Parents and students listen to Martin on Radio2

Edinburghlass_2

Martin is on the Jeremy Vine show today shortly after 1.00 and will be talking, JV actually said shouting :rotfl: about students and money and will students learn the value of money if parents help out too much.

You can listen and watch the webcam from here...http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/

Edinburghlass_2

The webcam does only show the back of Martin's head though

freebie_junkie

I SO agree with him on this! Makes my blood boil at the amount of students whose parents pay their rent, bills, food, petrol, mobile, clothes etc. then they leave Uni without any real expectations of the real world and end up in debt.

System

freebie_junkie wrote: »

I SO agree with him on this! Makes my blood boil at the amount of students whose parents pay their rent, bills, food, petrol, mobile, clothes etc. then they leave Uni without any real expectations of the real world and end up in debt.

I'm sorry but I disagree.

The government wouldn't base the loan/bursary system on parental income if they didn't expect more well-off parents to financially help their children in some way.

My parents offered to pay for everything and when given the choice between:
1. spending my student loan & wage (which barely covered it all) and gettin into debt or
2. letting my parents foot the bill and then putting my loan into long-term-savings.

I know what most people would choose.

I lived with people who came from less privileged backgrounds than myself and they got almost double the money I was getting! They didn't go to work like I did either, and I saw them spend their bursaries on alcohol and nights out.

My parents gave me money because if they didn't I wouldn't be able to afford living costs, even though I was working part-time 7 days a week.

If they really want to detach parents from any financial responsibility in this situation, they would give everyone (whatever their background) the exact same amount of financial help when entering uni.

poor_poor_student

Thats very true and im in a similar position to you, everyone should get the same amount and it should be considerably higher. Im not saying this because im greedy but the student accomodation is being eaten up by private companies (My loan is £3,800 whereas my rent for 9 months is £4,150 and this is in apparently the cheapest city in the country- Sheffield) It demands we all work while doing degrees so of course grades are going to suffer . I shall be listening to the radio show with interest

Lokolo

poor_poor_student wrote: »

Thats very true and im in a similar position to you, everyone should get the same amount and it should be considerably higher. Im not saying this because im greedy but the student accomodation is being eaten up by private companies (My loan is £3,800 whereas my rent for 9 months is £4,150 and this is in apparently the cheapest city in the country- Sheffield) It demands we all work while doing degrees so of course grades are going to suffer . I shall be listening to the radio show with interest

If you are paying £4,150 I can assure you, Sheffield isn't cheap

I paid £2285 which was extremely good, however my friend at Soton pays about the same as you.

It is rediculous. I am lucky in that fact my grandparents are loaded and are paying for my housing and food. However my mum earns £24k a year, luckily now she has a boyfriend to scrounge off, but before I would get EMA etc. to help me out as I wouldn't get help from mother (oh she would but i'd pay her back).

Someone I used to go to school with gets full grant etc. got EMA in college as parents were divorced and his mum doesn't work, even though his dad owns numerous houses and is quite well off. We call him an arrogant ****.

I do agree that the system is flawed but theres not much we can do about it. Vite Labour and keep it the same. Vote Tory's and alcohol goes up in price and we lose out even more. Dear me.

freebie_junkie

candyflossing wrote: »

I'm sorry but I disagree.

The government wouldn't base the loan/bursary system on parental income if they didn't expect more well-off parents to financially help their children in some way.

My parents offered to pay for everything and when given the choice between:
1. spending my student loan & wage (which barely covered it all) and gettin into debt or
2. letting my parents foot the bill and then putting my loan into long-term-savings.

I know what most people would choose.

I lived with people who came from less privileged backgrounds than myself and they got almost double the money I was getting! They didn't go to work like I did either, and I saw them spend their bursaries on alcohol and nights out.

My parents gave me money because if they didn't I wouldn't be able to afford living costs, even though I was working part-time 7 days a week.

If they really want to detach parents from any financial responsibility in this situation, they would give everyone (whatever their background) the exact same amount of financial help when entering uni.

I have lived on my own throughout my degree and now my fiance lives with me but I wouldn't take his money off him- I took out the loan and I also work for myself (it normally works out at full time hours!) I don't drink alcohol full stop, I don't go out all the time, when I do it's uaully on the cheap using tesco deals etc.

I too have savings, ones I have saved myself. Your argument doen't make complete sense as you say that your parents had to give you money to live off, but then you say that they paid for everything so that you could put all of your loan into a savings account- which is it?

Given the choice, I would go with how I did it every time- at the end of the day, my degree is only down to me, if you let mum and dad pay, then some of that degree rightfully belongs to them.

andyrules

freebie_junkie wrote: »

I have lived on my own throughout my degree and now my fiance lives with me but I wouldn't take his money off him- I took out the loan and I also work for myself (it normally works out at full time hours!) I don't drink alcohol full stop, I don't go out all the time, when I do it's uaully on the cheap using tesco deals etc.

I too have savings, ones I have saved myself. Your argument doen't make complete sense as you say that your parents had to give you money to live off, but then you say that they paid for everything so that you could put all of your loan into a savings account- which is it?

Given the choice, I would go with how I did it every time- at the end of the day, my degree is only down to me, if you let mum and dad pay, then some of that degree rightfully belongs to them.

A breakdown of your accounts would be useful, as you are implying that people who cannot manage on their loan are somehow poor managers/spoiled pooches who live off their folks.
You say you work for yourself, but don't say how - many student p/time jobs bring in their own restrictions.

