Leeds Met will not charge £9000, but £8,500 fees

You implied as if it weren't second-rate:

"It's the word 'otherwise' that gets me. Nothing against UEL, it's a good uni for some subjects, but most people already consider it second rate."

You sound fascinated. Of course most people already consider it second rate! The others don't even rate it...

Nobody would have to charge £9k per year if it weren't for this wacko fee waiver system for poorer students. Last time I checked the cost of providing lectures/tutorials/labs to a student wasn't a function of their parental income...

http://www.innertemple.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=184&Itemid=182&limitstart=2

You will also, of course, need to work hard to achieve the best grades possible. Aspiring barristers should focus on getting the best grades in challenging subjects that are of interest to them. Your ability in those courses could not only affect your chances of receiving an offer of a place at university, particularly at the most selective universities, but also your professional progression in a range of careers later in life.

The Bar is a competitive profession and you will need to demonstrate that you have excelled academically in your school and at university. Some Chambers and Employed Bar institutions look back to your school grades to assess your application compared to the many other outstanding applicants.

Increasing competition has meant that the majority of pupillage positions are offered to those with at least an upper second class honours in their undergraduate degrees and high A-level grades. Chambers may consider exceptional candidates outside this range but you should remember that you will be competing with those of high academic merit.

http://prospectus.lmu.ac.uk/main/detail.htm?ban=LLBLW&p=66&attendance=1

UCAS Tariff Points: 260 points

260 points is not exactly "high academic merit" or of "high A-level grades". Sure, someone could go to do Leeds Met law with AAA, but really?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12879817

Leeds Metropolitan has become the first of the newer, less selective group of universities to officially announce its new fee level.

Announcing the fee level, the chair of the board at Leeds Metropolitan University, Lord Woolmer of Leeds, said: "We are totally committed to providing a high quality student experience.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/03/29/liverpool-john-moores-university-to-charge-maximum-9-000-fees-100252-28425528/
It just gets better and better. They say if they don't charge max they will have to close down.... well by charging max they are going to close down anyway as very few people are going to pay 9000 to go to JMU.

That's a pointless statement. It's like saying doing BA Events Management is better than no degree if you intend to be a doctor or a barrister or an engineer.

That also doesn't justify the (lack of) worth of said degrees.

Because many students won't have this option, either because they have to go to a local university (for personal reasons), because their course is not offered elsewhere, or because they don't meet the entry requirements for a "better" university.


You say you did your "first degree" there. Are you now doing a second undergraduate degree elsewhere? How do the two universities compare in your experience? I.e. with respect to contact time, teaching, facilities, .. ? Do you think that at your new university you are really getting MUCH better value for money?

spent the same amount of money at a better uni this might not necessarily be the case? As for not meeting entry requirements, what prevents you from trying harder if you really want it?

Last time I checked, tuition fees covered tuition, not maintenance.

A lot of doors can be closed automatically because of the (poor) uni you went to, if you spent the same amount of money at a better uni this might not necessarily be the case? As for not meeting entry requirements, what prevents you from trying harder if you really want it?

I don't pay fees but given a choice between going to Leeds Met or Leeds uni up the road I would take the latter, I just think you might as well aim high nowadays if you're going to spend £25k+ on fees alone, that is unless the course is unique and will lead to employment in your chosen area. A lot of people from my degree are now working in supermarkets, something I wouldn't want with that amount of debt.

I understand that, but it irritates me that a uni who have a student body with poorer backgrounds, and such low entry requirements, is charging such high fees. I wonder how many applicants they'll get next year.

I chose the uni mainly for geographical reasons, but I would have to think long and hard about it if I were to apply again as in my opinion the high fees aren't worth it.

There are clever people and not so clever people. We all know this, I think; or do you disagree on this?

Of course everyone would want to go to the best possible university for their course. But not everyone is able to, because universities are (rightly) selective. (Also not every course is offered at every uni. And no, British businesses do not currently offer apprenticeships that would make some of these courses redundant, so that is not a viable alternative either at the moment.) That's all I'm saying really.

You implied as if it weren't second-rate:

"It's the word 'otherwise' that gets me. Nothing against UEL, it's a good uni for some subjects, but most people already consider it second rate."

You sound fascinated. Of course most people already consider it second rate! The others don't even rate it...

A lot of people from my degree are now working in supermarkets, something I wouldn't want with that amount of debt.

It's open to interpretation, I grant you. I wouldn't hold it up with Imperial, but UEL has more going for it than people give it credit for.