Funding for the more expensive colleges
Moderator: busybusybusy
Funding for the more expensive colleges
Hello, we are just looking at the colleges before my DD auditions next academic year and I just wanted to find out how people fund the more expensive colleges like Laines and Mountview, etc? I've looked at DaDa awards but they are capped at a household income of £90,000, which we are above but certainly not far above. I understand that our household income is not low by any means, but there is no way we could afford the £19,800 p/a fees that Laine are asking. It seems that a band of students that are above family income of £90,000 but cannot afford the big fees are missing out on these colleges. Am I missing something here?
Re: Funding for the more expensive colleges
No, I don’t think you are missing anything. Some colleges will be out of financial reach to some people. However, most if not all of those colleges have bursaries and scholarships. Sometimes for the whole fees for one talented student.
Laines was not on our radar because we earn too much to qualify for DaDa and as it’s a level 6 diploma, does not attract any student finance. Luckily there are plenty of other excellent colleges that are manageable or attract student finance.
Some people remortgage their houses or borrow massively to send their child. That was never going to happen here as I think that puts far too much pressure on the young person to succeed and it’s not like there aren’t other good places to train. It’s a case of having a very honest conversation with your student to make them understand the situation.
Laines was not on our radar because we earn too much to qualify for DaDa and as it’s a level 6 diploma, does not attract any student finance. Luckily there are plenty of other excellent colleges that are manageable or attract student finance.
Some people remortgage their houses or borrow massively to send their child. That was never going to happen here as I think that puts far too much pressure on the young person to succeed and it’s not like there aren’t other good places to train. It’s a case of having a very honest conversation with your student to make them understand the situation.
Re: Funding for the more expensive colleges
That's a huge amount now for Laine! Laine is unusual in that it still only offers a diploma (with a self-funded top up degree option in the third year) - however rumour has it that they want to offer a full degree from 2025. That would make a huge difference if it's true but I've only heard this from a friend. Might be worth investigatng though! Otherwise it's close to £100,000 by the time you add on accommodation and maintenance and degree top up. Craxy money.
Sadly, not all talented students who are "eligible" are offered DADAs. Just not enough money in the pot. Some students at MV or ArtsEd fare better with a student loan and top up bursaries/awards than a DADA. DADAs can prove a less financially viable option than a student loan as there is no maintenance element (unless a very low household income) and still a hefty wack to pay for fees even if eligible.
It's not an easy financial ride for anyone but as Harry2003 says you do need those conversations from the outset. Good luck with it all!
Sadly, not all talented students who are "eligible" are offered DADAs. Just not enough money in the pot. Some students at MV or ArtsEd fare better with a student loan and top up bursaries/awards than a DADA. DADAs can prove a less financially viable option than a student loan as there is no maintenance element (unless a very low household income) and still a hefty wack to pay for fees even if eligible.
It's not an easy financial ride for anyone but as Harry2003 says you do need those conversations from the outset. Good luck with it all!
Re: Funding for the more expensive colleges
If you're above income to be eligible for a DADA then your child is also going to get min maintenance loan for a degree . In addition at places like MV and Arts Ed you can only borrow around £6K from student finance for tuition fee so you also need to take that cost into account. At PPA though you can borrow 9250 there's an additional £1250 to pay each year on top.
A min maintenance loan will not be enough to pay student rent. Have you taken these costs into account too?
We had sufficient savings to tell our DD that she could look at a private foundation, but the money was there just once. If she took it for this (she did) she then she had to accept that she couldn't then audition for the likes of Arts Ed or MV, it was one or the other.
The good news is you've thought about it now with a year to go. I'd suggest looking through all the websites and making a spreadsheet of fees and go through your budget and work out what is achievable, what is a possibility and what is a definite No. When we gave the either/or situation to DD she only auditioned again at the places we'd said weren't now possible if they offered her a free audition, some also gave feedback and she used them as a practise to see how she got on. That's a risk though if it turns out to be the only place offered. DD knows someone who this year got an early offer from Arts for Acting, fantastic achievement as wasn't even 18 at the time, however despite 2nd and last rounds at very big names no other offers and the Arts one isn't financially viable, so can't take the place.
If she doesn't already have a part-time job I'd also suggest she looks for one and starts putting money away now which will also help with any money to live on once she moves away.
Here's the link for you to calculate how much student maintenance loan your DD would be eligible for https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator
A min maintenance loan will not be enough to pay student rent. Have you taken these costs into account too?
We had sufficient savings to tell our DD that she could look at a private foundation, but the money was there just once. If she took it for this (she did) she then she had to accept that she couldn't then audition for the likes of Arts Ed or MV, it was one or the other.
The good news is you've thought about it now with a year to go. I'd suggest looking through all the websites and making a spreadsheet of fees and go through your budget and work out what is achievable, what is a possibility and what is a definite No. When we gave the either/or situation to DD she only auditioned again at the places we'd said weren't now possible if they offered her a free audition, some also gave feedback and she used them as a practise to see how she got on. That's a risk though if it turns out to be the only place offered. DD knows someone who this year got an early offer from Arts for Acting, fantastic achievement as wasn't even 18 at the time, however despite 2nd and last rounds at very big names no other offers and the Arts one isn't financially viable, so can't take the place.
If she doesn't already have a part-time job I'd also suggest she looks for one and starts putting money away now which will also help with any money to live on once she moves away.
Here's the link for you to calculate how much student maintenance loan your DD would be eligible for https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-calculator