Parents expect university education to cost them over £9,000

New research from Barclays show that students believe their parents will contribute just over £4,000 to their university costs – while their parents estimate this figure to be over £9,000.

As the new university year rapidly approaches, Barclays reveals that student and parent perceptions differ widely on how much financial support parents will provide. Students generally underestimate their parents’ willingness to help them financially. Over three quarters (77%) of parents are willing to provide financial support to their children, whereas only 43% of students are expecting help.

Most students are more than willing to take responsibility for their university costs – 83% will take a part-time job whilst studying, rising to 88% during the university holidays. 38% also say they have saved up some money to help pay their way.

Andy Harris, Head of Current Accounts at Barclays, said: “It is great that students are being responsible and taking the costs of university seriously. We are keen to give students as much support as possible through what can be a financially stressful time.”

However, of those students who are expecting financial help from parents, nearly half believe their parents have been putting money aside for years to help get them through university. However, only 29% of parents say they have actually saved for this cost. In fact nearly half (47%) of all parents say they will have to cut back on expenditure or holidays to be able to help fund their child through university. Over a quarter (27%) say they will be cashing in investments and savings originally set aside for something else.

The research indicates that almost two thirds of parents feel their children have accurate expectations with regards to the actual cost of university. Parents expect their children to take some responsibility, with three quarters saying that they will sit down with them to talk finances before they head off. Most encourage their children to learn how to budget and spend their money wisely. There is some useful advice for new students here.

So, whilst it seems that some students will be getting more help from the Bank of Mum and Dad than they expect, we cannot ignore the effect that this may have on parents. The research indicates that it takes parents an average of five years to pay back the cost of a typical three-year university course of £25,000. With the average family having two children going to university, this is likely to be a difficult time financially for most parents, and an even greater problem today with all the new government’s cut-backs taking effect.