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Hidden costs of dance training


Tulip

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sugarplumsmum- sorry to hear you have been so caught out over the funding and thank you for sharing the details as it really has been helpful to me to look more at the detail of the costs of what is being offered.  So easy to get caught up in the roller coaster of auditions! thanks also other contributing to this thread it has been really informative.

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I do feel this should be explained more much clearly on websites. When DD was auditioning last year, I put a lot of time into looking at the funding and also taking advice from forum members.I needed to know if it was all possible and  realized that the maximum maintenance element of the DADA would be £4550 for Tring (and Elmhurst) as they are outside London. With ENB, it's around £1000 more as it is inner London. DD realized that if she went to Tring, she would be with a host family,as I couldn't have found an extra £7000 per year, which would have been fine, as others do this and there are also day pupils. She in fact turned down a funded place at Tring, in favour of taking a place at Central - a relief financially for me and there are certainly enough other bits and pieces to pay for !

While talking to other mums on the rounds, a lot of people were absolutely convinced that if a full DADA is awarded, then all fees are paid. I did try and say this wasn't so, but simply wasn't believed. I then started to wonder if Tring (or others) would help those who couldn't pay the extra, but as you have found out sugarplumsmum, this doesn't seem to happen. As your DD entered late, I can easily see how you misunderstood all this, but it should have been explained very clearly ! Is it too late to go with a host family now ? A forum member kindly told me her DD paid £500 per month, which is a huge difference. Wishing you all the best xx

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Jazzpaws advice about seeing if your dd can move to a host family sounds like it might be worth investigating for the summer term, you are probably commited to boarding this term now. School must keep a list, if I was in your shoes I would start putting out feelers.

Ironic how the DaDA maintance comes through after the bill!! We had a similar issue with uni accommodation fees, they expect whole terms rent week before maintance grant paid. As a concession to UK students they can pay a deposit of £1000 until money through - assumes parents just have a spare bit of money floating around ????

Did your dd enjoy her first term at Tring?

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  • 2 months later...

Hi just had this terms fees and there is an extrac £200 added on top of maintenance for accademic exam entry's, would anyone know if I can claim this back from a local authority? As I don't understand why all dd's were paid for when in "regular" school but not in vocational training? Also the maintenance fees will be going up to £3,710 per term and I was talking to one of the mums and she said she had asked and was told all host mums already gone when I asked before Christmas, would anyone know any new ones starting? Thanks

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Sorry sugarplumsmum you will not be able to get anything back from the local authority. The reason given is that the government gives each LEA money based on the number of pupils enrolled in publicly-funded schools in their area. If child is at a private school the local authority will not be receiving any funding for them to be able to pass anything on even if they wanted to. This is how it was explained to me many years ago anyway. I find it hard to believe how many 'extras' most private schools manage to bill parents for on top of their standard fees which imo are large in the first place. This last comment is meant as a very general one.

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I'm glad you raised this - took me completely by surprise when my son hit year 11 at Elmhurst,followed a year later by (but at least I then knew) my daughter who was on a very good bursary at a private school! Can't believe no-one told us, at either school, before we went!

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This is all so scary. My dd is considering attending recall for urdang next week but I am scared to let her go as I am unsure we can afford rent in London especially with everyone talking about the hidden extras ...

does anyone have any experience of urdang rent and costs?? Don't want to disappoint her by letting her go and then having to say no to the place!

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To get a rough idea of student accommodation costs in London, you could look at 'Liberty Living' and 'Student Castle' websites. I know a lot of ballet students stay at this type of accommodation. Maybe Urdang students do as well, I don't know, but would give you an idea of costs.

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There are cheaper ones than student castle! I was going to ask some people who already have DKs at Central whether I'm understanding the fees on the Student Castle website correctly as the maintenance loan would barely touch them. Central gave us a list of accommodation of varying standards and prices - I am sure Urdang will be able to point you in the right direction. Rambert gave us details of Homestay. I know they have families in London, but I don't know how close to Urdang they are. Homestay seems to be much more reasonably priced than Student Castle and includes meals but obviously you need to be ok with living with a family.

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DD shares a twin studio at Student Castle which is about £165 per week with no other bills apart from food. That's quite competitive in the area and a lot of Central and Urdang students are there, but those rooms do go quickly. 

