The Student Room Group

Not Sure I Can Afford to Go to University

I'm looking to start my degree in September 2015. My estimated student maintenance loan is £4789, the accommodation alone at my chosen universities ranges from £4-6000, obviously I'll need money for food, transport, books, stationery etc and it would of course be nice to go out once in a while. If I can find a job I should be able to manage, but if It takes a while to find work I'm really going to struggle. Does anyone have any advice as to how to reduce costs?

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The loan is meant to be there in support, the government expects your parents to help to. Can they provide some for you


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Reply 2
Original post by Devran22
The loan is meant to be there in support, the government expects your parents to help to. Can they provide some for you


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They could probably help a bit, but I don't want to put them under any pressure to, it would be nice to fend for myself too.
I have 3 siblings, potentially 3 of us could be at uni at the same time and there is no way my parents could support all of us to live away at the same time. Fortunately I have been accepted on to a course locally, so could live at home and keep my current job, however it certainly isn't my first choice of course or uni, just a fall back option.
I am in exactly the same position! It's awful that when giving you a loan/grant they don't consider any parental debts or other payments and just their income as mine can't really afford to keep giving me money but because of there income my loan is minimal and I get no grant :frown:
Original post by Devran22
The loan is meant to be there in support, the government expects your parents to help to. Can they provide some for you


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Have you applied for maintenance grant , you can ask for ALF when you start uni
Reply 5
Original post by robynofficer97
I am in exactly the same position! It's awful that when giving you a loan/grant they don't consider any parental debts or other payments and just their income as mine can't really afford to keep giving me money but because of there income my loan is minimal and I get no grant :frown:


You would think they would take into account individual circumstances. Parents of an only child with no mortgage are in a much different position to parents of large families with other expenses to match. What do you intend to do?
Original post by Frantica
You would think they would take into account individual circumstances. Parents of an only child with no mortgage are in a much different position to parents of large families with other expenses to match. What do you intend to do?


yeah exactly, it's not fair at all! obviously I'm hoping to get a job but who knows how long that will take. I'm going to apply for the Access to Learning Fund where you send them your previous 3 bank statements from all banks, all of your incomes and outcomes and just pray that I get something. Apparently if your parents appeal the grant and explain that they can't support you it doesn't do anything? :frown: I'm still going to try though.
Reply 7
Original post by jpowis123
Have you applied for maintenance grant , you can ask for ALF when you start uni

The £4789 is my estimated maintenance grant, what is ALF and could you suggest somewhere to find more info please?
Reply 8
Original post by robynofficer97
yeah exactly, it's not fair at all! obviously I'm hoping to get a job but who knows how long that will take. I'm going to apply for the Access to Learning Fund where you send them your previous 3 bank statements from all banks, all of your incomes and outcomes and just pray that I get something. Apparently if your parents appeal the grant and explain that they can't support you it doesn't do anything? :frown: I'm still going to try though.


It seems Higher Education is still only really accessible to the very wealthy. Good luck!!
Original post by Frantica
They could probably help a bit, but I don't want to put them under any pressure to, it would be nice to fend for myself too.
I have 3 siblings, potentially 3 of us could be at uni at the same time and there is no way my parents could support all of us to live away at the same time. Fortunately I have been accepted on to a course locally, so could live at home and keep my current job, however it certainly isn't my first choice of course or uni, just a fall back option.


Firstly, don't choose a University and course that you don't particularly want to be on purely because it's the convenient option.

If you can't afford to go to University now then why do you have to go now?

Why not take a year out to save up, work full time hours in your current job or find one that can offer you full time hours, put as much money aside as you can and once you do start University either find a part time job while you're there or work lots of hours during the holidays.

If you think your financial situation is bad just consider the fact that you are getting over £1,000 more than a hell of a lot of students who, just like you, get little to no support from their parents, me included.

I get the minimum possible loan, just over £3,500, no grant, no support from the University and very little support from my parents (I'm talking £100 a month at the absolute maximum). Add to that the fact that my first year was fully funded so I received no tuition fee loan meaning I had to find £9,000 from somewhere to pay for that.

You know how I did it? I took a year out before I started, found a job that could give me 50 hours a week and I worked for 51 out of 52 weeks of that year, saved up damn near every penny I was paid, didn't have any extravagant expenses, cut out pretty much everything in my life that was expensive and made damn sure that I saved up enough to see me through University.

It's not easy, it's not fair, but there are thousands upon thousands of students who have to work to pay their own way through University and you'll just have to be one of them.
Original post by Frantica
It seems Higher Education is still only really accessible to the very wealthy. Good luck!!



ahhh i know! thank you, good luck to you too!
Original post by Frantica
It seems Higher Education is still only really accessible to the very wealthy. Good luck!!


Aw diddums, isn't life tough.

My parents literally went bankrupt when I was half way through my second year but because of the way the system works and the fact that their income doesn't get seized until after they have had to pay tax on it Student Finance still see a high income, and so despite my parents literally having no spare money whatsoever I am still not eligible for anything other than the bare minimum, £3,500 maintenance loan. No grants, no support from my University, nothing.

Do I whine about it? No I don't. Why? Because **** happens and whining would achieve anything.
What did I do instead? I used my savings, I took two jobs between terms and worked up to 80 hours a week, I got a part time job while at University, I lived sensibly and didn't splash money out on things I didn't need.

