Parents of Students - tell me about loans

[hildasmuriel]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/student/article4523064.ece

When I read this the other week I nearly fainted. In particular: the average student in Exeter spends £294 per week and: the research indicates that the cities with highest weekly living costs (excluding rent) are London (£221) and Leicester (£220)

I know people in full time work who don't spend £220 per week after rent! Where on earth do these students get this money?

I asked some of the younger teachers in work (newest graduates) and they said these figures were poppycock.

I certainly hope so. I figured there would be no more Disney tickers if my son makes it to Uni in October. I didn't realise there would be no more food for any of us either.

 

[gemmybear83]

Hi I did a three year degree and 1 year postgrad qualification (needed for my profession) at Sheffield University living away from home between 2001-2005. I was fortunate that my parents paid my fees (this was in the good old days when they were about £1,500 a year and set at a national rate) and recieved £200 a month from my parents. I paid my accomodation fees from my student loan and worked part time during uni semesters and full time during the holidays.

I would recommend your son having a part time job (I know its not easy at the moment!), not only for the money, but you do pick up transferable skills that will be looked at favourably by future graduate employers and I think its important to get out of that "uni bubble". I worked part time for the student union in their shop (this was great as they were very flexible with hours), and for the last two years managed to geta job in my profession - which helped me greatly when it came to graduate recruitment.

In terms of living costs, university self catered halls are often a lot cheaper than catered ones. I lived this way during the first year and much prefered it as I was able to eat what I liked and when - and I saved a lot of money living this way.

As well as looking at the obvious uni reputation its worth looking at average rents at universities and job opportunites. This is a good guide I used http://www.amazon.co.uk/Virgin-Alte...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235161900&sr=8-2. If your son is looking at a campus university it is much more difficult to find a part time job than a university in a city.

I manged to do 4 years without an overdraft, and now pay back my £12,000 student loan debt monthly at a rate of approx £140.00 a month - but this based on you salary.

Hope this is of help

 

[Dimplenose]

Thanks for all your input it given us lots to think about.

I'm just glad that this time last year I didn't know how much this would all cost or I'd never have committed to a WDW holiday this summer!

 

[snookhams]

I am shocked at the costs - I hope that DS might qualify for sports funding to help with costs, as due to competitions at weekend and morning and evening training a job would be really difficult to manage with lectures etc. At the moment he is investigating colleges and unis in US, would love to go to Florida state (I wonder why!!!) as there swim teams specialise in backstroke which is his first stroke. He has a small amount of sponsorship at the moment so hopefully this would continue, it has helped greatly with the increasing costs of training at least - this would not be a factor if he made a uni team

 

[gemmybear83]

I am shocked at the costs - I hope that DS might qualify for sports funding to help with costs, as due to competitions at weekend and morning and evening training a job would be really difficult to manage with lectures etc. At the moment he is investigating colleges and unis in US, would love to go to Florida state (I wonder why!!!) as there swim teams specialise in backstroke which is his first stroke. He has a small amount of sponsorship at the moment so hopefully this would continue, it has helped greatly with the increasing costs of training at least - this would not be a factor if he made a uni team

My cousin is at university in the US - and is on an athletic sponsorship as she plays girls football, she is studying to be a physiotherapist. she loves it - the only problem is if you get injured or your performance drops off you can lose your sponsorship.

 

[CustardTart]

I am shocked at the costs - I hope that DS might qualify for sports funding to help with costs, as due to competitions at weekend and morning and evening training a job would be really difficult to manage with lectures etc. At the moment he is investigating colleges and unis in US, would love to go to Florida state (I wonder why!!!) as there swim teams specialise in backstroke which is his first stroke. He has a small amount of sponsorship at the moment so hopefully this would continue, it has helped greatly with the increasing costs of training at least - this would not be a factor if he made a uni team

I wish him all the luck with that - such a great experience!!! My DD looked into University in the US but the cost was crazily prohibitive (circa $30k pa when she looked) as international students weren't eligible for funding and there were conditions on the student visa which made working difficult - this was few years ago tho'...

My cousin is at university in the US - and is on an athletic sponsorship as she plays girls football, she is studying to be a physiotherapist. she loves it - the only problem is if you get injured or your performance drops off you can lose your sponsorship.

There you go!!! I thought our experience might be outdated - plus we weren't looking at it from a sporty angle...

 

[wideeyes]

My sister supports her self completely at uni with grants, loans and she works a few nights a week at a supermarket. She pays for her halls, books, food, going out etc.

I took the student loans due to the low intereset as it paid towards my DVC