Catharina fears burdening parents as student grant faces cuts

A proposed cut to Denmark’s student grant for people living with their parents could cost 20-year-old Catharina Zvenova Nissen all or part of her 1,800-kroner monthly payment. She does not want to put pressure on her parents’ finances, DR reports.

Nissen is studying occupational therapy. Her mother works in home care, while her father can no longer work after being injured in an accident while working as a painter.

Her mother has said she would help if the grant disappeared, but Nissen worries that supporting her would force her parents to reprioritise their spending. She says the grant has given her a small income of her own and meant she did not have to ask them for help.

The government’s proposal, which has not yet been approved by parliament, would affect 115,000 students living with their parents from 2028. According to the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, 82,000 students would lose their grant if their parents’ combined income exceeds 710,077 kroner. Another 33,000, whose parents earn between 419,589 and 710,077 kroner, would have their payments reduced.

A recent analysis by the think tank Cepos, reported by TV 2, found that 18,000 families considered financially strained, who received a food voucher before the general election, are set to lose student grants for their children.

Many students continue living with their parents into their 20s. A quarter of students still live at home at age 22, and one in 10 do so at 24, according to figures obtained by DR from the ministry.

Anton Stubbe Teglbjærg, chair of the National Union of Students in Denmark, said the figures challenge the idea that grants for students living at home are merely spending money for well-off teenagers. Students in higher education face costs such as books, rent paid to parents and food, he said. Some stay at home because student housing in the biggest cities is expensive and difficult to find.

Since starting her occupational therapy course in Aarhus, Nissen has spent 4,000 kroner on books and pays 1,600 kroner every six months for Studybox. She uses her grant for expenses including clothes, transport and food in the canteen.

Nissen said it is possible to work alongside studying, but difficult at the start of a course. She often returns from classes at about 3 p.m. and studies until 9 or 10 p.m. to keep up with coursework and assignments. She would like to work if her studies become less demanding.