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Student castle is one of the most expensive accommodation, but a lot of Central students especially first years stay there. My daughter spent her first year at international student house, can't remember how much we paid now, but it was cheaper than student castle. After that students share flats which works out even cheaper and there are a lot of nice flats about.

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Changing the subject slightly to student accommodation in Tring, does anyone here on the forum have experience of getting private flat accommodation in Tring? My dd will be going into third graduate year in Sept so has to start looking for a shared flat, but to date my experience with the local estate agents there has been quite negative! One agent was adamant that 'we won't get a shared flat' because all the landlords are no longer willing to let to students on a shared rental basis! Another said we might, but it will be difficult with over 2 people and landlords will only let out at last minute if they don't get anyone else. I have a gut feeling this is going to be a nightmare. Has anyone any first hand experience of this? Has this been the case in previous years or is this something new? If it is the case that the landlords are all changing their policy, then I can see the school having a big problem on their hands.

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This is all so scary. My dd is considering attending recall for urdang next week but I am scared to let her go as I am unsure we can afford rent in London especially with everyone talking about the hidden extras ...

does anyone have any experience of urdang rent and costs?? Don't want to disappoint her by letting her go and then having to say no to the place!

Hi sarah761,

I've pm'ed you a breakdown of my DD's living costs which are close to £11,000 per year.

She is on BA (Hons) at Urdang and shares a privately rented flat with 3 other 'Urdangers', which is much cheaper than student halls.

DD was offered a DaDA for the Diploma which would have given her £5,100 maintenance for living costs... leaving us to find the £6000 shortfall every year. Hence she chose the Degree and can cover her costs with student loans. Seems stupid to have turned down a DaDA worth £50,000 over the 3 years to take on a larger debt but the maintenance part of DaDAs is unrealistic and takes no account of other siblings in the family. At least the student loans make it possible :-)

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Guesty can I ask how/where you go for the list of renters?

Also I've been wondering if there is a Tring support page anywhere as I do feel there's so much to learn and I'm sure most of the people that have had there children gone away for the first time feel a little excluded from my child's new exciting life, I know none of the parents really apart from to give a smile on the stairs and would love somewhere I could go even if it was to see who's arriving early and fancies a coffee. ???? i wasn't there for the getting to know you at the start of the year so only know 2 nyb mums from the year above ????

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How much are people giving their children for food?

 

DD has been managing fine on about £25 a week but some of her friends are having twice that :o

 

I won't be changing the amount she has - but I wondered about how much others have (& if I'm being mean)

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I give my dd £25 and she usually has money left, she has become a bit of a bargin hunter and I often get excited texts when she has picked a bargin. Others at her school spend much more on food but also waste a lot of food which annoys dd no end.

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Thank you tutugirl & guesty will take you up on the offer. I did hear the kids had a Facebook page but was hoping more of a page that discussed things like logistics instead of who fancied who or teen stuff, even though I like to pretend I'm young at heart I don't have a clue what there all talking about half the time with all the new slang.. apparently I've been milf and peng and sure in not meant to say thank you when called this ????.

 

And I must be terrible as Dd has £10 per month ???? and also uses this if caught short on toiletries.

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They seem to be discussing & sorting out a lot of things on facebook, including places to live (for those going to schools without accommodation), and finding out about the courses and what to expect from people who are already there. My dd is finding it really helpful.

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Sorry sugarplumsmum - we must be talking of different things £25 for food a week is very stingy in most of DD's friends eyes but £10 a month cannot be for food......

 

To add: DD doesn't buy toiletries out of that (maybe an odd toothpaste if she runs out) - I but most of that (& washing tablets) during my normal shop & she just collects & takes it down with her

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Dd uses the Mysupermarket app to plan her shopping, she does not stick to it rigidly but also looks for bargins. Dd eats lots of pasta and rice, she uses passata instead of pasta sauce and she freezes leftovers in individual portions. Tinned soup and frozen veg are good buys to. She buys large tubs of togurt instead of individual pots. She always has reduced bread and rolls in her freezer. Scrambled eggs on toast is her favourite breakfast at the moment, with salad and homemade smoothies for lunch. She does not eat a lot of meat that probably helps keep the cost down.

She is lucky in location as she has three large supermarkets nearby and a great fruit and veg shop on th high street.

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