Laura Corin Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 The 'limit of £6,000 a year with £9,000 in exceptional circumstances' announced by the government has turned into '£9,000 for Oxford and Cambridge, with the other good universities probably following suit'. As far as I know, there is no system of merit scholarships in the UK - fees have been low in the past, so such as system hasn't been necessary. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Ouch- yes, painful. Is there a loan system? Genevieve is going to TAFE for a year and we are paying around $10,000 for the privilege- but we get a government loan, with a 20% loading on it, and pay it off as we can for her. She will pay for university after that. Unlike the U.S. we don't have to pay it back until she is earning $45,000 which could be many years off- and then a certain amount is added onto her tax bill. Its pretty reasonable. But I want to pay it off slowly before we have to. But it hit us hard as I signed the forms a few days ago. It is now a debt and we were fairly debt free apart from some investment properties. Its getting expensive. Dh is very glad we didn't have more children (he was saying!) because the financial burden is on him and he feels it. He is getting older- he is an older dad- and he is feeling it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jld Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Is the pressure on your gov't working at all, Laura? I would think all those demonstrations would have had some effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Is the pressure on your gov't working at all, Laura? I would think all those demonstrations would have had some effect. I think that we are stuck with it. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Ouch- yes, painful. Is there a loan system? The loans aren't repayable until the young person reaches a certain income. So if, for example, he chooses a worthwhile but low-paid job, he might never have to repay. However.... it's still debt and it will get in the way of other life choices. Oh well. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jld Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 :grouphug: If it makes you feel any better, I've heard some say that the U.S. may take austerity measures, too. We'll have to see what they look like here. I'm sure misery will love company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Unfortunately it still looks good compared to here. Most of our private colleges are coming up with half of $50,000 + and that is not the best schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Unfortunately it still looks good compared to here. Most of our private colleges are coming up with half of $50,000 + and that is not the best schools. All but, I think, one university in Britain are public, so the government controls fee rises. The flipside to that is that you don't get big alumni funds for scholarships. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 :iagree: When the Calvin was born, there were no university fees. We planned to be able to support their living expenses at university. We hadn't counted on such enormous rises. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 It must be a terrible shock when all your plans are for nought. So sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 It must be a terrible shock when all your plans are for nought. So sorry! We are in easy circumstances compared to many, but husband is in his mid-fifties so the earning years are dwindling. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Just googled the exchange rate and that's almost $15,000 U.S. dollars. :grouphug: Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 It is comparable to here, My ds16 has just started doing some Uni units each unit goes for 13 weeks each one costs between $1000-$1500. He needs to do at least 3 to apply for university, He wants to do engineering, it will be at least $15000-$20000 per year. total cost just in tuition fees will be somewhere between $60,000-$100,000. He will need to get a student debt. My Uni course for a Bachelor if Primary Education will cost about $22,000 just in tuition fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 When the Calvin was born, there were no university fees. We planned to be able to support their living expenses at university. We hadn't counted on such enormous rises. Laura It's the suddenness of it, isn't it? I mean, had you known of this need when he was born, I feel certain you would have planned for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Unfortunately it still looks good compared to here. Most of our private colleges are coming up with half of $50,000 + and that is not the best schools. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 All but, I think, one university in Britain are public, so the government controls fee rises. The flipside to that is that you don't get big alumni funds for scholarships. Laura Do university alumni contribute to the schools? Here, public universities still do a lot of begging for funds from alumni (that's partly why football never gets cut; alumni care how the team is doing and donate accordingly). It's too bad these severe cuts are hitting you so suddenly, but AFAIK the government is just out of money, is that right? Our eminent public universities cost about the same amount these days, but at least it was a gradual rise and we have ways set up to deal with it. (40 years ago, tuition at UC Berkeley was free. When I went 15 years ago, my mom was appalled at the cost, which wasn't even half of what it is now.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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