University fees...

[imamartian]

I went to Poly (many years ago) and feel very lucky that i got sent a cheque each year to pay me to go.

But these days, it seems things have changed and students have to pay for the training they receive... that seems about right doesn't it?

So why the hoohar about paying fees? surely, if students look at a spell at Uni as a way of increasing their potential yearly earnings from say £20k to £40k+ per annum... then surely a £7 -10k bill for fees is quite bearable isn't it? especially if it's linked to future earnings (i.e. if you don't earn you don't pay type scheme), and spread over 5 years or so...

Someone please help me understand why it's such a big fuss..

 

[^woody^]

It's a big fuss because if mommy and daddy can afford to send you and keep you while studying then you are fine, and then when you have graduated you just slip into one of the top high paying jobs ready to begin the cycle again with your own kids

If however, you are of more humble decent, then you just get a cleaning job or one in the factory where you belong

 

[wreckedit]

Im...to help you understand a bit. The debts for most students will be higher than 20k and likely for some over 30k because it's just not the fees.
Not nice to come out of uni with that hanging over your head.

 

[imamartian]

Im...to help you understand a bit. The debts for most students will be higher than 20k and likely for some over 30k because it's just not the fees.
Not nice to come out of uni with that hanging over your head.

Thirty grand? does that include living costs and food and petrol and stuff? So what does the £30k include?

And in reality, if you come out of Uni with a debt related to your income, it's a bit like a tax, and if you're on £60k pa, and you have to pay back £5k for the first 4 years... is your life ruined? i doubt it!

 

[joinerjohn]

So,,,, If I won the lottery and wanted to go to university, I could pay the fees up front on a yearly basis and leave uni with no debts at all ???

 

[^woody^]

Who is going to come out of uni and get a £60k job?

You will be low paid for about 5 years, but above the threshold of starting to repay, so the repayments will be a big chunk of income

 

[imamartian]

Who is going to come out of uni and get a £60k job?

You will be low paid for about 5 years, but above the threshold of starting to repay, so the repayments will be a big chunk of income

that's kind of my point... if repayments were related to the amount you earn, it just becomes a tax... doesn't it?

 

[LastMagicBean]

I've always wondered how many really gifted, talented, clever kids there were in the country that never had the option to go to university, due to family poverty.

Then you get lazy jackasses from wealthy families only attending because it's expected of them, due to being a time honoured tradition.

Elitism at it's best.

 

[imamartian]

my point really is that we'll make a call with our three kids... will sending them to Uni be a tactically sound decision? whereas when i went to poly, it was a case of how to spend the next three years or so, until i needed to get a job... kind of putting your life on pause and getting paid for it !!

 

[joinerjohn]

I think, that , years ago, university or college was a way of actually bettering yourself. At least the courses offered were of some use. Unlike the degrees now offered in ,,,,,,,,,,
"Coronation St, a social study of the working class in media."
"Eastenders, a social study of violence in London society."
" Startrek, the future, or just wishful thinking?"
"CSI, real life crime investigation or a social commentary of the Las Vegas community?"
"Postman Pat, An indictment of modern utopian society?"
"Noddy, and Big Ears, An interpretation of stylised homosexual behaviour relevant to modern children?"

Yep these non degree courses take a lot of beating.

PS , If I did win the lottery, I'd want to take a degree in " Red Dwarf, A humanistic study of the long term effects of space travel for one bloke a cat a hologram and a robot. Followed by a PHD in Social commentary on the Hitch-hikers guide to the galaxy. Did Zaphod Beeblebrock really exist in multi dimensional space and time?

 

[^woody^]

Think longer term when we find that there have been fewer students coming out of uni, except those from already well off families of those from abroad.

I don't agree with any parents "sending" there kids to uni ... surely it is the childs choice? I any case how does the less well off family "send" their kids off when they just can't afford it, and can't bear the thought of their child struggling for many years and not being able to help them at all?

And if they have more than one child, then I just can't see how low income parents will be able to help their kids at all if all of them want to attend uni

Costs will even be crippling for companies who would normally support employees with training

 

[LastMagicBean]

There has probably been thousands and thousands of potential Einsteins, just in our country alone. Kids that didn't even have the opportunity.

We will never know.

Shameful imo.

 

[Corgigrouch]

Another way of looking at it.... If these budding Einsteins can't figure out how to get a decent education when it isn't handed to them on a plate, then perhaps they would be better brushing the street. The ones with real gumption and drive will always do well.

 

[hotrod]

Im...to help you understand a bit. The debts for most students will be higher than 20k and likely for some over 30k because it's just not the fees.

I held down 3 (yes three part-time jobs doing my degree full time) purposley so I didn't get get into a cycle of debt. The only time I didn't do paid work was in my final year because it was too much.

Bottom line is most students are lazy and are more than capable of holding down part-time jobs to subsidise their degrees, but they want to live on easy street!!!

 

[wassermensch]

A bit of prior planning always helps, if you had arranged to be Scottish it is all free, cushy up here.
Seriously though, invest in yourself, it is the best investment you will ever make, and if you will not, why should others?