University Fees and cost Post Reply

[Peggs55]

Hi there,

My husband made a passing comment this morning that it costs £20k for 1 year at university? I am completely clueless as to what financial costs are needed.

I’m thinking with the accommodation and fees to consider. My husband might be right.

My children are both still at primary school, but for future planning i am just curious to have an approx idea .

Many thanks

[SWtastic]

In reality it actually costs more than that if you add on living expenses and travel to and from uni however, your child will be entitled to a loan for their fees, as well as a means-tested loan which will contribute to the cost of their rent.  Parents will be expected to top up the difference in what's awarded and the maximum loan but of course, your child will probably want to get a part-time job to not only gain some work experience, but to fund their social life.

A good place to start is https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/stude ... tion-tool/ 

[Peggs55]

Thank you.

I will best start planning

[another mother]

Hi

There is another thread on this subject which might be also worth referring to if you can find it.

The amount you pay on behalf of your child, depends on your choice.
I don't know anyone myself, who would pay the university tuition fees part. There are many other things you will likely pay so this is enough for most people.

ie Vast majority of students apply for tuition fees (it goes straight to Uni ) + maintenance fees loans (goes to their bank account) Its a good deal. Which parents want to use up all their savings ?
You will anyway need to still pay a bit to 'top-up', look after them in holidays, pay rail fares, whenever you are in their vicinity you will pay lol.
I don't want my child to have to work at uni as the course is demanding, but many students do bit jobs.

The university websites have good estimates of how much you need a month (rent+live) as rents vary per city too!

Its a long way off, and it all might change with a change of policy before then.


check the government site student finance, as it lays it all out.

[AHW]

I have one at uni, and another heading there in Sept (with two more coming along...!). It is slightly up to you as to whether you want to pay their fees AND their maintenance which could easily be £20k a year.

However, most people I know take the loans for the fees, and then have to top up the maintenance anyway because we only get the minimum amount (just over £4k a year). We are essentially paying my son's college bill each term, which is about £2200 for each 8 week block, and then he lives on the maintenance that is left. However, he lives cheaply because he is doing an intense course that means he barely has time to socialise, the accommodation is relatively cheap, and he's at a uni which has short, intense terms.  

My daughter is probably going to cost us more - at one uni Open Day we visited recently, the accommodation we saw would have taken the almost all of the maintenance loan, so we will have to find more cash (and she will work in the holidays) to fund her costs. 

The students we spoke to were a bit shocked at how much more their accommodation is going to cost next year but with utilities/wiFi etc all included, it's not surprising.  

I don't know how old your children are, but the govt. may change the funding etc by the time yours are there, but it is wise to have done some saving...!

 

[Carol2R]

If you're able to put money aside, do so.  My parents had saved some, but not nearly enough.  I paid for half the total cost (including living expenses and travel back and forth).  In addition to taking out loans, this meant I always worked part time during the school year and full time during the summer breaks.  Yes, there is some benefit to work experience but I missed out on a lot.  My university offered so many opportunities; I didn't get to take advantage of any of them.

[Greyskies]

£20,000 a year is a good ball park figure. Fees are usually £9250 and £1000 per month for food and board is around average. It will be more in London, less in Durham. Some Universities eg Oxbridge charge only for nights in residence. (So around 30 weeks a year) Other students in private rents have to pay for the full 12 months.

My children all started saving for college at around 11. Maybe it was because we were in the US then and that is was everybody did. A lot of their birthday, Christmas, babysitting money etc. went into the college fund. From 16 they had jobs in the summer holidays. We did not encourage them to work during term time. The result was that they had significant savings to meet living costs before they went to University and could top them up by working in the summer vacations.

Fees can be paid through loans - although some families may be in a position to pay these as well.

I think we all need to adopt a long term plan to meet University costs. If the child chooses another route then they can use that money for other things.

[SouthLondonDaddy]

I agree that Martin Lewis' site is a good place to start https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/stude ... s-changes/

You have to understand UK student loans are not real loans, they're more like a graduate tax.

If you have loads and loads of money set aside for your children and you are reasonably confident that they will get a high-paying job, then you're better off not taking the loan and paying upfront. Clearly, a very limited number of families will be in this situation.

 

[Ohwell]

Agree with last poster.
Im sure it makes no sense investment-wise to pay off the university fees yourself even if you have money to dispose of.
This would be money best invested elsewhere.
eg a friend who was working from aged 23/4 in a profession had 13k or so pretty much written off after the years elapsed.

[SouthLondonDaddy]

It's not just about the crude calculation, it's also about having a buffer of savings that can be used in case of emergency, or to do other stuff (start a business, a deposit for a flat, etc)