Universities 2012 on-wards

Admiral Huddy said:
It was certainly my concern given the current situation and one question that I asked on the open day but I was told the course extends way beyond just the public services we are all accustomed too. The course extends to Criminology, forensics, psychology as so forth so it does have a broader appeal in the private sector as well.

She ultimately wants to work in the Police as a DI ( I think ) :p
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Then she should study a crime related degree. That would be far far far better. Criminology, forensics... these are respectful degrees. Psychology is less so, but only because it is over saturated with every girl that couldn't make her mind up what to study.
 
NathanE said:
I don't think anyone here wants to be telling you or your daughter what she should study. But Public Service just don't strike me as a worthwhile thing to be studying. You don't need a degree to do well in the public sector.

Frankly, it's a paper degree.

I'd be encouraging a more traditional degree. Something that will be valued and opened doors for her in the private sector.
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Nathan could well be right here.

Not only would she be sacrificing £42k of debt + whatever else she spends, but she will also lose 3-4 years of potential earnings and experience if she was to get an entry level job in her chosen area.

Depending on what she wants to do, a bright candidate might actually progress more based on those 3-4 years of experience than the degree will give her. In many roles not much weight is given to a generic degree, yet 3-4 years of proving yourself in the role can make people take notice.
If at a later date a degree is required to progress, there are often opportunities and incentives offered by the place you are working to study for more qualifications while on the job.

It's a tough choice, but she really wants to be certain before committing. Before the introduction of fees there really was much less to lose, and more to gain which made it an easier decision.
 
Nitefly said:
I think continuing to judge someone harshly by their University choice, thus basically their A-level results, is silly. I really don't think A-levels demonstrate how able someone might be at a job. Granted, take it into account, but still. I think exit velocity is more important - how good you were all the last few things you did.
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Its one of the many quick ways to reduce the pile of CVs on your desk unfortunately. When you are a new graduate without experience that is what happens...

You did catch me in mid-mumbling though :p

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
I'd personally look at it this way. Does she know what she wants to do? If yes, does she need a degree to do it at an appropriate level? For me and my job I did need it, but I have plenty of friends who could have arguably got their job without a degree. For me this rise in fee's acts more as a filter to stop people from doing degree's which don't really lead anywhere.

Experience or academia can be the name of the game depending on the end goal.

As for the student loan aspect, do I worry or notice it? No, the truth is it's taken out of my wages like tax, it's annoying when you get a pay rise as obviously your payments go up but other than that I don't worry about it and it will be paid off at some point in the future.
 
ps3ud0 said:
Its one of the many quick ways to reduce the pile of CVs on your desk unfortunately. When you are a new graduate without experience that is what happens...

ps3ud0 :cool:
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It does, but it's crap and cruel. I know people with 1st class degrees from top 10 unis who can't apply to law firms because they didn't get straight A grades at A-level. It's insane.
 
NathanE said:
Then she should study a crime related degree. That would be far far far better. Criminology, forensics... these are respectful degrees. Psychology is less so, but only because it is over saturated with every girl that couldn't make her mind up what to study.
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Pretty much what I would have said - Huddy, also worth weighing up the option of the career path without a Uni degree.

Did a quick google for a Police Careers website but found nothing useful, could be worth calling Essex Police recruitment for a chat? Im sure theyll be able to offer some advice to a parent...

http://www.essex.police.uk/recruitment/police_officers.aspx
If you have any further questions please contact our recruitment department on 01245 452277.
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ps3ud0 :cool:
 
NathanE said:
Then she should study a crime related degree. That would be far far far better. Criminology, forensics... these are respectful degrees. Psychology is less so, but only because it is over saturated with every girl that couldn't make her mind up what to study.
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.. but the Extend Public Services covers them all. kind of a "jack of all trades". Of course I realise that this might not be like having a dedicated one, which is what I think you're suggesting.

Criminology is in Colchester, which is commutable.
 
Course depending, its worth noting that at Cambridge they often expect you to have equipment and/ or software far exceeding what would be available through a regular maintenance loan through student finance.

