The Costs to Consider When Sending Your Child to University

The Costs to Consider When Sending Your Child to University

Thinking about sending your child to university? Here are some of the costs you need to think about…

Having your child follow their chosen career and head off to university is a dream for many parents. After all, every one of us is going to want the very best for our children.

The thing with university is that we know that it can be expensive and it is usually the parents that foot the bill. Whilst we may be aware that it is going to be costly, what we might not know is just how much university can cost in both the short and the long term.

If you have a child who is getting ready to apply for university, or who is thinking about heading there in the future, then this is the guide for you. Take the time to read through and prepare for some of the key costs that you are going to need to pay out when they get to university.

• Tuition fees

The first thing that you should think about when it comes to sending your child off to university are tuition fees. Without paying for them your child is not going to be able to sit on their chosen course. The average price for fees are around the £9,250 mark per academic year.

If your child needs any tutoring or help with assignments, online options like Ezassignmenthelp are more affordable.

• The cost of accommodation

One of the biggest costs that are going to need to be paid out during university is accommodation. Unfortunately, not only is this costly, but your child is not going to be able to get by without it. In the first year of university, there is a good chance that they are going to be spending their time living in the halls of residence. Often, after this first year, many students will then move into private rented accommodation. This is where they rent a room within a house that other students are living in.

You may find that a student hall offers a catered service, which means that food is prepared and served whilst your child is living there. These types of halls can be more expensive, but, you will find that you don’t have to worry about whether your child has enough money for food, or what they are eating while they are away from home.

Of course, if your child chooses a university that is close to home; then you won’t have to pay out for accommodation at all; but you will need to work out just how much commuting is going to cost.

• The cost of living

When your child is living with you at home then you are there to look after them. You will make sure that they have a roof over their head and also that they have food. You are also likely to take charge of things such as toiletries and they may even have an allowance for social spending too.

Compare this to when they are at university where they will soon learn that it is down to them to pay out for all of these things, managing their money and trying not to fall into debt.

Your child is going to need to buy the essentials for them to get by on a daily basis and they are going to need to get around too. They also need to pay out for social time (although hopefully they will spend most of their time working hard) and there will be university resources that need to be bought too.

• What you can do to help yourself

If there is a good chance that you will be waving your child off to university in the future then you are going to need to think about your finances. There are plenty of things that you can do to help yourself.

The first is to start saving as early as you can, this means that you will have a pot to give to your child and also that you won’t have to struggle in the future. Another way to approach it is to apply for student finance or to check for grants that are designed for university students. There are also student loans available which you can check out here.

These grants not only cover the fees that need to be paid, but can also be applied for to cover the costs of actually going to university and living away from home. Both of which can prove to be costly for a parent.

Finances should never take away the excitement of knowing that your child is doing something that is going to help with their future. But the truth is that you do need to think about and plan for just how much it is going to cost you. That way your child can have the best start and you won’t have to worry about being left in a bad way financially in the future.

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