Too many people go to university

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Here is a serious question.

Why does it cost similar amount for students to go Worcester to study Sport Science vs a student that goes to Cambridge to study Physics?

The expected value of the degree from Cambridge is so much high yet the initial cost is almost the same.

Would free market university education correct this?

Reply 81

ok_cub2008

Bezzler

I do philosophy at Oxford. It's one of the oldest, most academic courses in the world, and very prestigious and well-reputed among people who know what they're talking about. There aren't really any philosophy jobs (outside of academia). Am I doing a mickey mouse course?

No you most certainly do not do a mickey mouse course is the answer!! However, someone doing philosophy at Massivedossford University would be taking a mickey mouse course

Reply 82

ok_cub2008

turn and fall

I'm totally against a free market in education. In my opinion it is vital that the state sponsors top level education. It would unfairly penalise the poor otherwise. The only thing the government and university admissions should be able to discriminate on is ability. I couldn't really care less about the economic value of any particular degree, as long as it is high level and rigorous. As I say, I believe in academia for academia's sake

Reply 83

henrywinkleburg

I'm not entirely happy with having to pay my taxes so that some lazy work-shy teenager can put their life on hold and go party for three years. Anyone else?

Reply 84

ProdigalGreek

I am not a Brit.Perhaps this is why I find so peculiar this attitude towards welfare and free education.

Isn't welfare a pillow for lower classes ? How can a child of low-class afford the current tuition for uni ?

I agree that there is a need for regulating free-education....But it is so easy to judge the lower classes when you - the average reader- could afford many things on your parents allowance, when you never had to work hard and study basically by giving up your personal life, you never had to immigrate out of financial need or realise that your choices in life are narrowed down by your means !!

Please don't be hard on the wrong-choices people make,cause one day you may find yourself in their shoes....and then you going to get every help you can get.

Reply 85

jsb123

I think universiies should be free, but the entrance requiements much more restrictive. Perhaps if we set aside equally respectable technical colleges for those who wanted to be vocational, and leave universities for those intending a more academically based career. You could save money by closing down universities of an inferior standard , or you could convert them into more vocational teaching colleges. Cut out all the woolly degrees for those just seeking to extend the time before life starts, and only accept the brightest to courses.

Reply 86

Bezzler

Original post by ProdigalGreek

Anyone can afford the current tuition (or, indeed, the new fees for next year) to university - you only pay back what you can afford, when you're earning enough to be able to afford it. You don't have to pay anything up front, and the debt is wiped after 30 years.

Reply 87

ProdigalGreek

Original post by Bezzler

Thanks for your interest but I have already knew that.

Let me pose another question; It is calculated that you leave uni with an average debt of 30.00- 35.00 in case you do not have the means to pay neither for the fees nor for all the other expenses.

Now given the high cost of living in the UK, how much will you define are enough to make ends meet ?

It is argued that when your salary is raised then you are asked to pay for the loans.

Do you believe that it is so easy to afford this kind of lifestyle....if your parents do not have savings ?

Reply 88

Bezzler

Original post by ProdigalGreek

I don't understand your point here. Under the new system, it is *easier* to pay back the loans than it was before if you're on a low salary - before, you had to pay back over £15,000, now it's over £21,000. It's just like an additional tax, really. So it is perfectly possible to make ends meet, even if your parents don't have savings. Your parents' savings aren't supposed to come into the matter at all - it's not like the US!

Reply 89

iPhone

Forget graduate tax. We have enough taxes to pay anyways.

Reply 90

Disastor

Original post by Bezzler

The method of paying back hasn't changed... it only takes far far longer and you are punished for even attempting to pay back early with another ****ing fee

It's really sad that they put a price on learning about the world when the very people who voted for it was even PAID GRANTS to go to university

It's only brainwashed buffoons like yourself who believe being charged to learn for the benefit of society is acceptable when really, it makes no sense whatsoever!

Do you not believe we should pass a bill for every politician who got their university free to pay up their share?
Or are you a sucker who will sit there and think it's okay to be screwed over by a bunch of old, dumb, greedy fogeys who don't give a **** about you?

Reply 91

viffer

Original post by ok_cub2008

I don't see why a Fine Art degree should be less of an achievement than a medical degree IF that Fine Art student was highly talented and took a prestigous course amongst individuals of similar talent.

To what end? I fail to see the benefits of creating a glut of fine artists. Talented or otherwise.

Anyway, back to the OP's point. Yes, too many people do go to university. You don't need to be a scientist at Cape Canaveral to see that

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 92

MagicNMedicine

A lot of people say this, "too many people go to university these days".

They may be right, they may be wrong, but one thing I've noticed is most of the people saying this either have been to university themselves, or have ambitions to go to university themselves.

It would be interesting to see how many of the people that strongly believe too many people go to university, elect not to go to university themselves, or not to send their children to university, to help address this problem.

Reply 93

ScheduleII

Original post by MagicNMedicine

I wouldn't apply to university if I expected to get less than AABB next year. I think too many mediocre institutions exist that should be called "further education colleges" and offer only HNC/HND/CertHE. The worst performing third are better off being closed completely.This would bring degrees back to being the preserve of the truly academic and those going into the classical professions.

Reply 94

spedere

I personally agree with OP. Wouldn't a lot of people benefit far more from three years worth of apprenticeship or in work than from the tens of thousands of pounds of debt that they will accumulate to get a degree that does very little to increase their prospects?
The news that the majority of jobs now require a degree of some kind is absurd. Degrees shouldn't be about employability three/four years down the line; they should be about a lifelong interest in the pursuit of a subject in which one has genuine interest and ability.

Reply 95

MatureStudent36

Original post by jsb123

Nothings free. It's all paid for by teh taxpayer. Like it or not working class kids don't tend to go to University. Middle and upper class kids do.

Basically free education means that working class families are paying for those families capable of paying to get a better education, which in turn allows them to get better paid jobs, which in turn allows them to get a higher standard of living.

I actually think that the current system is spot on. You pay for it, and you pay it back when you can. It's a great leveler in society that both rich and poor have the same opportunities with the only difference being around capability which knows no class boundaries.