[rosiesaurus]

Can somebody please tell me why people from a lower income background are able to get their tuition fees reduced to £3500/year? I can understand how its fair to give people from a lower income financial support of bursaries and nonrepayable grants to fund their life at university, but from my own reasoning regarding tuition fees:
1.) We never see the money that pays our tuition fees-it comes out of the pay packet like tax....therefore unless they pay up-front or reimburse you (which most parents aren't going to do) there is no way that your parents are paying for your fees, so why is the ammount you pay based on their income?
2.) If two people leave univeristy with identical qualifications, one from a higher and one from a lower income background, there is no reason why the one from a higher background should earn more, they are both on an equal standing to get a job and pay back the loan, so why do higher income people have to pay more?

[Dan1909]

Your points are all completely valid. It's just a way of trying to "push" more people from lower income backgrounds into higher education. There's also the people that would argue that because your parents earn more, they are obliged to give you more to fund your education, whereas for lower income students the government pays it for them. Hardly fair by any stretch of the imagination, but that's the way of the world sadly .

[Hobo389]

It's another method of social engineering simply. It will be effective too, though everyone will pay off at the same rate, those who come from families who have in the past had little to no money will feel the full benefit of a degree sooner (or as soon depending on whether middle class parents pay for their little darlings). It is perfectly fair when these people are just as intelligent but are hampered by not having the backing of middle class parents.

[StacFace]

Which unis are reducing them to £3.5k a year? I know many are reducing them but I would have thought the lowest would have been around £5k.

The reason is because unis have to offer a 'financial support package' to students from low-incomes to be allowed to charge the higher fees. They therefore take some off the tuition and give some in the form of a grant.

[rosiesaurus]

Oxford goes down to 3.5 for first years with h/i under £16000, but it does go up to £6000 for 2nd/3rd years.

[calumsteele1]

i couldnt agree more with the points youve raised here! i've always wondered why the government put such ludicrous measures in..

[tehforum]

(Original post by Foghorn Leghorn)
Really, how poor do you need to be to get this, because I'm poor and I don't get **** all!

Around 13k

[rachaelizabeth]

(Original post by Foghorn Leghorn)
Really, how poor do you need to be to get this, because I'm poor and I don't get **** all!

It depends which university you've applied to. Surely you get some sort of bursary to assist you during your studies if you have a low household income?

[Productoflabour]

I'm getting a fee waiver for Bristol in October reducing my fees to £3500 per year for L 1,2 and 3. However I feel that the fee waiver is a misguided financial incentive. It does very little for the student as the amount, per month, that is repayed is negligible. It doesn't benefit the institution apart from being able to tick the OFFA criteria. It does however, help the treasury by an extra £5500 per student per year. I think a better incentive would be the removal of accomadation fees as these make up the largest expenditure after tuition. I think its a good thing to encourage those from the lower social strata into HE but this just seems like a PR exercise.

[tehforum]

(Original post by Productoflabour)
I'm getting a fee waiver for Bristol in October reducing my fees to £3500 per year for L 1,2 and 3. However I feel that the fee waiver is a misguided financial incentive. It does very little for the student as the amount, per month, that is repayed is negligible. It doesn't benefit the institution apart from being able to tick the OFFA criteria. It does however, help the treasury by an extra £5500 per student per year. I think a better incentive would be the removal of accomadation fees as these make up the largest expenditure after tuition. I think its a good thing to encourage those from the lower social strata into HE but this just seems like a PR exercise.

I agree.

[nish81]

(Original post by rosiesaurus)
Can somebody please tell me why people from a lower income background are able to get their tuition fees reduced to £3500/year? I can understand how its fair to give people from a lower income financial support of bursaries and nonrepayable grants to fund their life at university, but from my own reasoning regarding tuition fees:
1.) We never see the money that pays our tuition fees-it comes out of the pay packet like tax....therefore unless they pay up-front or reimburse you (which most parents aren't going to do) there is no way that your parents are paying for your fees, so why is the ammount you pay based on their income?
2.) If two people leave univeristy with identical qualifications, one from a higher and one from a lower income background, there is no reason why the one from a higher background should earn more, they are both on an equal standing to get a job and pay back the loan, so why do higher income people have to pay more?

