Eldest son going to university.

Yvonne12081971

Hello all, hope someone can answer the following questions.

1, Do I loose the £27.05 a week child benefit for him (old family allowance)?

2 If so does my youngest son get the full £27.05 allowance from then on, not the £17.90.?

3 Is there still a maintenance grant (paid for by the government for families on lower incomes) for the oldest sons living costs (not the student loan that you have to pay back)?

Kind regards

Yvonne

FloBoJangles

When your eldest child goes to university, your Child Benefit payments will stop for them because higher education is not considered "approved education" for this benefit. However, this does not affect your second child. The process for your remaining child is straightforward:

• No Change in Eligibility: You continue to receive Child Benefit for your second child until they leave full-time approved education or turn 20.
• Increased Rate: You will automatically begin receiving the higher "first child" rate for your second child once your eldest drops off the claim.

Rob5342

There are no maintenence grants but students can apply for a maintenance loan, the amount they get depends on their parents income. Students with parents on higher incomes get less as they assume that their parents will make up the difference.

There is an online calculator you can use use to see how much they can borrow. The maximum loan amount is £10,830, but doesn't stretch very far as accommodation alone can be £8500 a year. One very annoying aspect is that they often finish their courses in March, only need to go back for a week of exams yet still have to pay for the three months up to June.

QrizB

OP do you know which university your son is going to?

While student accommodation might be "£8500 a year", at many universities it's substantially less. My youngest has just had a year in self-catering accommodation at Univ,. of South Wales and they were paying £135 a week for 40(?) weeks, so something like £5400 for the year. That left them with ~£100 a week of spending money.

I think they ended the year with more in the bank than they stated it with!

RAS

Has he already been accepted for a university or is he applying this autumn?

Seriously check accommodation availability and costs. Some new universities and obviously London are massively more expensive than older well endowed universities.

For little more than QrizB's son is paying some Oxbridge colleges provide room and kitchen charges (all in weekdays but fewer or no meals at weekends).

Or consider living at home although the maintenance loan is lower.