But yeah of course, University is "only really accessible to the very wealthy", you're right.
Reply 12
Original post by mackemforever
Firstly, don't choose a University and course that you don't particularly want to be on purely because it's the convenient option.

If you can't afford to go to University now then why do you have to go now?

Why not take a year out to save up, work full time hours in your current job or find one that can offer you full time hours, put as much money aside as you can and once you do start University either find a part time job while you're there or work lots of hours during the holidays.

If you think your financial situation is bad just consider the fact that you are getting over £1,000 more than a hell of a lot of students who, just like you, get little to no support from their parents, me included.

I get the minimum possible loan, just over £3,500, no grant, no support from the University and very little support from my parents (I'm talking £100 a month at the absolute maximum). Add to that the fact that my first year was fully funded so I received no tuition fee loan meaning I had to find £9,000 from somewhere to pay for that.

You know how I did it? I took a year out before I started, found a job that could give me 50 hours a week and I worked for 51 out of 52 weeks of that year, saved up damn near every penny I was paid, didn't have any extravagant expenses, cut out pretty much everything in my life that was expensive and made damn sure that I saved up enough to see me through University.

It's not easy, it's not fair, but there are thousands upon thousands of students who have to work to pay their own way through University and you'll just have to be one of them.


I have no problem with working to support myself, that's exactly what I want to do. I guess we look at things differently, I'm prepared to compromise if necessary whereas you busted a gut to fulfil your ultimate dream and went to your chosen uni/course. I am not able to increase my hours in my current post and given the struggles my peers are having to find work, there is no guarantee that I could in fact earn a substantial amount of money up front to fund my degree. I may actually end up eating into the small amount of savings I have already earned.
Original post by Frantica
I have no problem with working to support myself, that's exactly what I want to do. I guess we look at things differently, I'm prepared to compromise if necessary whereas you busted a gut to fulfil your ultimate dream and went to your chosen uni/course. I am not able to increase my hours in my current post and given the struggles my peers are having to find work, there is no guarantee that I could in fact earn a substantial amount of money up front to fund my degree. I may actually end up eating into the small amount of savings I have already earned.


Why would you be prepared to compromise? All that going to a lesser Uni and doing a course you don't like is potentially screw up your future, increase the chances of you dropping out because you don't like the place or the course, and therefore run a much higher risk of you wasting a huge amount of time and money.
Original post by Frantica
They could probably help a bit, but I don't want to put them under any pressure to, it would be nice to fend for myself too.
I have 3 siblings, potentially 3 of us could be at uni at the same time and there is no way my parents could support all of us to live away at the same time. Fortunately I have been accepted on to a course locally, so could live at home and keep my current job, however it certainly isn't my first choice of course or uni, just a fall back option.


They should still be able to support you a bit. Don't forget that they're saving some money by not having to pay for your food and utilities usage. Maybe you'll have to say hey give me cheaper birthday and christmas presents, or even money for either, but it's doable. Also look into bursaries that your university will offer for things like academic achievement. Also try and get a summer job with good hours as a reasonable paid 30 hour per week job should earn you enough to stay afloat. If in doubt there's also the overdraft option although this only really works when you know you'll make money during the holidays.
Reply 15
Original post by mackemforever
Aw diddums, isn't life tough.

My parents literally went bankrupt when I was half way through my second year but because of the way the system works and the fact that their income doesn't get seized until after they have had to pay tax on it Student Finance still see a high income, and so despite my parents literally having no spare money whatsoever I am still not eligible for anything other than the bare minimum, £3,500 maintenance loan. No grants, no support from my University, nothing.

Do I whine about it? No I don't. Why? Because **** happens and whining would achieve anything.
What did I do instead? I used my savings, I took two jobs between terms and worked up to 80 hours a week, I got a part time job while at University, I lived sensibly and didn't splash money out on things I didn't need.

But yeah of course, University is "only really accessible to the very wealthy", you're right.



dare I mention that response sounds a little whiney?
If your siblings are at uni at the same time, student finance should take that into account. Mean you get more loan.
Reply 17
Original post by Helloworld_95
They should still be able to support you a bit. Don't forget that they're saving some money by not having to pay for your food and utilities usage. Maybe you'll have to say hey give me cheaper birthday and christmas presents, or even money for either, but it's doable. Also look into bursaries that your university will offer for things like academic achievement. Also try and get a summer job with good hours as a reasonable paid 30 hour per week job should earn you enough to stay afloat. If in doubt there's also the overdraft option although this only really works when you know you'll make money during the holidays.


That's great advice, thank you
Original post by Frantica
dare I mention that response sounds a little whiney?


You can point it out but you're wrong.

I'm simply saying that bitching about how "university is for the rich" is bull**** when there are tens of thousands of students who go through University each year who are financially in utterly crappy situations, and who are worse off than you by a country mile, and who just get on with it instead of bitching about "woe is me, my parents are poor and I can't afford to go to University" as you seem to be doing.

If you want to go to University then your families financial situation, no matter how crappy it may be, will not stop you. It's only a problem if you decide to make it a problem.
If you can't afford to live out, you'll have to commute, or work :smile:

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