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• 1. At 08:19am on 18 Aug 2009, towerdefense wrote:

  This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.

• 2. At 09:09am on 18 Aug 2009, Tempus Fugit wrote:

  Mine was worth it - but, then, I studied a specialist subject (engineering) which the country was deficient in at the time (and may still be - although since we know longer seem to make anything, I doubt it). I left with no debt either, although the grant was reduced in the final year as they were being phased out. I self-financed my second excursion into academia by fitting the lectures in around some very flexible working hours and with a bursary from my employer of the time. Very lucky indeed!
  
  Fast-forward to my sisters - one owes a fortune and the other has decided it's not for her, mainly due to the cost. My graduate sister took a science-based degree and has a job, albeit low-paid, where she can use it.
  
  I have to wonder what the point of all these people running up the debt to obtain "Mickey Mouse" degrees for no other reason than Tony Blair told them it was their right to go to university when perhaps a more vocational course would have suited their needs, wants, abilities and so on.

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• 3. At 09:12am on 18 Aug 2009, zeldalicious wrote:

  I didn't go to uni but know lots of young people who study various subjects to degree level but then don't go into that field. It seems a waste of time to me to get into lots of debt if you don't persue the subject you studied.

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• 4. At 09:25am on 18 Aug 2009, Londonoriginal wrote:

  Universities should not be putting students in a position of having to start their careers (and lives) in crazy debt. This seriously needs revising because the longer universities continue as a business rather than an educational establishment, the worse it is going to get; like everything else, good leadership no matter what sector must have foresight and assess these issues from a subjective standpoint and work on solutions - This is a serious problem!
  
  Although I studied a full time course, the first two years was as if it was p/t which is a joke in itself (and I speak for many students and degrees of such nature). A full time course must be f/t even if it means reducing the extent of the syllabus.
  
  The bottom line is that people typically study at university in order to improve their chances of getting a good job; this is clearly not the case, even in a good market. The government need to be more pro active in assisting students in achieving placements.
  
  Personally, after graduating I realised that the student loan company charged my compounding interest which actually reached c.25% - that is an insane amount of money on a student loan!

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• 5. At 09:39am on 18 Aug 2009, headfullofmince wrote:

  Education should be free to all UK nationals, including degrees, providing they have the required level of education to meet the entry requirements. If the degree isn’t completed or retakes are required the student should be made to repay the fees.
  
  The first year of a degree seems to be spent getting everybody to the same level of education, when they should already have this knowledge to gain a university placement.
  

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• 6. At 09:49am on 18 Aug 2009, Tempus Fugit wrote:

  Interesting to hear that if you are resident in Scotland or any EU country other than England, Wales and NI then there are no tuition fees. One wonders that this discrimination hasn't been challenged. Of course, a removal of that barrier would see Scottish universities jam-packed and English and Welsh campuses would be like ghost-towns!

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• 7. At 09:51am on 18 Aug 2009, maxplank wrote:

  It is always the people in the middle that pay for everything. The very rich would not notice the cost to send their kids to uni. The ones not working get a free ride for everything. My daughter wants to do a medical degree next year and it is going to cost us a fortune. We also have a son who wants to do a similar thing in a couple of years time and it is a worry where the money will come from.
  Max

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• 8. At 10:10am on 18 Aug 2009, Tempus Fugit wrote:

  Move to Scotland, Max!

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• 9. At 10:42am on 18 Aug 2009, aat8410 wrote:

  Well I think it very much depends on what your chosen career is afterwards. If you are becoming a doctor then it makes sense, if you are going to have a lower paid job then maybe now, after all clearing that debt piles takes a long time, it took me many years just to pay day 8k, once you factor in tax rent and bare living costs there is not much money left over especially when you are just starting out.

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• 10. At 10:43am on 18 Aug 2009, The_Hess wrote:

  I suppose I'm one of those lucky students with a good uni on my doorstep - Strathclyde - studying a good degree - Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (MEng) - with good job prospects at the end, particularly in the power industry.
  
  Since I don't pay tuition fees (Scotland) my only expenses are transport (£55 a month train ticket), books which came to a total of just under £200 for my first year and drinking (I won't even think about that cost). Added to that, I currently have paid summer employment with a local engineering firm (3 and a half months full time) and recieve a scholarship.
  
  What you study is the deciding factor as to whether its worth it.
  
  Is there good job prospects at the end? - Yes
  Could I get that job without the degree I'm studying for? - No
  Do I enjoy it? - Yes
  
  If you have different answers to those above then perhaps look somewhere else, management schemes etc, particularly if you are studying business as these are often more valuable to employers than a sheet of paper.
  
  As for the Scotland tuition fees, we have a Parliament that decides where to spend our money. Not sure why they offer bonuses to EU students other than to simply promote our Universities.
  
  Personally when I see applicants on the news complaining that there is too much competition for places and that they then might have to actually get the grades to gain a place I say boo hoo, I worked for my place, if you don't get the grades don't complain. University should be for the top few, not everyone. (by top few I don't mean wealthy, I mean it should be for the most intelligent, regardless of wealth.) If this were the case then the government would have no problem in supporting those from poorer backgrounds at uni, and student debt would be much lower.
  
  I realise that I probably will have done a Clarkson and offended a whole load of people but hey, its just my opinion!

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• 11. At 11:49am on 18 Aug 2009, 4aBetterFuture wrote:

  I like so many people drifted into going to University because it was the thing to do. Mixing with people from other parts of the country was good.
  As local authorities fund the education system that thinks University is the pinnacle of excellence they require all new staff to have a degree or for those who want to make the world a better place in the Environmental Sector need min PhD + 5 years experience to get temporary jobs.
  University is supposed to enable the students to be able to think for themselves despite the fact that they have been conditioned all their lives to stop focusing on what is going on inside of them and to listen to what the teacher is saying although most teachers stay in school-university-school until retirement.
  The Whole Education System needs to be removed from the clutches of the Petty Party Politicians so it can deliver the skills required to enhance life such as creative thinking, the mastery of the tool called money & cooperation instead of creating stress by setting their expectations of people based on what they did in a exam at one moment of the past.
  "Your past will only determine your future if you choose to get stuck in it." Einstein
  It has been known for at least 40 years that people learn by doing things repeatedly in a fun way that stimulate the two sides of the brain (the image based & the language based) with periods of relaxation (to allow the two sides of the brain to communicate with each other) and that children forget things after 3 weeks of non-use. Yet the Education System still has the long summer breaks that were first imposed for the benefit of a small group of landlords (called MP's) in the mid 19thC.
  The most successful people like Brunel & Stephenson got out of the Education System before going to University and got a real education by learning from those doing it.

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• 12. At 6:45pm on 18 Aug 2009, Dennis Junior wrote:

  Richard:
  
  Yes, it is worth the cost to go to University ....
  
  NB: I am going to be attending Community College as of 27 August 2009; Name will be withheld...BBC Rules
  
  =Dennis Junior=

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