If your parents help you pay back fees after uni, this will have an effect. It also deals with psychological issues of being saddled with debt - these don't need to be present since the fees are more like a 'graduate tax' but the govt has done a poor job of selling them so they will be there

[rachaelizabeth]

(Original post by Foghorn Leghorn)
I've been told I might be able to get a grant through the uni but it will only be a few hundred pounds. I live in a single parent household with a income of £28k (not including my part time job).

As far as I know, that's a pretty good grant amount for someone from a family with an income of £28k. Usually the cut off point for higher grants is £25k.
But remember that some students are from families with a household income of less than £10k, so the universities often prioritise these students when they decide who to give grants to.

Have you checked if there are any subject specific scholarships you can apply for at your university, or if there are excellence scholarships (for high achievers) that you might be eligible for?

[tehforum]

(Original post by Foghorn Leghorn)
Ah fair enough.




No but I think it's just because I'm a scottish studying outside scotland, which means I need to go through SAAS which then they pass it on to the SLC rather than me applying directly to the SLC. I've been told I might be able to get a grant through the uni but it will only be a few hundred pounds. I live in a single parent household with a income of £28k (not including my part time job).

teehee,

you called yourself poor.

[Productoflabour]

(Original post by tehforum)
teehee,

you called yourself poor.

I agree

[rachaelizabeth]

(Original post by Foghorn Leghorn)
Lol that few hundred pounds is a scholarship. I'm doing a technical subject so it is possible to apply for a sponsored grant through the uni which is given by a engineering or science firm. But everyone is entitled to this whether rich or poor.

Also it's not guaranteed that you get it. Apart from that I don't get a single penny.

Oh I do apologise, I misunderstood that it was a grant / loan.
I was going to say, if it's a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics subject, see if your university one that receives a set amount of scholarships called 'Dangoor' scholarships (though that might be the one you've spoken about above already)

[mucgoo]

(Original post by Foghorn Leghorn)
In this country it's not the poor that suffer or the rich it's those inbetween that earn just enough not to get any subsidies but don't earn enough to live in any sort of comfort!

You'll get I believe about £5,500 loan and then a £2,000 grant.
They work on a sliding scale between full amounts at £25K to none at £42k so you'll be eligible for most of it.
£7.5k living allowance is perfectly reasonable.

[rosiesaurus]

Our income is just over the 50k mark, but apart from the kitchen stuff like pans, and train tickets and the odd pair of trainers, my parents aren't paying any of it anyway...

[Shani]

(Original post by Foghorn Leghorn)
Yeah someone else said this to me aswell but I've phoned up twice and have been told maximum I can get is £5.5k, infact it was actaully something like £5418 on maintenance loan. I don't get a grant.

If your household income is £28k then you will get a grant, if you are applying for funding from SFE. Have you not used the calculator to see the exact amount?

Also, if you get a £2k grant, the maintenance loan won't be the maximum of £5500, it will be reduced by 50p for every £1 of grant, which makes it a combination of £4500 loan and £2000 grant. You also should get some form of bursary from the university (although probably not the maximum bursary).

[mucgoo]

(Original post by Foghorn Leghorn)
Yeah I'm not entitled to the grant due to being scottish. So I get a maximum of £5.4....K. That's why i've been asking about the uni bursary. But I've just phoned them and again i'm not entitled to anything apparently. Not much I can do really. Shouldn't be too hard to find a part time job though I suppose, I've got enough experience.

Go to a Scottish University and then come out without £27k of tuition debt.
You've got no right to complain about unfairness in the student finance system if you live in Scotland.

[Dan1909]

(Original post by Foghorn Leghorn)
Yeah I'm not entitled to the grant due to being scottish. So I get a maximum of £5.4....K. That's why i've been asking about the uni bursary. But I've just phoned them and again i'm not entitled to anything apparently. Not much I can do really. Shouldn't be too hard to find a part time job though I suppose, I've got enough experience.

£5,400 is still a far chunk more than the £3,550 or so that a lot of people are getting! And also should be more than enough to live off unless you're in London or somewhere else very expensive.