student help

[123bernadett]

My 2 daughters are off to uni this year with little or no money.Their father gambles everything apart from mortgage money and even though he earns 30k theres no money apart from my monthly earnings of 500 pounds which has to pay for everything.Is there any help available for them?

[WoWo]

I think any grants available to them will be means tested, While �30K isn't mega bucks I'm sure it will be enough that it would mean they wouldn't get anything extra.

The fact their father gambles any spare money is neither here nor there. Perhaps you should mention to him that he is potentially gambling with their futures.

[Gevs1966]

Student Loans, they should be aware of them if they are going this year and will recieve all the necessary application forms when applying.

In addition to that, they can get a job. University towns are always rife with available part time jobs, bar work, supermarkets, call centres etc.

There is also a great opportunity to work full time through the summer before going to uni enabling them to save as much money as they can.

Although you may wish to help them out, the sooner they learn that you will not be there to support them financially forever, the better off they will be.

[morg_monster]

If there was just one of them going, then �30,000 might mean they just got the minimum loan - but with two daughters going (and hence in theory more pressure on you parents), they should get more. I don't know if it would be enough for them to get by - I don't know what the loan amounts are these days. At most it will be just enough, if they are sensible, and they may need to get a part time job.

It is a shame your husband is so selfish with his salary. University could be difficult for your girls, I think it would be a good idea to try and get some information from their school, or the university they are going to, as soon as possible. The uni will likely have a hardship fund your girls could apply to if they run out of money - this kind of fund won't just consider parental income (like the loans), they will look at all the other factors in any given situation.

Perhaps your girls could try and get as much paid work as possible during this summer after their exams, so they have some cash to start off with. Ultimately there are lots of people who go to and finish uni with no parental help - most of them will have bigger loans due to low parent's salaries, but I'm sure your daughters will manage it if they realise they are going to have to be frugal and earn some money on their own.