Which means traditional loans, a buddy of mine left Cambridge under the old 3k scheme with nearly the same amount of debt (to either the govt or banks) as you've calculated under the new scheme.

Worth checking out, the costs could end up even higher, and if your umm'ing and arr'ing already :o
 
Admiral Huddy said:
.. but the Extend Public Services covers them all. kind of a "jack of all trades". Of course I realise that this might not be like having a dedicated one, which is what I think you're suggesting.

Criminology is in Colchester, which is commutable.
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The purpose of a degree is to study one particular subject in great detail. So that you become a bachelor or a master of that subject area. The idea of a degree that covers many different areas in a "all in one" fashion doesn't sound right to me.

When you say Colchester, do you mean Uni. of Essex? I went there. It was great. It is fairly high up on the league tables too.
 
NathanE said:
The purpose of a degree is to study one particular subject in great detail. So that you become a bachelor or a master of that subject area. The idea of a degree that covers many different areas in a "all in one" fashion doesn't sound right to me.
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I take it you don't think much of geography for a subject then :p
 
Alpherah said:
Course depending, its worth noting that at Cambridge they often expect you to have equipment and/ or software far exceeding what would be available through a regular maintenance loan through student finance.
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It's the 'other' Cambridge :p Although the software thing is not always the case - almost all of the software that I use here is either developed in-house or is open source stuff!
 
Also, lets not forget that university is a great deal of fun, with people being able to have a lifestyle they won't usually be able to enjoy in the future.

So for 3 years of learning something you enjoy (hopefully, unless you're stupid like me), having a very merry time and boosting your wages, might not necessarily be a bad thing.

The question is: what else will she do instead?

:)
 
Skillmister said:
Another thing, is she really going to want to commute for a couple of hours a day? I would imagine she'll miss out on quite a bit of social stuff which is a bit part of uni.
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This is a very good point.

IMHO 2/3 of it is about work and 1/3 is about socialising and etc.

If it's the case of saving as much money as possible then ultimately Huddy and his daughter have to make the decision.

If it's the case of mummy and daddy will miss her lots of lots, tell her to come home every other week. Everyone is happy :)
 
If she is sure she wants to go to university, I wouldn't worry too much about the debt. Remember, it's deliberately designed to make people think twice about going to university for the 'experience' rather than the education/future prospects - it should be putting people off that aren't too sure and could do an apprenticeship or similar instead. Those people that genuinely want to go to further their job prospects etc shouldn't be put off by the fees, given the loan/aid structures in place.

Another thing - Is she certain about commuting? I'm sure there's plenty of students out there that enjoyed it but in my experience, everyone that commuted at my university didn't enjoy it half as much as those that lived there or there abouts. I think the most valuable experience is the life skills you pick up, meeting new people from a wide range of places, self-motivation, other bits and bobs - all whilst you're enjoying yourself. I guess it depends on the individual but I don't mind saying that I was a proper geek when I went to university, I deliberately picked one 3-4 hrs drive from my family home and decided to give up certain things (online gaming etc) when I got there - I did all of that and loved my time there, I came out a completely different person - for the better too. I know living on-campus adds bills but those are the most valuable bills imo.

I also noted a distinct change of comments once you stated it wasn't Cambridge University - this is true to some extent, and relates closely to my first point, if it will increase her earning potential later in life (this means being realistic about employers' views of her university and course choice) then there's no reason not to go but clearly Cambridge University is a world-renown university that will get your foot in the door at almost any firm, which sadly isn't true for some other universities.

FYI - I graduated in 2007 and have approximately £6,000 left to repay of my original £12,000 loan so obviously the choice for me was a lot easier.
 
w11tho said:
Unfortunately, she's a little late (if she was planning to apply). The deadline for applications was Oct. 15th.
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Nah, I only just put my application in half an hour ago.Some of my class at college are yet to apply, but I think January is the deadline.
Just cost me 22 squid just to send my ucas app in :(
Let the debt begin!
 
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