25% of UK Uni students know someone who has turned to the sex industry...

[Thurnez Isa]

I would attempt to do that


but I don't need the coffee money that bad

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I would attempt to do that


but I don't need the coffee money that bad

That's because you're Canadian, and you fuckers only drink crappy Red Rose tea.

[Scribbly]

Ah, tuition fees.

Yeah, I owe £18,000. I believe the new average after the hike this year is going to be £36,000.

This was brought in by the Labour Party. Arguably, it has made University education more attainable to the majority of people, because you no longer need to fund yourself through grants which are only available to a select pool; anyone who gets the minimum grades to get into university can get a student loan and support loan.

On the other hand, grants are now far less attainable and everyone I know wound up paying the full amount. The idea is that you get a higher paying job than you could have done without the degree, and you don't have to start paying it back until you hit that minimum income (I believe it is £15,000/year). It is wiped out if you don't pay it off before you reach 65, die, or become permanently disabled! So you know, if I never earn more than £15,000 before I retire, bargain! 

[Cain]

It's now been raised to £21,000 a year before you start paying back, for the new fee payers.

Which, coincidentally, is roughly the amount I owe.

It's a shame I don't live in a Tory constituency anymore...I'd be writing a letter to my MP to try and reconcile this policy with the apparent family values the Tories are so devoted to.  Although, actually, now I think of it, I have not changed my address for voting purposes yet...

[Scribbly]

£21,000 is a fairer amount, at least. To be entirely fair, too, the amount you are obliged to pay back when you reach £15,000 is very low, something like £7 a month IIRC? So, it is still probably the best loan I'll ever get.

I still don't envy next year's students. We're rapidly learning that having a good degree =/= getting a good job, so how they justify raising the cost even further boggles my mind.

[Placid Dingo]

Australia actually really gets it right when it cones to uni fees.

You don't pay straight up. Your debt is automatically taken from your salary, when it reaches a certain number.

Of course, there's question on how good additional support of in need students is. But at least they don't start working life with an immediate debt.

[Cain]

That's what we do over here.  For people who went to Uni around the time I did, it's when you start earning £15,000 or more.  For next year's students onwards, it will be £21,000.

However, the thing is, the loans over here are not generous.  You will be living very close to the poverty line unless you have some kind of parental support and savings to fall back on.  And I'm talking about the good old days of 2004-8.  Since then, rent, food and heating/electricty, VAT and travel costs have all gone up, while earnings have gone down considerably.  University bursaries are typically underfunded at the best of times, and may require certain attributes to be accessible (like being Scottish at my Uni, for example).