The Student Room Group
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>

Rising masters fees vs loans

Scroll to see replies

Original post by Snufkin
Why don't more people do their masters abroad? Seems stupid to pay £10k plus when you could go to Germany and study for free. They have lots of good universities which do English-taught masters. No fees. Low cost of living. Very cheap rent. I'm surprised there isn't a stampede of British students heading to the continent.


Good point but I'll give you my personal reasons.

I want to a masters obviously because I'm interested in the course, but also because I want to study at a very prestigious University. German institutions may be good, but the top 5 in the UK are in a different league.

Also, moving to a different country is a big decision and not one for everyone.
Original post by SmaugTheTerrible
Good point but I'll give you my personal reasons.

I want to a masters obviously because I'm interested in the course, but also because I want to study at a very prestigious University. German institutions may be good, but the top 5 in the UK are in a different league.

Also, moving to a different country is a big decision and not one for everyone.


:erm: no, lol.
Original post by Snufkin
Why don't more people do their masters abroad? Seems stupid to pay £10k plus when you could go to Germany and study for free. They have lots of good universities which do English-taught masters. No fees. Low cost of living. Very cheap rent. I'm surprised there isn't a stampede of British students heading to the continent.


My friend from Germany keeps telling me this.

I disagree though. It's not right that people in this country are backed into such a corner that going abroad feels not just novel but necessary. Besides, this alienates people who want to do postgraduate study but have responsibilities and ties in the UK that they can't just get up and leave for whatever reason (not just mature students or people with kids or whatever).

What does it say about this country if the best way to progress your education is to get out of it? I find that very worrying.
Original post by Snufkin
:erm: no, lol.


The top 5 in the UK (Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL, LSE) are generally speaking more well known than German institutions.
Original post by SmaugTheTerrible
The top 5 in the UK (Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL, LSE) are generally speaking more well known than German institutions.


Is going to a 'more well known' British university really worth paying 4, maybe 5x more than you would at an equally good German university?

Any employer worth their salt knows the Technische Universität München, LMU, FU Berlin, HU Berlin, Heidelberg and others are all world-class institutions. If we were talking about an undergraduate degree (where you get loans to cover your living costs, and university prestige arguably matters more), then you may have a point - but not for postgrad.
Original post by Snufkin
Why don't more people do their masters abroad? Seems stupid to pay £10k plus when you could go to Germany and study for free. They have lots of good universities which do English-taught masters. No fees. Low cost of living. Very cheap rent. I'm surprised there isn't a stampede of British students heading to the continent.


You need to pass some basic German proficiency exam to study in Germany regardless of what language the course is taught in.

Also, those courses which have no tuition fee usually have at least one class which is taught in German, though I may be wrong about this.
Original post by SilverSlash
You need to pass some basic German proficiency exam to study in Germany regardless of what language the course is taught in.

Also, those courses which have no tuition fee usually have at least one class which is taught in German, though I may be wrong about this.


No you don't, and no there isn't.
Original post by Snufkin
No you don't, and no there isn't.


Wow! I must have been mistaken then. And all this time I used to think I could never apply to a German college because I don't speak an ounce of German!
Original post by Snufkin
Why don't more people do their masters abroad? Seems stupid to pay £10k plus when you could go to Germany and study for free. They have lots of good universities which do English-taught masters. No fees. Low cost of living. Very cheap rent. I'm surprised there isn't a stampede of British students heading to the continent.


I don't think admission to German unis for postgrad is as easy as in UK unis. I mean, for most masters, you just a 2:1 (which most people have) and you are in. You could easily go from bottom-uni to a RG uni by paying the fees. Only the top 10 seem to keep their rigorous undergrad-style admission criteria.
Original post by beautifulbigmacs
As quite a leftwing person, I'm surprising myself by feeling pleased the loans won't come in.

i would prefer the loan system to stay as is but for undergraduate fees to come down and for postgraduate fees to come down in proportion also (both ug and pg was 3k per year back in my day which wasn't that long ago). More loans means higher fees and it's just going spiral. It will also mean that if it becomes impossible to self fund masters, people will be restricted to doing one which is what has happened with undergraduate courses. It will mean that a masters is no longer a manageable way to change career/widen options/study for pleasure and I think that's wrong.


I do understand, loans cover problems and they seem not to be there. So studentes don't protest as soon as they have to pay, but years later.

Original post by SilverSlash
What I cannot understand is why Imperial charges such an exorbitant tuition fee for a one year master's degree. Does the UK not want bright international students to even enroll in their institutions? I think we all can agree that a major component of the USA's scientific and technological success has been its H-1B visa and its universities attracting foreign talent to study there. So why does the UK deter foreign students from studying there by charging unreasonably high fees?

Since I know most of you are from UK, what are your opinions regarding this?


a) Well, the really outstanding ones, usually get funded (scholarships, etc.). Or they come in through exchange programs (though that is usually done out of the UK).
b) Then, Europe is HUGE, so the probability you need foreign students to reach a certain level of intellect is not too high. As soon as you are a EU citizen, you pay home fees, so the pool they fish in, is much bigger than just the UK anyway.
c) Most brilliant students only start to contribute to the university at PHD Level. Thus attracting international students to do a Master is not the prime objective.

And by the way, a lot of equally good universities all over Europe charge less, why not go there?

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you