Living costs for London university

[food4thought]

hello Folks,
my boy starts university next month, in London. Please can someone recommend how much I should give him for living costs? He'll be taking a loan for the uni fees and accommodation but I think I will help him out with living costs as i suspect the loan isn't going to be enough.


Thanks and regards,

F4T

[hermanmunster]

One option (which I did - wasn't London but accommodation still quite pricey) was to pay the accommodation and let them live on the maintenance loan, was at least sure the residence as paid and left them more independence in their day to day expenditure

[mad?]

Yes, we did this, as the loan only covered 2/3 of the rent and then of course DD needed to eat etc. Both DDs still worked in the holidays but it meant the loan covered food, books, travel, life, household bills etc. It does depend on the loan size though. DDs friend was eligible for the maximum loan and then got a bursary thrown in from the uni - she managed to save quite a bit of money as a result and definitely didn't need any parental contribution, even if it had been available.

[scary mum]

It will partly depend how much maintenance loan they are entitled to. Generally the parents are supposed to make the amount up to the maximum loan value. We paid our children's accommodation & they lived off the maintenance loan. One managed to keep enough back for a cheap holiday without a term time job, the other two have had jobs throughout (well, outside pandemic lockdowns).

[KS10]

DD took a gap year and managed to have a couple of jobs on the go so has saved some money. We told her that if she stayed in London she would have to consider staying at home if she didn’t have enough. She’s ok for her first year but if she doesn’t earn enough for her 2nd year she will have to rethink her options. We’ll make sure she has enough money for her living expenses but she will be responsible for covering her accommodation costs as she does have us as a backup should the need arise.

Will your son be in catered accommodation? I’ve been getting DD to practise a few healthy dishes as she has opted for self catering. I’m hoping she’ll be sensible as not planning her meals could end up quite pricey.

[Tinkers]

One option (which I did - wasn't London but accommodation still quite pricey) was to pay the accommodation and let them live on the maintenance loan, was at least sure the residence as paid and left them more independence in their day to day expenditure

This is what we are doing for DD. She isn’t in London, but at Sussex, which is also very expensive. We cover her rent. She gets the minimum loan and lives off that, knowing that the important part (having a roof over her head) isn’t a worry. She can decide what else she needs to spend money on. She doesn’t drink alcohol (doesn’t like it) and last year Covid meant she didn’t really go out anyway. She had some loan leftover. She’s also been working over the summer so has some additional money saved from that.

They do need to learn how to live within their means, and doing it this way is the way we all felt was best in out circumstances. You might feel other ways suit you best.

[food4thought]

Hello
thanks for your suggestions. Yes he is living in catered accommodation but they only provide 2 meals a day and nothing over the weekend. My boy likes to eat like a lion so I know it's going to get expensive.

[Blitz]

Find out where the nearest Lidl is!!! Get an oyster card with a young person's rail card attached to it. Get a job at the university- DD is doing reception duties during Freshers week for £14 per hour. Enjoy everything London has to offer for free, or minimal cost (Barbican, Globe tickets etc).

[food4thought]

thanks - Oyster card on the list!

[yoyo123]

My daughter started at UCL 14 yrs ago. Her loan just about covered the cost of her accommodation in halls for first year. We paid that and she used the loan for living expenses.