Uni debt... how much and are you worried?

Moses99p said:
Yes, but students are just learning in lessons/lectures/whatever... apprentices tend to do actual work, work which the companies that pay them make money from.

So apprentices do a job => they get paid (but still have to shell out for gear/tools/etc).

Uni/college students don't do a job => they don't get paid (but get financial support to pay for everything they need).
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Just because the work is academic it doesn't mean its not work. You're learning valuable skills so you can implement them in the real world. Much like apprentices.

True they are working for a company but we've all got to start at the bottom to get to the top. Technically you could argue students are 'working' for the uni and the university are the 'company' raking in the profits.

Financial support? Am I missing something. The only kind of financial support available are grants/bursaries. Just because the loans have a low interest rate, I'd hardly call it 'financial support'.

What makes me laugh is that they still qualify for some student discounts like the cinema discounts despite being paid daily...
 
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mattheman said:
i remember asking for a CDL took out the full amount then stuck most of it in the bank, gained interest and got a tax refund, paid it all back once my course was finished. The bank wasnt to happy about it when i paid it back 3 weeks after my course ended.
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Haha, exactly what I'm about to do. Don't tell the bank. If they ask, it's a £10k buffer.
 
Its not as rosy as people make out...

£66 a month on an average grad salary (23k). I got a £40 a month pay rise = an extra £4 on the stu loan deduction. Even paying what i do, a large chunk goes on the interest.

I just think of it as student tax now.
 
stigggeh said:
Its not as rosey as people make out...

£66 a month on an average grad salary (23k). I got a £40 a month pay rise = an extra £4 on the stu loan deduction. Even paying what i do, a large chunk goes on the interest.

I just think of it as student tax now.
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Well, you're simply paying back what you owe. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm sure you'd agree that having government credit facility is a good option for those who don't have parents to lend them £25k.

More controversially, I'd agree with my former professor at the LSE, that the interest rate should be the treasury bill rate rather than inflation. This should reduce waste in terms of students making arbitrage as well as making people think properly before borrowing £25k for a degree.

http://oxrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/20/2/264?ijkey=20GIFCugfcjFz&keytype=ref
 
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Ditto to the above. 1st class to 2.1 from russell group university is money well spent. You have a shot at a graduate job, which is the reason for studying at university. A 2.2 from Derby uni will cost as much, but will lead to nothing, mostly a hinderance on your CV.
This is something sixth forms should advise, but they are too busy getting their higher education states up. The whole system has been built to make low achievers feel like they are high achievers. The anti-elitism has backfired, and those that will lose out are those that are currently in education.
 
lambda said:
Ditto to the above. 1st class to 2.1 from russell group university is money well spent. You have a shot at a graduate job, which is the reason for studying at university. A 2.2 from Derby uni will cost as much, but will lead to nothing, mostly a hinderance on your CV.
This is something sixth forms should advise, but they are too busy getting their higher education states up. The whole system has been built to make low achievers feel like they are high achievers. The anti-elitism has backfired, and those that will lose out are those that are currently in education.
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2.1 now is like a 3rd in the 90s.
 
mjt said:
you don't half come up with some crap sometimes.

the way people see your degree classification totally depends on the course and the university, but mainly on the university
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Nope grade has go easy now, every university is pressured to mark upwards and give better grades. Lecturers are under pressure from both sides, example spoke to a assitant at LSE and was told lecturers are under pressure to mark high even when the candiate doesnt deserve it.
 
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Wasn't there a study done which showed first class degrees have become slightly devalued but the overall good honours rate was still relatively steady. Fails have also been reduced, potentially without warrant.

The worst grade inflation is in Scotland where a third of all students get first class honours degrees.
 
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mattheman said:
funding for universities is one of many, and its happening in Stanford and Ivy League schools aswell.
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Which are privately funded. So why would funding be a motivation for grade inflation there?

As for funding in the UK, I think its possibly more league tables factoring in good honour rates which could create an incentive to give good honours.
 
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