How much it REALLY costs to send a child to college, experts reveal

The cry of despair over college costs has never been louder among parents across the country, as many find that their children cannot afford to attend school unless they help with living expenses.

Middle-income families face the biggest challenge. They often don’t have substantial savings or income to pay for college, but their children are unlikely to take out the full loan for support or qualify for scholarships.

As prospective students prepare for their next step after receiving their A-level results on Thursday, here’s what parents need to know about university costs and whether their child can afford to go.

Loans to cover the cost of living and maintenance

The annual cost of a university degree in England is typically £9,250, with most courses lasting between three and four years, which amounts to a total of £27,750 or £37,000. Most UK university students are eligible for a tuition fee loan, so parents usually don’t have to worry about this.

Parents will likely have to shell out money to cover living expenses. Most students will be eligible for a living expense loan, supposedly to cover expenses such as room, board and books, but it often doesn’t go far enough.

A student at an English university outside London living away from home can borrow up to £10,227 for the 2024/2025 school year, but this depends on their parents’ household income.

If the amount is £62,347 or more, the maximum a student can get is £4,767 a year, equivalent to £397 a month. A maximum of £6,647 is available to those studying in London and whose household income is over £70,000.

Loans for maintenance have barely changed since 2017, despite the rampant inflation of recent years. This can mean that they do not even cover the rent, let alone other expenses.

The average rent for student accommodation is £439 a month. Food and eating out costs around £200 a month, according to the National Student Money Survey, as well as other expenses such as socialising and phone bills.

The total living costs for a student are around £1,078 per month or £12,936 per year. So if your child receives the minimum maintenance loan, you will need to pay out £8,000 per year, or £680 per month, to keep them afloat. In London, the average cost is £1,211 per month, or £14,532 per year.

The student finance system is different in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

What you need to earn to support a student

Over a three-year degree, parents will need £24,500 to support a child who is only receiving the minimum maintenance loan. Absorbing such a large outlay can be difficult, says Alice Haine of wealth management firm Evelyn Partners, particularly when cost-of-living challenges in recent years have forced many to deal with higher mortgage payments and other bills.

Ms Haine says this could force some parents to return to work if one of them stays at home.

However, if both parents are already working and their household finances are limited, a higher rate taxpayer earning £62,347 a year with a take-home pay of £46,722 after tax would need to increase their take-home pay to £52,191 to increase their child’s income by £5,460.

This would match the maximum maintenance loan of £10,227, which could be achieved on a pre-tax salary of £71,775.

Young people are forced to look for part-time work

Not many parents can afford to cover such expenses. For those who can’t, their children will have to get a job while they study or work and save money in advance, perhaps by taking a gap year.

About 56 percent of college students take a part-time job while in college, says the National Student Money Survey.

However, it is not always easy for students to find work because of fierce competition and the more intensive courses do not leave them much free time. Cherry Hagger, a higher education consultant, says that more students are now struggling because of rising costs.

She says those who suffer most are the “parents on the threshold”. These are parents with a household income of more than £60,000 (perhaps a mechanic and a nurse) who have not budgeted for university because they assumed student loans would cover the cost.

Ms Hagger said: “It is a shock to be told they will have to be prepared to give their children up to £10,000 a year of their taxable income. Many have not saved for this.

‘To receive any aid, it is necessary to have a low family income, and parents with a minimum income do not qualify to receive it.’

Parents on the Facebook group What I Wish I Knew About University say they are providing between £50 and £100 a week to help cover rent and food costs, with the children also expected to earn extra money on holidays or while studying. Ms Hagger and her husband Mark have helped their three children pay their way through university, although they started saving money when they were in year seven. Each received the minimum maintenance loan of £4,700 a year. Two have finished university and the third has completed his second year.

Ms Hagger says that a few years ago rent was £400-£500 a month for a room in a shared house. Now that’s £600-£800 a month. She adds that landlords now tend to require 12-month leases, while her other children might get 10-month contracts to avoid paying rent during the summer holidays.

“I don’t want to scare people, but parents need to be realistic about high prices,” she said.

Is college worth it? Maybe not for everyone

The benefits are that your child is likely to earn more in the long run and expand his or her social network.

However, some teenagers are considering alternatives such as undertaking university apprenticeships or going straight into the workforce.

Graduates in England leave university with an average debt of £44,940 for tuition fees and living expenses, according to the Student Loans Company, which administers the loans.

For students who started their course after 1 September 2023, the loan starts to be repaid once they earn more than £25,000. They will pay 9 per cent of income above this amount. So, if they earn £30,000 a year, they will pay £37.50 a month. The interest rate is based on the retail price index and is currently 7.7 per cent. Any outstanding loan plus interest is wiped out after 40 years. Many students are likely to never repay their loan.

In the 2023/24 academic year, around 200,550 school leavers undertook internships, 2.5 percent more than in the previous academic year.

Emma Bradley, 48, a tutor and financial blogger from Gloucester, says her middle son, aged 20, had planned to study finance and business at university but instead became an accounting apprentice at a local firm. He lives at home, has no student debt and earns a good salary.

Bradley’s eldest daughter, aged 24, went to university and took out the minimum loan, which was around £4,000 a year. Her annual rent was £6,000, so her mother contributed the extra £2,000 needed and a weekly allowance of £50.

Ms Bradley’s 14-year-old daughter is thinking about going to university, so she is already having to set aside money as she thinks the weekly allowance could be as high as £100. She says: “I still think university is worth it, if you need a degree for the job you want. But if you don’t need a degree, think carefully about whether it’s worth going into debt for £60,000.”

money@mailonsunday.co.uk