £7-10K per year for a bare room, whilst some historic universities charge £3-4K  for room and board. OK, you have to eat in with limited choices but it's cheap and you may only need to cook on one or two days at the weekend.

Mind you, their students really work hard.