University really worth 9k a year?

Is it really worth paying 9k a year for University, which means that if you're getting a student loan you're going to be in a 27k debt (not taking into account other costs). 27k might seem reasonable at first, but then there's the interest on top of your loan. So you're probably going to have to pay at least 50/60k at the end of it (If your pay it off under 30 years).
so why not go and study in other countries around Europe like Germany, Netherlands, Sweden..where you can get course taught in English with very low tuition costs and even free in some cases?? :confused:

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Reply 1

Olombus

i think its worth it,....Uk has d best academic standard when you talking about education in europe

Reply 2

ppeter

Original post by Olombus

i think its worth it,....Uk has d best academic standard when you talking about education in europe

Yes, there are 6 universities from the UK in the top 10 Universities in Europe. However there are still some very good universities from countries like Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and France...and the tuition fees are significantly lower..

Reply 3

bloomblaze

Original post by ppeter

as far as I know, you dont ANY financial support aborad ie no load so you'd have to pay the fees from your own pocket/upfront

Reply 4

bloomblaze

Original post by Olombus

i think its worth it,....Uk has d best academic standard when you talking about education in europe

really?

i though there was a lot of talk about UK education standarrds falling over the past 30 or more years eg people saying A-levels and gcse are becoming easier etc also people talk about 'dumbing down' of uk education

Reply 5

tibbles209

It depends on the course and university whether it is worth 9k a year. A degree in medicine, for example, pretty much guarantees you a well paying career and is a good investment. A degree in Art History - not so much, so unless it is a pursuit of passion then it is probably not worth it.

Reply 6

Olombus

Original post by bloomblaze

It is not acase of falling standard rather an increase and improvement in teaching methods which has brought about these successes that has seen Universities constantly jerkin up their entry requirement;these improvements has been in shown in research that in the next few years wwhat used to be thought at first year and second year may become the future A-level.

Reply 7

littlesmurfette

That depends doesn't it? If you have a "dream" career in mind that requires a degree- then of course it is. If your doing it because your friends/family are telling you to/your following the crowd/you just want to put off working for 3 years- then no.

Reply 8

whatisthis47

No, unless you're aiming for a career in which a/your degree is necessary.

As for the fees, my plan is to work during uni and save at least £3-5k a year (this is easy for me as I live at home and the only significant thing I occasionally spend money on is home shopping) and then pay off around a third of my loan, or even half of it asap so that it doesn't come up to the dreaded £50k+ with interest. I absolutely do not plan on paying back double my loan so I hope to pay off the entire loan within 10 years of leaving uni and getting a job. I made a pretty basic plan outlining the maximum I may realistically be able to pay back each year if I earn the average wage and I figured out that if I continue living at home for at least five years when I leave uni (which I don't mind doing as my parents are getting older and more reliant on my siblings and I) then I should be able to pay it all back in this time. The idea of being exploited more than I already am with my education really pisses me off, so I hopefully won't be taking my time to pay this loan back because time = money, especially when there's interest!

Reply 9

contradicta

To some people 9k isn't all that much for what they are getting in return, for degrees like medicine and law.

Other subjects like the arts I wouldn't say 9k but in the end most people study what they are passionate about so I would say it's wasting money if you enjoy it.

Reply 10

TheSK00T3R

Well, you only have to start paying off the debts once you earn above a certain amount, and the installments are small; like £80 a month or something. Then any excess gets written off once your 50, so the financial burden isn't huge.
As for getting degrees abroad, it'll be hard to find a decent uni compared to the British ones, which do tend to dominate the league tables (along with the US). Plus alot of countries will make you do a 1 year language course. My mate wanted to do Medicine in a German uni and he would have had to do a 1 year german language course beforehand. And that was a last bid at avoiding Romania as well, after failing to get into UK uni's.
On the other hand, I have another mate doing med in Romania, £6k a year including accomadation. So if all your after is saving money, then maybe it's a good idea.

Reply 11

DarkWhite

NUS did some modelling around this, and on average, all courses benefit the individually over the course of their career even once the tuition fee and average maintenance loan is taken off; the exception was male students who study Creative Arts, who lost a few hundred pounds over their lifetime on average. So as much as NUS hate £9k fees, degrees still come with an individual benefit.

When you consider that 70% of graduates won't pay their full loan off, you realise the system is just a joke anyway. It's halfway between a loan and a tax; a 'capped tax' perhaps is the best way to describe it.

But to be honest, if at 17 I'd been asked if I wanted to go £50-60k into debt (4 years of fees + maintenance) to get a degree, I'd have thought a lot harder. It's definitely an issue for widening participation and access, and that's clear from the drop in mature students applying.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 12

james22

Yes, I would still go if the fee's were 100k a year so long as the repayment system stayed the same.

Reply 13

blubimnotafish

The other countries' universities are just more subsidised than the ones in the UK right now. But I know for a fact that in the Netherlands there is currently a debate about changes in student finance or tuition.

I think if you're passionate about something that you can do with a degree/passionate about the degree itself, it's worth the money. I could've stayed at home in the Netherlands with less tuition, but I chose to come to the UK because of the course the uni's here offer. The way the British loan repayment system is set up, is also something that makes me more willing to pay the 9k.

Reply 14

ppeter

Original post by DarkWhite

When you consider that 90% of graduates won't pay their full loan off and 30% of the money lent won't be paid back, you realise the system is just a joke anyway. It's halfway between a loan and a tax; a 'capped tax' perhaps is the best way to describe it.

But to be honest, if at 17 I'd been asked if I wanted to go £50-60k into debt (4 years of fees + maintenance) to get a degree, I'd have thought a lot harder. It's definitely an issue for widening participation and access, and that's clear from the drop in mature students applying.

Where did you get those figures from?? 90% of graduates won't pay their full loan off, really?? :O I highly doubt that tbh...
Being in debt for all your life is something I wouldn't want personally, even if it doesn't affect your credit score (which it does if you want a mortgage)...

Reply 15

DarkWhite

Original post by ppeter

Apologies, it was meant to say 70%. I'll edit that post.

Student loans do not appear on your credit report and thus do not affect your credit score.

Reply 16

ppeter

Original post by DarkWhite

Apologies, it was meant to say 70%. I'll edit that post.

Student loans do not appear on your credit report and thus do not affect your credit score.

Woww

70% is still hard to believe...

Reply 17

DarkWhite

Original post by ppeter

Woww

70% is still hard to believe...

There will be sources for that. A quick secondary one: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18101729.

It's a loss-making system. If the student loan book is sold, this is why either the government is going to have to sell it at massively below it's supposed value as debt, or allow the private buyer to retrospectively change the terms and conditions on millions of loans for graduates who have taken out loans and not paid them off in full yet (e.g. Raise the interest rate or reduce the minimum repayment threshold). You have more rights with Wonga than you do student finance.

Reply 18

ppeter

Original post by DarkWhite

So you would recommend someone paying the fees without a loan (assuming they have the money)
What about moving abroad? to countries like Germany or Sweden..

Reply 19

DarkWhite

Original post by ppeter

So you would recommend someone paying the fees without a loan (assuming they have the money)
What about moving abroad? to countries like Germany or Sweden..

Well currently when you take out the loan the interest rate is tiny. If you have the money, you are better taking the loan and putting your own money into a high-interest savings account whee you would gain more in interest than would be incurred in the loan. If it was ever sold and the interest rate raised, then you'd just take the money out of savings, pay it off, and you've still profited.

If you work abroad you are still meant to inform SLC and make appropriate payments. Another reason the 'loan' analogy doesn't work is that this is impractical to enforce thus the government loses millions from people migrating or working abroad and not paying the loan back.