Originally Posted by Streetwalker

So how do you students get by at Uni,how do your parents get by when you have to pay for it all?

According to student finance I earn too much to get any help for my son,go figure

student loans,rent on flat in uniland,expenses,cost of kit ect has after 2 years bled me dry,The white flag is up.
How do you manage ? Im going down

I had to pay everything for both my son and daughter when they went to uni a few years ago, but I was in the fortunate position of being able to afford to do so without any difficulty. But I do know a number of people who have kids who've racked up huge student debts, £25,000 plus, whilst studying, which is very alarming, and it does make you wonder whether the increases in pay some, but not all, graduates get makes those 'lost' 3 or perhaps more years worth of income worthwhile from an economic point of view.

I was at Uni in the sixties when we had a grant for four years. My parents were supposed to contribute some small amount but they could never afford to so I was always short of money. I even got a job in Lyons Corner House in the evenings to make ends meet but I was always £20 overdrawn each month and £20 was a lot of money in those days.

Student loans shouldn't be your responsibility, surely? I was lucky enought to go to uni just as grants were being phased out and loans introduced. I was a little older than the average entrant but so were lots of others. Most people worked to subsidise themselves and in some cases a family too. People worked in bars, sarnie shops, the library, care homes and so on.

Originally Posted by Lots2say

Student loans shouldn't be your responsibility, surely? I was lucky enought to go to uni just as grants were being phased out and loans introduced. I was a little older than the average entrant but so were lots of others. Most people worked to subsidise themselves and in some cases a family too. People worked in bars, sarnie shops, the library, care homes and so on.

The student is my responsibility untill he leaves uni and all that goes with it including the paying of loans.
His course involves the care of minors and he is not allowed to do any extra hours so working in pubs ect is not an option.We have been chasing Student finance for months and they just keep us going round in circles.Im begining to wonder if there is any cash left in the pot.They dont seem to want to part with even the megre loan they have yet to confirm

Originally Posted by Streetwalker

The student is my responsibility untill he leaves uni and all that goes with it including the paying of loans.
His course involves the care of minors and he is not allowed to do any extra hours so working in pubs ect is not an option.We have been chasing Student finance for months and they just keep us going round in circles.Im begining to wonder if there is any cash left in the pot.They dont seem to want to part with even the megre loan they have yet to confirm

"His course involves the care of minors and he is not allowed to do any extra hours so working in pubs ect is not an option" - can you elaborate on that, it's the first time I've come across such a restriction, which seems to me to be totally unreasonable?

But as I've said in other posts, education is the one government expenditure about which I have no qualms, as long as it's spent wisely that is. Our children, from their first day at school to when they leave university, are gaining the knowledge that's going to carry this country into the future, and it's economic and social success are both based around that. Anything spent of educating them and helping direct them to become the best they possibly can given whatever aptitude and intelligence they're born with is money well spent - or rather money well invested - and I'm alarmed at the way this new government is cutting back on what should be a vital sector. I, and I'm sure many others, would rather see us abandon Trident and massively cut the waste of money on sending our troops round the world at the back and call of the Americans, and spend the money on helping the right kids on the right courses through university without being landed in personal debt at the end of it.

Originally Posted by Midas

"His course involves the care of minors and he is not allowed to do any extra hours so working in pubs ect is not an option" - can you elaborate on that, it's the first time I've come across such a restriction, which seems to me to be totally unreasonable?
.

You wouldn't think it was unreasonable Midas if it were your kid up a mountian or sailing on the high seas under the supervision of someone that had been behind the jump untill 2am the night before

Originally Posted by Streetwalker

You wouldn't think it was unreasonable Midas if it were your kid up a mountian or sailing on the high seas under the supervision of someone that had been behind the jump untill 2am the night before

OK, given that I can see the sense in some restrictions on days before such supervision was being carried out, but I still think a blanket one, which could prevent many potential students from earning enough money to actually attend the course in the first place, is unreasonable.