Mathematics Applicants 2012

Where is Scotland worse off than England though?

Not true. The Scottish government, like Wales and NI, receives a certain amount of money from the UK parliament to cover devolved issues (similar to the amount of money spent in England on these issues): agriculture, economic development, education, environment, police and fire services, local government, sport and the arts, transport, etc. Scotland chooses to spend some of its money on providing free tertiary education, at the expense of other issues (such as, say, hospitals). Different priorities. You can't blame the Scottish government for not making up for England's neglect. English people are outside their jurisdiction, and anyway, if Scottish universities charged no fees to the English they'd be overwhelmed with applications. It's an unfair system, but blame Westminster for your fees, not Holyrood.


I want my Warwick offer now!

1)as you say, since, as in many issues, Scotland receives money from Westminster to carry out devolved tasks then part (in fact, the majority) of the money must come from the English. My issue lies in the fact that these measures are openly discriminatory against the English. Why is it OK to take our money and then treat us that way? England is not any other country in the world, we are in a ******* union with you.
2) I applaud Scottish local rule and devolution in general, this is just flagrant and rancid nationalism.
3)I'm with you on the Warwick thing.

1) No, as Scotland puts in money to Westminster as well. The amounts in and out are comparable. England decided to introduce fees, Scotland decided not to. We aren't "taking your money". If English students didn't have to pay fees to Scotland, the Scottish universities would have thousands and thousands of applications from English students trying to avoid fees. It wouldn't make sense anyway, as Scottish students have to pay fees in English universities. Welsh students' fees are capped at £3,290 wherever they decide to study, and English students in Wales pay up to £9,000. Why aren't you railing against them?
2) "Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind."

Congratulations to everyone getting offers! Are there any people who have been through this waiting torment already who know very roughly when places like Durham or UCL begin to dish out offers?

1)So, to be clear, you object to the idea that Scotland receives any money from the english taxpayer?
I am no expert in Scotland's finances, but I find this surprising considering England is a significantly bigger and richer country...
2) Is that an "I agree" in code

Not sure about UCL, but last year Durham was really late...my boyfriend didnt get an offer til about Feb/March!

1) I'm not sure exactly how it balances out in the end, so I couldn't say that for certain. But Scots pay as much tax as anyone else, and size makes no difference - you wouldn't say that Yorkshire gives money to Bristol because Yorkshire is bigger, would you? There's also the crude oil in the North Sea, which I believe gives quite a lot of money to Westminster (though maybe not in the grand scheme of things).
2) No, because I don't think tuition fees are an issue of nationalism - except in as far as inequality can always be said to be due to nationalism. But it's agreeing that nationalism is a bad thing.

This is my logic:
Let's assume that Westminster distributes money about the UK uniformly (this happens to not be true but, for the moment, let's assume it is).
Westminster collects taxes from all of the UK and put's it into a metaphorical pot and then redistributes the money to the constituents of the UK. England forms approximately 83% of the UK's population and so contributes the vast majority of this money. So any money that Scotland may receive from the central government will have a sizeable proportion of English money.

In your model, Scotland puts in 10% and receives 10%.

I don't believe that's what I said

.

You assumed that Westminster distributes money uniformly. As about 10% of the money they collect will come from Scotland (~10% of the UK's population), and 10% will go to Scotland, England does not contribute. I believe the Barnett formula makes this not quite accurate, but in your model England doesn't subsidise Scotland, or pay for Scottish students' tertiary education.

If this debate carries on,

may need to get involved! I'm not much of a nationalist myself.

Just got an offer from UCL

Just got an offer from UCL

A*AA in Maths, Further, and a third subject

I was being stupid, I meant to say: "collects money uniformly".
The crux of the matter is: Money is redistributed by the treasury. I was (and still am) under the impression that English money is being transferred to Scotland where it is used to fund the scheme in question. This is a discriminatory measure as it purposefully excludes the English. If the Scots want to discriminate against the English, they would do well to use their own money.

Just got an offer from UCL

A*AA in Maths, Further, and a third subject

Congratulations!

when did you send off your application?