Some students, as poorpoorstudent points out, have high rents to pay, some have top up fees as well. Do you? If so, how much? Tell me how a student with a loan of £7k, rent at £3300, fees at £3000 can save money throughout the year without starving or travelling?

Of course some need parental help - and that is built into the calculation made at assessment time. Incidentally, the old grant system also assumed parental input.

Your comment about parents having part ownership of the degree beggars belief - so a parent who has financially supported their child to become a doctor/lawyer/teacher/astronaut can rightfully declare that they have this skill?

Finally, your implication that students waste money on going out is an insult to those who work hard to achieve the result they want without sinking into more debt.

freebie_junkie

andyrules wrote: »

A breakdown of your accounts would be useful, as you are implying that people who cannot manage on their loan are somehow poor managers/spoiled pooches who live off their folks.
You say you work for yourself, but don't say how - many student p/time jobs bring in their own restrictions.

Some students, as poorpoorstudent points out, have high rents to pay, some have top up fees as well. Do you? If so, how much? Tell me how a student with a loan of £7k, rent at £3300, fees at £3000 can save money throughout the year without starving or travelling?

Of course some need parental help - and that is built into the calculation made at assessment time. Incidentally, the old grant system also assumed parental input.

Your comment about parents having part ownership of the degree beggars belief - so a parent who has financially supported their child to become a doctor/lawyer/teacher/astronaut can rightfully declare that they have this skill?

Finally, your implication that students waste money on going out is an insult to those who work hard to achieve the result they want without sinking into more debt.

If you check candyflossing's post which I was replying to, it was him/her who originally made a point about going out and drinking- s/he was implying that poorer students on full grants waste their money on going out- I was simply replying to them and refuting their claims, not trying to make any point of my own, why not check in future before you make a comment?!

I am obviously not going to give a full break down of my accounts on an open forum- don't be silly! I have lived in both student accomodation priced at £1500 per term all inclusive- including 2 meals per weekday and in my 2nd year I moved into a flat which costs more as rent, utilities, food etc. cost more when you are paying seperately. I paid top-up fees when they came into affect in my 3rd year and now during my PGDE also. I think that is enough personal financial information to release to a stranger.

I simply think that letting your paents pay for it all (not just topping-up- paying for it ALL) as candyflossing has said that s/he did is a cop-out from real, adult life and yes, some of your grade is due to your parents in that case. Also, the more some students get from their mums and dads, the more they want to spend- borrowing on cc's etc. as they have no idea about real money, they think that overdrafts and cc's are 'free money' not debt that they are buying. I'm not making this up, this has happened to several people close to me, close enough to discuss financial matters with.

System

Just to clarify, my living costs (rent, food, bills, equipment) were double my loan & wage put together. If I had received a bursary etc, I would not need nor want my parent's help.

My parents offered to pay for everything in full, rather than just give me the extra money I required, because they are completely against loans, and believe it just encourages people to spend money they don't have. If it were up to them I wouldn't even have had a loan.

Instead of spending my unspent loan on myself, I put it into a savings account.

- I just want to show people that just because my parents paid for everything, it doesn't mean I'm a fool with my money, or that I know nothing of the real world. I was working part-time 7 days a week, whilst on a full-time course, which is more than most students can say.

I wasn't implying that people from poorer backgrounds are more prone to wasting their money! I was giving personal experience.

I do beleive however, that it would be much easier to spend non-repayable financial aid (that has just been handed to you on a plate) on non-necessities (alcohol etc.) than your parent's money, that you know they worked long and hard to earn. That is to say, if you have any respect for your parents.

Edit: Freebie-junkie, who said that if my parents paid then the degree rightfully belongs to them - You got a loan to pay for your degree! Therefore I could say that your degree rightfully belongs to the Student Loan Company!

cupid_s

I completely agree with you candyflossing.

On these boards you often come across people with the attitude that if your parents help you out financially at uni, then you'll grow up with no idea of the value of money or budgeting and end up in more debt. And therefore parents shouldn't do all they can for their kids. And I think this view is either extremely bitter, or ignorant.

My parents and nan covered almost everything for me, on the condition I didn't take out/spend a student loan and I worked for my 'going out' money.

When I was buying anything I thought twice and asked myself would my mom and dad want me to spend their money on this? If it was my own money then I wouldn't have thought twice but the thought of them going without so I could buy another pair of shoes or spend £10 on a takeaway made me so much more responsible with my money. And that attitude has continued to this day even though I no longer get any financial help from my parents.

My best friend at uni got no help from her parents even though their joint income was more than 10 times higher than my parents! She spent all her loans within a few weeks, got hardship loan after hardship loan after hardship loan and proceeded to spend more than double throughout the three years than I did. People at uni used to talk to me as if I was spoilt and say very accusingly that their parents wanted them to stand on their own two feet, whilst all the time they weren't standing on their own two feet, they were spending all their loans, not working at all and then relying on the uni for top-ups which they weren't required to pay back.

You can't generalise people in the way that so many people here seem to want to.

And about my parents owning some of my degree/s. For lots of reasons, excluding the financial help they gave me, I know I wouldn't be where I am now without my parents and I owe them so much. Without their love, support, neverending encouragement and limitless time I would never have even got to university, I certainly wouldn't have done so well here. Almost everything I am is down to them and I would therefore much rather them have claim to my degrees than the student loans company.