Should she take the maximum maintenance grant? 7 March 2022 at 2:36PM in Student MoneySaving 1 reply 94 views

Hannyw1975

I am recently separated and on a low income. My daughter lives with me and is applying for uni. Her dad will top up any funding. 

My querie is, she could get more grant by declaring my income ( as we be been advised to do ) but this will mean she ends up in more debt than her sister who is already at uni and claiming the minimum based on their dads income. 

What’s best for her to do? Declare my wage or his? Take the minimum or as much as she can get?

silvercar

Consider it a graduate tax not a debt, as anything not paid off is eventually wiped.

Unless she is going to be a relatively high earner, with no career breaks, it is likely that she will not pay the balance + interest in full. As repayments are fixed at 9% of earnings over  a threshold, she will pay the same however much loan she takes, so it is logical to take what you can get.

That said, no one knows exactly what changes will be made over the next 30 years. I doubt people will be posting on here in 2052 talking of thresholds of 25k and interest of RPI with repayments at 9%.