The Student Room Group

I have no money.....will I actually be able to go to uni?

I'm in year 12 at the moment but this has got me really worried....
Everyone I know is putting away £200+ away from both EMA and jobs and I have NOTHING :s-smilie:
I've been looking for a job for months but I've had no luck :frown:
I don't get EMA and won't qualify for alot in grants etc.
My parents don't give me money as I have 3 younger sisters so there isn't much to spare.

I might be just panicking over nothing.....but I'm just wondering whether I will actually survive when I am saving up nothing whilst overs already have £1000s....:s-smilie:

Should I have a gap year inbetween to save up enough money? Because at this rate I can't see me being able to afford it...
Reply 1
take a year out and save up or a loan but in my opinion don't do the latter, I never like to in debt to anyone
could take a gap year but you still wont raise enought to put you through uni considering it costs around 10k ish and you will be spending money on other stuff aswell. Take out a student loan, i dont think you have to pay them back until you have a secure job and decent money coming in.
I came to uni with £200 in my bank account. I didn't get EMA and only got a little bit of grant, but I got student loans. I managed :yep: Just get a summer job?
Anonymous
I'm in year 12 at the moment but this has got me really worried....
Everyone I know is putting away £200+ away from both EMA and jobs and I have NOTHING :s-smilie:
I've been looking for a job for months but I've had no luck :frown:
I don't get EMA and won't qualify for alot in grants etc.
My parents don't give me money as I have 3 younger sisters so there isn't much to spare.

I might be just panicking over nothing.....but I'm just wondering whether I will actually survive when I am saving up nothing whilst overs already have £1000s....:s-smilie:

Should I have a gap year inbetween to save up enough money? Because at this rate I can't see me being able to afford it...

I went to uni with literally £120 to my name. Its what student loans are for. Sure id love to be able NOT to have to take out a student loan, but as the situation stands, i i have to take out a student loan, as its the only source of money i have. So if i can survive just off student loans and no savings, believe me, so can you :smile: Plus you have plenty of time to save if you needed to
Reply 5
OP reading your post. my advice to you would be to take a gap year.
Reply 6
Anonymous
I'm in year 12 at the moment but this has got me really worried....
Everyone I know is putting away £200+ away from both EMA and jobs and I have NOTHING :s-smilie:
I've been looking for a job for months but I've had no luck :frown:
I don't get EMA and won't qualify for alot in grants etc.
My parents don't give me money as I have 3 younger sisters so there isn't much to spare.

I might be just panicking over nothing.....but I'm just wondering whether I will actually survive when I am saving up nothing whilst overs already have £1000s....:s-smilie:

Should I have a gap year inbetween to save up enough money? Because at this rate I can't see me being able to afford it...


You will never go to uni.

You were born poor and will die poor

The way it should be :biggrin:

:awesome: :awesome: :awesome:
Reply 7
Just work full time in the summer, bar work, shop work etc. Don't be too fussy but if you get a full time job for say 8 weeks in the summer that's 2k you have in your pocket. But if you get bar work then you have bar experience and might be able to find a job when you get to uni behind a bar. Stop worrying yourself, most students don't go to uni with pocket loads of money it's one of the joys of being a student. Goodluck

My advice is don't take a gap year, I took one in college and never went back because I got used to having the money.
Reply 8
I had no money in Year 12, then I got a job and I now have ~£2500 in a bank account waiting for me when I go to uni (and I'll have more after the summer). And to be honest, I'd probably manage without any of it. The student finance available for you should be enough to get you through if you think about getting a part-time job too.
I'm in exactly the same position. I have no money, and i'll get no money from grants ect. because of my parent's income, and due to the income, a don't get much of a loan. I think that's so unfair, cuz i don't see any of the money! I think we'll just have to get a loan, however small, and live off that somehow. They only make you pay it back when you're earning over 15k and even then only in small amounts. it gets payed off for you after 25 years anyways. I'll be OK, cuz i don't drink- that's where a lot of student's money goes :cheers: :laugh:
Reply 10
I'm going to university this year with no money saved. After my accomodation costs are paid out of my student loan, I'll have about £15-20 a week. I'm so excited.
But you may be entitled to more than me, so I can't really advise you on what to do :s-smilie:
Reply 11
Student loans are different to average loans- the interest is only based on inflation so you only pay back what you borrowed in real terms. You don't have to pay them back till you're earning 15k+ a year.
EVERYONE (uk resident etc considered) is entitled to their tuition fees and a loan of £3564, regardless of their income (that's for this year- I know because my parents income has not been assessed yet and thats what i'm getting so far)
If your parents earn under 50k youll get some more on top of that, as loan/grant whatever, plus proabably a bursary from uni.
I really wouldn't let it put you off going to uni straight away, if thats what you really want to do of course. Maybe if you get any birthday/xmas money or for any odd jobs, try and put a little away, any extra money is only gonna make it more comfortable.

On a side note, most unis have emergency funding in place incase you really run into problems there, but if you spend sensibly you should be ok.
if you go for a cheap accomodation then you will be fine with just your student loan because your have some left over, you need to work out how much loan you will have left after accomodation costs to see if its viable, if you dont have enough left for food etc each week then really think about taking a gap year, if i didnt have some savings i wouldnt of afforded to come thing year
I'm unemployed, I have -£500 to my name, another £600 to pay in August for a credit arrangement, i'm having to sell my car, my guitar, my laptop, my 40" tv and my ps3 to pay off my debts and get my account to 0, in less than a years time i have another 700 to pay off and i can only hope i have the money saved up by then with leftovers from the student loan.

Nothing is going to stop me going to uni, so I wouldn't worry about being at 0, you're better off than a lot of people.
Reply 14
nuodai
I had no money in Year 12, then I got a job and I now have ~£2500 in a bank account waiting for me when I go to uni (and I'll have more after the summer). And to be honest, I'd probably manage without any of it. The student finance available for you should be enough to get you through if you think about getting a part-time job too.


Out of interest, are you eligible for the grant? I'm budgeting for Cambridge too, and the loan on it's own probably won't come anywhere near to covering the costs... :s-smilie:
just go for it, I hav £56 to my name when i came and im still hear, not rich but surviving :smile:
Anonymous
I'm in year 12 at the moment but this has got me really worried....
Everyone I know is putting away £200+ away from both EMA and jobs and I have NOTHING :s-smilie:
I've been looking for a job for months but I've had no luck :frown:
I don't get EMA and won't qualify for alot in grants etc.
My parents don't give me money as I have 3 younger sisters so there isn't much to spare.

I might be just panicking over nothing.....but I'm just wondering whether I will actually survive when I am saving up nothing whilst overs already have £1000s....:s-smilie:

Should I have a gap year inbetween to save up enough money? Because at this rate I can't see me being able to afford it...


Don't worry, I'm in exactly the same position.
When applying for accomodation, pick the cheapest to save yourself money.
Try and get a job when you get to uni, whether its a bar job, or in a shop, so you have extra money.
You'll get a student loan, matienence loans, etc, and look on your uni website to see if they offer bursaries or grants, I know the uni I'm going to gives each student £500 a term/year. It might not sound alot, but its better than nothing!
Don't worry about it, theres loads of other students in the same position as you (including me!) Just try and cut costs while you're at uni. Most of those people who have saved money will just blow it all anyway.
You will never go to uni.

You were born poor and will die poor

The way it should be :biggrin:

:awesome: :awesome: :awesome:


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