[Adam]

What are peoples views on Top Up Fees? Thought it would apply to alot of you as you're either are currently at Uni or are at college doing your A-Levels.

[Ahh_Pathetic]

and those that are gone have to pay off student loans anyway. students should stop whinging and accept if they get a good job they should pay for their education.

[MK Chris]

Yes but good jobs are not guaranteed at the end of uni. That is what put me off doing uni.

[jimmy g]

Not introduced until 2006 so unlikely to affect many people here. Or maybe it is.

I don't get why poor people might get money off tuition fees when they don't have to be paid off until you have job. Surely you have then transcended the class of your parents.

[Spoon]

Good jobs might not be guaranteed at the end of uni but you stand a much better chance of getting one if you've been to uni, and besides, going to uni is a laugh. It's almost as much about the experience as getting a degree.

Expensive experience but it's best to do it when you're young to get the real university atmosphere.

[Golden Syrup]

Not introduced until 2006 so unlikely to affect many people here.

It'd affect me- if i go to uni i'll be starting in 2007 (unless i took a gap year)

[MK Chris]

going to uni is a laugh. It's almost as much about the experience as getting a degree.

I do agree on that point, and I would have loved to have done it but I was scared of how long I would be in debt afterwards - you hear all the horror stories, granted they might be the worst ones, but it does act as a deterrent - or did for me anyway.

[Sidders]

Horror stories schmorror stories. You'd have to be incredibly thick to get yourself into serious debt.

[Spoon]

Universities or schools should give a few classes in how to budget. Going to Uni, getting a massive overdraft facility and credit cards with low rates means you feel like you can just spend and spend.

Getting a part time job helps too. As well as making money, when you're working, you're not spending it. Well, unless like a mate of mine who worked in a bar. Gave away so many free drinks he got a bill instead of pay!!

[MK Chris]

This is true, you invariably spend more when you have time off work, more time to spend it.

[magenta]

Students should pay the full price, why should anyone subsidise education for them?? I don't know how the * people end up in so much debt, the max loan is about 3/4k a year isn't it? If you work all summer you can earn 2k minimum, even with a crappy job, and if you get something decent you earn a LOT more, if you work in holidays/during term time your debt would be virtually £0. It's not too difficult to NOT spend what you don't have....

You don't even have to pay off loan till you're earning about 15k, or is it 10k at the moment with a view to putting it up to 15? I can't remember, but still... & if you become a teacher for 10 years in certain subjects your entire debt gets written off!!

[Adam]

You don't even have to pay off loan till you're earning about 15k, or is it 10k at the moment with a view to putting it up to 15? I can't remember, but still... & if you become a teacher for 10 years in certain subjects your entire debt gets written off!!

Its currently £10,000. Its should be increased because most Grad who are succesful in securing a Job, will be earning just over that so its a little unfair I think.

[magenta]

It's not really that unfair, if you can manage your finances correctly you shouldn't end up in that much debt anyway, how much do you pay out of your wages each month once you start paying your loan back, is it a percentage?

I find it a bit unfair that other people (taxpayer probably) should have to fund higher education so that people can go out & get a higher paid job, if they're getting a higher paid job at the end they should fund it themselves!! Graduate tax was probably the best idea I've heard...

[Adam]

It's not really that unfair, if you can manage your finances correctly you shouldn't end up in that much debt anyway, how much do you pay out of your wages each month once you start paying your loan back, is it a percentage?

I find it a bit unfair that other people (taxpayer probably) should have to fund higher education so that people can go out & get a higher paid job, if they're getting a higher paid job at the end they should fund it themselves!! Graduate tax was probably the best idea I've heard...

I stand corrected. Its infact £12,000 with an increase to £15,000 sometime soon.

9% is taken each month.. Not that much.

[jimmy g]

Students should pay the full price, why should anyone subsidise education for them??

The full price is actually about £12,000 a year, it's heavily subsidised by the gov. When students graduate they are the ones paying the highest taxes, subsidising for new students so maybe students should not pay any tuition fees.

[Katy_70]

Yeah, the loan is only £3k for most people, but that covers so little at uni that you end up having to take out more loans on top of that. My accomadation for example, is £3k a year, plus there is tuition fees and living costs, it all adds up! Some people's parents won't help them, so they have to pay for it themselves, and very few people have that kind of money just to hand, which is when unis ask for it.

[Sidders]

It's not really that unfair, if you can manage your finances correctly you shouldn't end up in that much debt anyway, how much do you pay out of your wages each month once you start paying your loan back, is it a percentage?

I find it a bit unfair that other people (taxpayer probably) should have to fund higher education so that people can go out & get a higher paid job, if they're getting a higher paid job at the end they should fund it themselves!! Graduate tax was probably the best idea I've heard...

I agree with the logic, but if students had to pay the full price then no-one would go to uni. If no-one goes to uni then there's noone to do research. No-one to do research means no new weapons for the government.

[magenta]

Well, let's say you have 12 weeks holidays (that's probably just the summer holidays.)

Working full time, 12 * 37 hours = 444 hours - £5 an hour is £2220. That goes quite a way towards lowering your debt, & that's only your summer holiday.

A lot of my mates are students & some of them only do about 6 hrs a week (& FA work on top of that), so you could easily have a part time job whilst you're at university - I appreciate that certain courses involve a lot more work than others, but being so worried about debt you don't mind spending free time working.

Now, my part time job that I was doing whilst I was at college paid £6.23 per hour. I worked with loads of students, who would do between 15-25 hours a week (one guy did 30). If you do an average of 20 hours a week (which might be made up of one day at the weekend & 3 evenings 5-9pm) then you'd earn £124 per week, £6479 per year, plus if you worked all summer that would increase - earning 6 grand a year working part time where would your debt come from?

I'm sure you'll all come up with excuses as to why it's impossible, but from my experiences a lot of students I've known are quite happy to moan about how in debt they are but are not likely, or happy, to do anything about it - like a bit of hard work every once in a while. I think that stems from the fact that some of them only go to university (note - some, not all) because they don't know what else they want to do & they just don't want to go to work...

Now, disagree with everything I just said...

[Ahh_Pathetic]

i agree partly with the totalitarian theories of magenta. i do feel all this part-time work might affect your ability to study well though.

i pay back my loans with inflation and i still feel that is only right. if you want this extra education be prepared to pay for it. on the other hand i agree with topher that people need education. people believe they are just left with this huge debt an big repayments which isnt the case.

[magenta]

Study, what study?

[Ahh_Pathetic]

well not everyone can get by on their looks like me.

[Adam]

Study, what study?

You know there is more to uni than just drinking and meeting attractive looking people! Okay well partly the first year is piss - but its still bloody hard when you * about and don't do work.

Some people don't want to work, but I have to agree with Mags that working during Uni and throughout the summer does reduce debt quite a bit. It can be fairly hard to get jobs during the summer when everyone is back home.

[Spoon]

For me, the first year didn't count towards my final degree. All we had to do was get over 30% to basically pass the first year. Then my final degree was made from 50% second year course work and exams, 20% third year course work and exams and 30% dissertation.
Actually the percentages might've been slightly different but it was more or less like that.

Made the first year great! 2nd year a shock and final year a struggle

[Sykes]

top up fees will make it so that 'better' unis like oxford can charge extra for tution, am i right?

coz if that is true, the people who, although intelligent enough, are of a 'lower' class, will not be able to afford to go, which will lead to elitist snobbish ways it used to be before evryone could go to uni anyway.

[Craigr98]

http://www.referendum04.co.uk/