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Mr MajestikSILVER Member
coming to a country near you
4,696 posts
Location: home of the tiney toothy bear, Australia


Posted:
so i read the following writting by pricklyleaf in the london mayor thread;
 Written by :pricklyleaf


Left with a huge debt from uni, thats growing by nearly £1k every year that I can't even begin to pay off. For me its too late, the damage has already been done.



and it got me wondering, how does the higher education system work in the country you live in?

in australia the costs of uni are pricy enough for many people not able to afford to go, but whats it like in other countries? In australia you dont have to pay school fees up front you can go on HECS (Higher education contribution scheme) which pays your uni fees and you dont have to start paying it back until you make about $30 000 in a financial year. as far as i'm aware there is no interest added on the initial uni fees, but if you choose to pay for your fees up front you get a discounted rate.

true enough this issue is seperate to the actual cost of university considering things like time used for study, having to move to where the university is, a part time job to support you while you study, feel free to discuss the actual costs if you want, but.....

what does it cost you to get a higher education?

"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"

jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley


faith enfireBRONZE Member
wandering thru the woods of WI
3,556 posts
Location: Wisconsin, USA


Posted:
There is state funding, and federal funding. Scholarships private and public. Private grants. And students loans.

Me, I had student loans and worked full time

Faith
Nay, whatever comes one hour was sunlit and the most high gods may not make boast of any better thing than to have watched that hour as it passed


-sandy-BRONZE Member
old hand
716 posts
Location: Bristol, United Kingdom


Posted:
We had grants for Uni up until the late 80's /early 90's in the UK. Cant remember if it was Thatcher or Major who scrapped that one but whichever one it was id like to thank for creating a system where everyone who wants a degree finishes it in debt. No really i love that i am currently around £11k in debt and cant pay it back in the forseeable future.



The government recently (under Blair) changed the law on how much universities can charge a year for tuiton fees from a maximium of just over a grand a year to 3 grand a year. There are adverts on the telly telling potential students not to worry, its fine, the government will lend you the money and you start paying it back when you are earning over about £14k i think.



Admitedly the loan has a fairly low rate of interest (just above inflation) but it does mean everyone stats off their careers already in debt. I was lucky, just scrapped still £1k a year so im in a lot less debt than people i know, the average is around £18k when you finish but i know people (admitedly silly people who got lots of credit cards) who owe £30k+. Add the fact that these days its no longer an advantage to have a degree but a disadvantage not to have one (i read somewhere that around 60% of the adult population of Bristol have a degree) we dont really have a choice any more. Your options seem to be, get a degree and loads of debt to get a job, or dont get a degree and get overlooked for any decent job going.

"Don't do it naked!"


The Tea FairySILVER Member
old hand
853 posts
Location: Behind you...


Posted:
ditto I'm pretty sure it was Major who scrapped the Grants system. Tuition fees when I was at Uni were around £1.5k a year, but as Sandy says I think they're allowed to charge up to £3k a year now for tuition fees. Student loans are intended to cover tuition fees and some of the costs of living, the amount given depends on individual assessment. I received around £3,600 per year, split into 3 payments over each year (roughly got £1.2k at the start of each semester). Once tuition fees were paid, I'd have about £2.1k a year to live on, pay rent and bills etc... needless to say I couldn't have survived financially without parental support! I think an awful lot of students in the UK have support from their folks in order to pay rent and bills etc, or else have to work hard and save up some cash before embarking on Uni life.

Idolized by Aurinoko

Take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind....

Bob Dylan


_Poiboy_PLATINUM Member
bastard child of satan
1,113 posts
Location: Raanana, Israel


Posted:
the uni fees in the UK for overseas students are horrible, around £9-12k a year frown

faith enfireBRONZE Member
wandering thru the woods of WI
3,556 posts
Location: Wisconsin, USA


Posted:
I'm frugal and I still can't pay my loans

Faith
Nay, whatever comes one hour was sunlit and the most high gods may not make boast of any better thing than to have watched that hour as it passed


spritieSILVER Member
Pooh-Bah
2,014 posts
Location: Galveston, TX, USA


Posted:
$6,000 (USD) per year sound fairly cheap for tuition to me. Maybe it's just more expensive to go to college over here. At University of Texas (UT - one of the chepaer state schools out there), in state tuition (i.e. you have been a resident of Texas for at least a year before enrolling in college) runs at least $8500 per year, and that does not include room and board.

