How to afford to get your child through university

From tuition fees and textbooks to food and rent, when it comes to university, you might be thinking about how you and your child can afford the costs.

In our advice below, we give you valuable insights on how to support your child with their finances – from university budgeting tips and student finance guidance to discounts and scholarships.

1. Know how much university costs for parents and supporters

Before your child applies to university, it’s important to consider how much university costs and whether you’ll need to support them in funding their studies. You can usually find out exactly what needs to be covered and get tuition fees online, via the university website.

In the UK, most undergraduate degrees cost up to £9,250 a year, and as parents and supporters, you won’t usually need to cover this fee. Your child will typically cover their tuition fees through Student Finance England, by applying for a loan of up to £9,250 a year.

When your child is looking at courses at Portsmouth, they'll find our courses list the tuition fees for UK, EU and International students, including any additional costs your child may need to consider during their studies, such as textbooks and other course materials.

Have questions? Discover our student finance guide for parents and supporters to find out the terms of tuition fee loans and how to apply.

2. Consider additional costs outside of their studies

As well as tuition fees, your child will need to plan for additional costs like accommodation, travel and social costs. And we know you’ll want to help your child prepare for these costs as best you can.

Explore our breakdown of living costs with your child, from bills and rent, to food shopping and travel, so you know exactly what needs to be covered.

Your child could apply for a maintenance loan or a grant, scholarship, bursary to help fund these costs. Support your child in contacting our university’s student finance team or read our maintenance loan guide to see what’s on offer.

Get in touch with our finance team

Explore our maintenance loan guide

Looking for affordable living costs? Portsmouth is one of the most affordable cities in the UK for university students to live and study (2023, University Living).

3. Create a budget together

Once you both know what your child needs to budget for, consider taking some time with them to help calculate and build a budget. Your child could also speak to someone they know at university, to get an idea of potential expenses.

There are many uni budgeting tips your child can use to help cover these living costs, such as creating a weekly budget, setting spending limits or breaking down essential and non-essential costs. To help them prepare, follow our guides below:

4. Discuss ways to save

Despite Portsmouth being one of the most affordable cities in the UK for students, it's still worth taking the time to put together a budget. Creating a budget and tracking spending can help you afford to get your child through university. But discussing how to make money go further can make a big difference.

Encourage your child to research places and organisations that offer student discounts to reduce their monthly expenses, whether it's money off their food shop, travel or nights out.

5. Research the financial advice available at university

Attending uni is a big step for you and your child – with lots to consider, so it’s normal to have worries — including financial concerns.

Most UK universities have a student finance team on hand to give expert financial advice and help you and your child with your money-related worries. They can help you with a variety of concerns, such as:

• Finance applications
• Budgeting
• Loan repayments
• Appeals

At Portsmouth, our student finance team is available all year round to support you and your child, and are on hand to answer questions before or during your child’s time here.

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