How much to top up?

~FlowerPot~

Hi, DS1 is going to uni in sept. We have just paid the deposit for first year halls (It has to be these halls and anyway there wasnt really anything much cheaper )cost is £8228 for the year (44week contract) The maintenace loan is £9200 ~ however my son will only qualify for the lowest amount. Our top up will need to be £5327 to birng it up to the maintenance amount. But my question is how much more will he need to get through the year!!!

he will have approx £1000  left from the loan plus top up.

I really have no idea what a student would need week to week? DS hasnt got a job, has autism and mental health issues and really doesnt spend very much. So im not v hopeful that he will manage a job and uni especially o begin with.

Can anyone help me with rough a idea? 

is £50 a week to stingy? 

could a student manage on that ok?

silvercar

£5327 is what the government assumes he needs from you. You are under no obligation to pay it, but not doing so could put him at a financial disadvantage to other students.

it’s difficult, only the middle earners suffer this way. Low earners offspring get full top up, very high earners presumably have the money to spare. The risk is that others will struggle.

~FlowerPot~

Yes  i know we do not have to pay. But as the amount he will get will only cover half his rent. I am trying to work out what the short fall will likely be. and I know it will be more than the £5327 top up amount.

Its a stupid system!

kaMelo

I wouldn't necessarily think it will be more.
Doing some calculations and assuming they're studying outside London the maximum maintenance loan this coming year is £9978, the minimum £4651 leading to a difference of £5327, as you point out.
Deduct their rent costs (£8228) from the maximum loan (£9978) leaves them £1750 for food and other expenses. 
September and June are not full months, then there is Christmas when they will likely come home so probably around nine months for £1750 to cover which is just short of £200 per month.

Until they're actually living there it's difficult to predict exactly how much they will need, some live very frugally and some don't. If you're covering the rent shortfall then maybe start off with your suggestion of £50 per week and see how things are at Christmas.

P.S.
Far from being stingy, £50 per week plus the rent shortfall works out more than the £5327 top up the Government expects of you.

Optimistic_Gardener

Our daughter has just completed her first year. We had a similar dilemma and amount to top up. Her accommodation included £50 a week for meals, but we gave her £240 each month to top up to the maximum loan amount. I figured that £60 a week would be enough for what amounted to a budget for socialising. Turns out I was wrong!

In fairness, she studies at the opposite end of the country, so train fares are costly, but ultimately she went out loads, couldn't manage financially and got a job after the first semester.

I think it's difficult to know before he goes, and will depend on how spendy he is, going out, daily coffees etc... But budgeting is all part of the learning experience!
Good luck to him - and you   

~FlowerPot~

Optimistic_Gardener said:

Our daughter has just completed her first year. We had a similar dilemma and amount to top up. Her accommodation included £50 a week for meals, but we gave her £240 each month to top up to the maximum loan amount. I figured that £60 a week would be enough for what amounted to a budget for socialising. Turns out I was wrong!

In fairness, she studies at the opposite end of the country, so train fares are costly, but ultimately she went out loads, couldn't manage financially and got a job after the first semester.

I think it's difficult to know before he goes, and will depend on how spendy he is, going out, daily coffees etc... But budgeting is all part of the learning experience!
Good luck to him - and you   

Thank you for your reply. I think we will aim for £50 a week and see how we go. I suspect he wont go out that much, but I may be wrong!!!

( he doesnt go to cafes, dosent like tea or coffee ~ does like ice cream a lot though!)