A good chunk of students rely on student loans, which sound a lot like what you have going in the UK. There do exist some grants out there that do not require being paid back, but they are often difficult to get, and they often require your parents income to be under a certain amount. It's very common for someone in the states to run up a similar amount (or frequently more) debt from getting a bachelor's degree. Some of the loans are also in conjunction with work study programs, which mean you get paid a small amount to do odd jobs around the university - man the library desk, grade papers, man the computer help desk, man any place that requires you to show a badge to someone for access, etc.

MynciBRONZE Member
Macaque of all trades
8,738 posts
Location: wombling free..., United Kingdom


Posted:
Spanners got it.
when I went my fees were paid for due to my parents being below the cut off for contributions dunno what it was, and we used to get per year:
£1500 Approx Grant (no repayment)
£3000 Aprrox loan (repay at 3% from when you earn approx £15,500)
and cost of liviing in halls was about £2500 leaving £2000 a year to live on.

I finished with £12K debt from loans and overdrafts and 1 credit card. but I got a good job and sold some shares and was able to pay that debt off in about 3 years.

A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.


BlayzeSILVER Member
Doesn't play well with others...
187 posts
Location: CANADA


Posted:
We have student loans here as well and I believe that you don't have to start paying them back until one year after you graduate (I could be wrong though). There are also scolarships and grants. Unfortunately if you own a car or a house you can't get a student loan. frown

I smile because I have no idea what is going on...


Nephtysresident fridge magnet
835 posts
Location: Utrecht, The Netherlands


Posted:
We complain a lot, but the system is really pretty good in The Netherlands. Tuition fees are fixed by the government at about 1300 euros (= about USD 2000 or GBP 1000) per year for all universities and polytechs. There are a couple of private schools that charge far higher fees, but they are few and far between.

On top of low fees, everyone gets a grant for the 3 years of their Ba and 1 or 2 years of their Ma. The grant consists of 250 euros per month if you're living away from home, and 100 a month if you're living with your parents. Also, you get to use public transport for free either on the weekends or during the week: your own choice, to be made depending on when you use it most. Because the country is so small, a lot of students go back to their parents place on a lot of weekends, especially in their first couple of years at uni when they haven't figured out how to use a washing machine yet biggrin You only have to repay the grant if you don't complete your degree within 10 years. You can apply for an additional grant if your parents income is low.

Finally, student loans come from the same institution that supplies the grants, and though it's still a debt, the interest isn't at all bad compared to bank loans, and the rate at which you pay it back is based on your income. Any debt you can't repay within 10 years is cancelled.

everyone's unique except me


natasqiaddict
489 posts
Location: Perth


Posted:
in Aus we have HECS which turned into HELP.. higher education something something...

So if you're an Aus resident/citizen, you can defer all your uni moneys and then they are taken out of your income automaticaly when you earn more than a certain amount...

You can pay these up front and get 25% off... which, well I should be doing but i decided that $5000 now is the most exciting awesome trip I could imagine to Africa for two months...
While $5000 when I graduate will be a months rent or pocket change after a few years...

So my HECS money is currently siphoning off into my "GO HAVE FUN WHEN YOU'RE A STUDENT" money.

I think next year it will go back into HECS money... after I got to Africa... :P

jacob.abildstroemGOLD Member
Member
1 post
Location: Denmark


Posted:
In Denmark we just pay for the books, nothing else. That's about 1400$ a year. We get grants every month for studying, when you're 18-20 you get money based on your parents income (if you're living at home), when you reach 20 or go to a higher education (bla bla) you get another amount because you no longer dependent on your parents. If you don't live at home you of course get more money. If you work when you're studying you have to be carefull not to earn to much, or else you will have to repay some of the grant, maybe all of it for the years you have been studying.

Average grants:
18 - 20 : 250 $ a month
20 (or Higher Education) : 520 $ a month
living alone (not with your parents) : 830 $ (but you have to reapy some of it because of taxes)

It's not every education that qualifices you for grants. For some modern dance- , movie- , theater- and art educations you have to pay yourself.

Mr MajestikSILVER Member
coming to a country near you
4,696 posts
Location: home of the tiney toothy bear, Australia


Posted:
 Written by :jacob.abildstroem


when you reach 20 or go to a higher education (bla bla) you get another amount because you no longer dependent on your parents. If you don't live at home you of course get more money.



the age is good, in Australia unless you earn over $18000 in about 18 months you are considered dependent on your parents until you are 25! i find this ridiculous, i'm 20, recieve no financial support from my parents and rent privately out of home (unfortunately my course requires me to move around the state for clinical placement so sometimes i do stay at my parents in a different city). its absurd that i'm called an adult, can vote, join the army, be legally responsible for my actions, yet they classify me as still dependent on my parents.

