Parents pay £8,000 to support student offspring

Sun Sep 13 2009 15:39:30

New research has shown that on average, parents shell out over £8,000 to support their offspring while they are at university.

More than half of undergraduate students (53 per cent) are receiving some financial help from their parents whilst they are at university, according to Sainsbury's Finance.

The average amount of parental financial support given to undergraduates was £8,070 per student during their university life.

However some 40 per cent of parents are drawing on their savings, and taking out loans, to help support their children as they study. One in ten parents intend to spend over £20,000 in helping out their student offspring.

Steven Baillie, Head of Loans at Sainsbury's Finance said: "There is no doubt that university life is becoming increasingly expensive and financial contribution from parents is viewed as an integral part of the Government's university funding.

"In the current economic climate, however, this can bring a real financial strain to many families."

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