Francesca Rudkin: How long will living in the university halls be financially viable?

Yesterday my son’s contract with his Canterbury University hall came to an end.  

He was officially a hall member for 41 weeks, but when you take into account the mid-semester and semester breaks he was only there for 32 and a half weeks. So that was about $20,000 for 32 weeks.  

This and fees around $9000, depending on what you’re studying, mean the cost of a University degree is quite confronting.  

I’m sure it’s something that’s on the mind of many Year 13 students, and their parents, who are wrapping up their final year of school and potentially looking to leave home for study next year. Is it worth it? I’m not so sure.  

Our son wanted to go to Christchurch because he was ready to leave home and be independent. He’s heard his father’s stories of friends made for life, nonsense and laughter when he was in a hall. He wanted an adventure, to share it with old friends, and to make new ones.  

My preference, practical as ever, was for him to stay home and go to the local university. He had part time work in Auckland. He could live at home. “It just makes sense”, I would say.

But deep down we knew he was ready to go, and needed to go.  

Some have no choice but to leave home to go to university, but for those who do have a choice and value it as a growing-up experience, the commitment is becoming tougher.  

Once it was considered a rite of passage for many students who live in our main cities to leave home for university. It was a stepping stone to spreading their wings and flying off into the world. Now though, it comes with a substantial financial burden for students, parents and the Government. The current interest-free Study Link loan isn’t enough to cover weekly hall fees. 

We expected our son to get a part time job to help with costs, and keep debt down. He had a part time job for the last two years of school - he doesn’t mind working. However, we didn’t anticipate how hard it would be to find a new gig in a new city.  

The second year isn’t going to be any easier, with student flat rentals in high demand. Students I know in Christchurch will next year will be paying anything from $150 for a room that fits a single bed, to $230 per week. Then there’s the cost of food and utilities. At least they’re learning to budget.  

I appreciate that if you have a choice and don’t need to leave your hometown to go to university, it’s on the nose to complain about how tough it is for students who do.  

And if the demand for halls in anything to go by, Canterbury halls are well over-subscribed, so the costs of a university education doesn’t seem to be putting everyone off.  

I just wonder how much longer it will last? Will the once proud Kiwi tradition of heading off to the uni halls become something only those with increasingly hefty financial support will be able to manage?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News talks'b So.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Yesterday, my son's contract with his Kentbury University hall came
to an end. He was officially a hall member for
forty one weeks, but when you take into account the
mid semester and the semester breaks, he was only there
for thirty two and a half weeks. So that was
about twenty grand for thirty two weeks. This and fees
around nine thousand depending on what you're studying, means the

(00:34):
cost of a university degree is quite confronting. I'm sure
it's something that's on the mind of many Year thirteen
students and their parents who were wrapping up their final
year of school and potentially looking to leave home for
study next year. Is it worth it? I'm not so
sure anymore. Our son wanted to go to Christich because
he was ready to leave home and be independent. He'd

(00:56):
heard his father's stories of friends made for life, nonsense
and laughter when he was in a hall. He wanted
an adventure, to share it with old friends and to
make new ones. My preference, practical as ever, was for
him to stay at home. And go to the local university.
He had a part time job in Auckland. You could
live at home. It just makes sense, I would say.
But deep down we knew he was ready to go

(01:18):
and needed to go. Some have no choice but to
leave home to go to university. But for those who
do have a choice and value it as a growing
up experience, the commitment is becoming tougher. Once it was
considered a rite of passage for many students who live
in our main cities to leave home for university. It
was a stepping stone, wasn't it to spreading your wings
and flying off into the world. Now though it comes

(01:40):
with a substantial financial burden for students, parents and the government,
The current interest free Study Link loan isn't enough to
cover weekly hall fees. Of course, we expect that our
son to get a part time job to help with
the costs and keep debt down. However, we didn't anticipate
how hard it would be to find a new gig
in a new city. The second year isn't going to

(02:01):
be any easier. With student flat rentals in high demand.
Students I know in christ Dutill next year be paying
anything from one hundred and fifty for a room that
fits a single bed to two hundred and thirty dollars
per week. Then there's the cost of food and utilities.
At least they're learning to budget. I suppose I appreciate
that if you have a choice and you don't need
to leave your hometown to go to university, it's on

(02:22):
the nose to complain about how tough it is for
students who do. And look, if the demand for halls
is anything to go by, Canterbury halls are well oversubscribed.
The cost of a university education doesn't seem to be
putting everybody off, but I just wonder how much longer
it will last, with the once proud carew tradition of

(02:42):
heading off to the union halls becoming something only those
with increasingly hefty financial support will be able to manage.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to news Talks it'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.