"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"

jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley


pricklyleafSILVER Member
with added berries
1,365 posts
Location: Manchester, England (UK)


Posted:
 Written by :Spanner



I do take issue with the interest on the loan and I'm sure there are a few who still struggle even living as frugally as possible but, considering most of my fellow students' chosen lifestyles - going out drinking every night, always wearing brand new clothes and so on - I can't say I'm very sympathetic to many of those who claim they're skint well before the end of the semester, though the tendency to send students straight from college without any teaching or experience in budgeting is short-sighted in the first place.



I'm sorry, but it really annoys me when people portray this image of students, when in my experience, its really not true. Maybe I've had a different experience of uni and a different circle of friends, all being art students who have to be in uni 9-4 everyday, and many staying till after 6-7 every night. Most of us went out and drank once a fortnight at the most. We bought our clothes from primark and charity shops.

Personally, I took on a part time job during my time at uni, and I still have over 20k of debt to pay off. (All of which is from the student loans company). I barely drink (in fact I was teetotal for most of my uni career) and went for a whole 2 years without buying any new clothes, whatsoever, apart from maybe a few pairs of socks! So please don't try to tell me that I could have handled my finances more responsibly. I just didn't have the money in the first place.

So please give students and graduates a break, in my experience at least, the image portrayed in that statement is an unfair image created by the minority, rather than the majority, and certainly does not help the situation most of us now find ourselves in.

I agree that some students could do with being taught how to budget before they go to uni, but I found that when you've got very little money, you learn very quickly. But who's responsibility is it to teach students how to budget? Everyone has to learn somehow.

Live like there is no tomorrow,
dance like nobody is watching
and hula hoop like wiggling will save the world.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
Pricklyleaf, I agree with you. It makes me angry when people just assume that uni students live the stereotypical party life. I'm too busy to cook proper meals, let alone go out and party.

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


Mr MajestikSILVER Member
coming to a country near you
4,696 posts
Location: home of the tiney toothy bear, Australia


Posted:
 Written by :Rouge Dragon


I'm too busy to cook proper meals, let alone go out and party.



thats not what you said at the pub last time i saw you in Melbourne tongue (that said i believe you had just finished work!)

i dont really go out at all, perhaps once a month or to a friends place. most nights you'll find me bumming around my house cooking dinner and chilling with my ladie smile and the last clothing i bought? about a month ago i got a raincoat so i can walk to uni, brand new? yes. on sale? yes. when will i buy another? not for years. but i guess thats my way with all clothes. buy little wear lots.

taking the hallway i lived in with twelve other people last year, only two were going out partying regularly. i think thats a more accurate view of students than popular opinion would have you believe.

"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"

jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley


natasqiaddict
489 posts
Location: Perth


Posted:
I think it really depends on what year you're in and what course you're doing.

First two years of med, were completely stereotypical American frat parties. Every weekend there were huge parties, with booze, drugs, hookups...

But now, even if I wasn't in woopwoop with only nine other students...
There are no parties happening, people are at uni from 7am to 7pm.... with weekends and nights on maternity.. plus working...

It's a stage.

So I don't get offended at all when people talk about that side.. because it does happen, and some people i know who have been in uni for five years still act like this.

EeraBRONZE Member
old hand
1,107 posts
Location: In a test pit, Mackay, Australia


Posted:
I used to be the one administering the loan and grant cheques. I can't tell you how many students, on receiving the money greeted it with "Woo, now I can have a party/buy a big TV/get drunk". It does happen, a lot, but seems to be less prevelent in the 3rd year when people have learned how little that money buys them.

I was lucky to be in the last year that grants were given. I also had a part-time job, which was considered strange by many. In my year there was one person who lived at home and commuted every day, and he was regarded as a complete freak. Both of those are now the norm and it seems increasingly like people are forced to go to a local university and miss out on that massive stage of development which is being thrown in at the deep end and being forced to look after yourself for once.

There is a slight possibility that I am not actually right all of the time.


