Tuition fees are once again in the headlines at the same time as many students are sitting their A levels, with their sights firmly set on university.  If you are a parent with children aged under 21 you may be feeling some trepidation about how your offspring’s university funding will be financed. 

You may have heard on the news earlier this week that England's universities could be hit by a funding gap worth hundreds of millions of pounds due to a miscalculation over how many will charge top tuition fees.  The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says more universities than expected are planning to charge fees of £9,000 per annum, and as the government pays these fees upfront for students and recoups the money many years after students graduate, there is a concern as to how it will be financed.  Indeed there is a fear that university places may have to be cut.    Details for the charges announced so far for each university are here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12880840

And of course tuition fees are only part of the equation. Accommodation charges are looking to be about £3,500 per year according to Young Academic.  That makes £12,500 per year for tuition fees and accommodation, without any living expenses!

So what are your options?  Can you start planning now to help finance your children through university?

No matter what age your children are, I suggest that you start saving as much as you can as early as you can.  This can be done very simply by making regular savings. The type of savings you make depends on your appetite for investment risk!

I am already advising a number of clients on the best way to make provision for their children’s higher education and certainly the key is to start as soon as possible.

Almost half of all school leavers attend university so, as a parent, you need to be saving well in advance if you want to avoid your children graduating with many thousands of pounds of debt.

What are your thoughts on the subject?  Should your children take the responsibility for the full debt themselves?  Or perhaps you have discovered a great way of financing their further education?  Please let us have your thoughts!