PyrolificBRONZE Member
Returning to a unique state of Equilibrium
3,289 posts
Location: Adelaide, South Australia


Posted:
I think uni students are changing. When I went to uni for the first time in about 95, there was a huge social 'scene', with many people spending their whole uni career in the pub/club/rave/park whatever. when I went back to uni to get my postgrad ed degree in (...2003 I think?) nobody partied. in fact, everyone was there to get the piece of paper - not to learn (as opposed to at least some of my friends in my first degree).

I think the times are changing. Although, most of the under grad uni students I knew when I was living with heaps of uni students and recent grads in the UK a few years ago wel...they were very party minded.

--
Help! My personality got stuck in this signature machine and I cant get it out!


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
Something that's been in the media a lot lately

Up to 40% of the female sex workers in Melbourne's brothels are attending the city's eight universities and other colleges.



Eera, I am very surprised about the one person in your who lived at home - most students at my uni still live at home. And this time of year I do envy them! I miss the magic elf that stocks the fridge and cooks dinner and does the washing, and the magic dishwasher.

Josh, I'm one of those students who are there for the piece of paper. Although for me that's because my course (languages) is something that I could learn on my own by going to countries that speak those languages, but if I did that I wouldn't get the piece of paper, despite how in three years I'd have a much better grasp of the language.

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


DentrassiGOLD Member
ZORT!
3,045 posts
Location: Brisbane, Australia


Posted:
 Written by :

in australia the costs of uni are pricy enough for many people not able to afford to go





look i disagree with that - in part - but you raised the most relevant point Majestik - i view being declared financially independant essential to living through uni in Oz.



im not saying its easy - but you gotta think strategically about it. I recognised i needed to be declared financially independant to qualify for Youth Allowance - so for the first 18 months i had no life and spent 4 nights a week telemarketing and did door to door market research on the weekend on top of my degree (admittedly having not discovered the fire/juggling scene at that point in my life no doubt helped that)



once i had that base - well it was a a 50/50 split for me - i could live at home and commute 15 odd hours a week - or live away from home and work those extra 15 hr a week added with extra youth allowance.



i would have struggled for sure without that.



i definitely agree uni is shifting - engineers are changing from flannelette shirt wearing redneck into plaid wearing metrosexual types with artful hairstyles who actually attend 8am math lectures. when i attended it was very much a transition period... but im sure the bogan spirit will always live on smile
EDITED_BY: Dentrassi (1211246855)

"Here kitty kitty...." - Schroedinger.


PyrolificBRONZE Member
Returning to a unique state of Equilibrium
3,289 posts
Location: Adelaide, South Australia


Posted:
Rougie,

my sister is currently enjoying her second scholarship (this one for HK, the last one for Indonesia) to support her going to live in foreign countries while studying an international studies / languages double degree - it really is the best of both worlds...perhaps you could look into it? It wasn't hard for her to get - she gets credit towards her degree, and learns the language in that country.

--
Help! My personality got stuck in this signature machine and I cant get it out!


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
Nah, my course wasn't exchangeable. Cos I do two languages (plus had a compulsory minor in linguistics) I couldn't go to a country that spoke one of the languages I was learning, because then I wouldn't be able to pursue the other language frown

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


EeraBRONZE Member
old hand
1,107 posts
Location: In a test pit, Mackay, Australia


Posted:
It's been 14 years since I started uni, we were coming off the grants and onto the loans system, and as I spent the next 10 years doing various degrees and running a laboratory I saw the change over from getting as far from your parents as you possibly could, to staying at home 'cause you couldn't afford otherwise. In my year you really were a freak if you lived at home.
Likewise, parents coming to open days; I would have died of embarressment if my mum came, now all students turn up with mum, dad, sometimes siblings in tow as well. We ended up having to seperate them as potential students wouldn't open up about what they were interested in (primarily locations of pubs, fitness of the general population and where the footy ground was) with the olds there. It was always the parents who wanted to know about job propects while little johnny really didn't give a toss as 3 years was an awful long time away.

Ah, the good days. I actually miss it.

There is a slight possibility that I am not actually right all of the time.


newgabeSILVER Member
what goes around comes around. unless you're into stalls.
4,030 posts
Location: Bali, Australia


Posted:
I really don;t know how people live on Austudy, our student living allowance. Even with a maximum rent allowance, you'd have about $100 a week to live on.



I am working full time and doing a full time uni load as well as an external student. It's hard and full on but at least I have money to run a car and pay bills and eat. Not enough to go the dentist though frown

Mind you I think old age pensioners have it tougher. Only the same sort of money, more needs and less work opportunities.

.....Can't juggle balls but I sure as hell can juggle details....


Mr MajestikSILVER Member
coming to a country near you
4,696 posts
Location: home of the tiney toothy bear, Australia


Posted:
 Written by :newgabe


I really dont know how people live on Austudy, our student living allowance. Even with a maximum rent allowance, you'd have about $100 a week to live on.



living away from home rate (where your course is only available more than 90km from where your family live) is $350/fortnight plus rent assistance.

also if your parents say it is unreasonable for you to live at home and you can convince a family councilor you can also get a higher rate, usually that has to mean your parents basically kick you out on your bum though.

also if you really want to get crazy and you're under 25 your parents could probably put all their assets into your name in a trust, then when they are means tested you would qualify cause if you're under 25 and havent earnt about $18000 it doesnt matter what assets the child has it goes on the parents.... i think. the child may have to have less than $6000 in the bank for the first three months of clink payments.

all the interesting kinks in the c-links armour.....

"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"

jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
Living away from home still means your parents need to earn less than a certain amount combined. And it makes no difference how many are dependant on the salary either.

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


newgabeSILVER Member
what goes around comes around. unless you're into stalls.
4,030 posts
Location: Bali, Australia


Posted:
 Written by :Mr Majestik



$350/fortnight plus rent assistance.







Ya, Mr M, my 'around $100" is after deducting rent. Rent assistance is tiny: to cover the sort of rent people have to pay near Universities means cutting right into the base rate. And as a parent, to be honest, I have had quite enough of supporting my kids by the time they are old enough to go to Uni! 25!! that's SO OLD!!

The other snesible thing though is to not go to Uni straight

away.. supporting yourself for a few years makes you officially 'independent' too, and gives the chance to salt away a bit of money/get a car/set up so going to Uni is more feasible. Plus the chances of getting through successfully increase if you're a mature student. Maybe not as mature as me... wink



I realise that I have really put out of mind HOW I will eventually pay for the uni course I am doing. It's on the HECS never never at the moment.. I'll probably have retired by the time I pay it off!

.....Can't juggle balls but I sure as hell can juggle details....


Mr MajestikSILVER Member
coming to a country near you
4,696 posts
Location: home of the tiney toothy bear, Australia


Posted:
 Written by :newgabe


 Written by :Mr Majestik


$350/fortnight plus rent assistance.




Ya, Mr M, my 'around $100" is after deducting rent. Rent assistance is tiny: to cover the sort of rent people have to pay near Universities means cutting right into the base rate.



totally, my rent takes over half of my centrelink allowance+rent assistance.

but do you know whats really bullocks?
last year i lived in university accommodation, $120 a week all utilities supplied. centrelink gave me $101 a fortnight rent assistance.
THIS year, private rent currently $120 a week, plus power+heating. centrelink give me $71 a week even though my rent is now more. their rationale was cause its considered 'shared house', nothing to do with the actual cost of living there.

 Written by :newgabe

25!! that's SO OLD!!



i know, was so frustrating when i was first applying.

"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"

jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
 Written by :faithinfire


There is state funding, and federal funding. Scholarships private and public. Private grants. And students loans.



If you aren't very poor, then most state and federal grants are not available to you.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


BirgitBRONZE Member
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)


Posted:
German universities recently introduced charges, before it was free. You could apply for financial aid for living/food, but it's usually not realistic, especially if you live in a place like Munich or Heidelberg where there is shortage of accomodation, you're not guaranteed a place in student flats and have to put up with whatever private landlords think they can squeeze out of you. Also if your parents have "enough" money (which is also a bit unrealistic in some cases), you're not eligible.
Add to that the time it takes to process stuff (up to 2 months were not rare in my year at uni, luckily people were usually warned and prepared every year), and you do need a job while studying if your parents are in the lower-earning half of the population.
So the introduction of fees (which is different in every part of Germany since the right to legislate education matters is with the local governments) was another step towards social inequality, making those who already had to struggle with job AND studies either indebted or struggling even more. Which means it'll take more time for them to study. Which means, ooooooh, more student fees!

Today, it's been announced that Hessen (south-west-ish Germany, which is currently without a "proper" government due to close results between conservatives and social democrats and noone wanting to be seen to be too friendly with the lefties) is going through with the promise the social democrats made prior to the elections, to scrap the uni fees (500 Euro per term, i.e. 1000 per year). Well done!! bounce

"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)

Owner of Dragosani's left half


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