Student Loan 2015 Discussion

mrs_deadline

requirements have been inflated in the last few weeks – after the opening date for applications. This contradicts entry grade thresholds already outlined in their prospectuses. It follows the introduction of Government reforms that allow universities to admit unlimited numbers of students with good A-levels – at least two As and a B.
But teachers criticised the move which they said caused chaos and confusion for thousands of sixth-formers.

WISHIWASRICH wrote: »

What a mess!

Quite. So unfair on this year's applicants. How can they call it a reform? Stupid, arbitrary moving of goalposts, more like.

UCAS are no help, they just tell you to take it up with the individual universities. As if! Stand out from other applicants - make your mark as a troublemaker before you've even applied!

setmefree2

Thousands of students could discover the fees at the universities to which they have applied are to change, just weeks before the application deadline.
The Office for Fair Access is expected to announce later how many of England's universities have sought fees changes for 2012.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-15596986

melancholly

"As many as 28 universities could have sought to bring their original fees down or offer more generous bursaries and fee-waivers."

nothing like a specific statement . i almost wish they didn't make a big deal about it until any changes were announced as the whole UCAS application business is stressful enough without this added mess..... interesting that the fees might stay the same, but bursaries might increase though

setmefree2

Tuition fees: 27 universities seek last-minute changes


More than a fifth of England's universities have applied to change their fee packages, just weeks before the application deadline.

Offa said it had received applications from 27 institutions wishing to reduce their average fees to £7,500

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-15596986

setmefree2

From the Indie

Those seeking a reduction are understood to be mainly universities whose average fees are nearest the £7,500 ceiling. But some that opted to charge the maximum £9,000 a year for courses have also applied. Two universities to confirm they were seeking to reduce their charges to meet the £7,500 figure were Worcester and West London, both of which currently charge just over £7,600. Offa will make a final decision on the revised applications by the end of the month.

Gill Wyness, a researcher at the think-tank Centre Forum, warned students to "delay popping their champagne corks" until they saw details of the proposed fee reductions. "It seems likely that the cuts to fees will be relatively small and concentrated amongst institutions that were always going to charge just over £7,500," she added.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/universities-launch-tuition-fees-price-war-6258672.html

setmefree2

And if you're thinking of demonstrating, take care out there....

POLICE will have rubber bullets available in case troublemakers hijack a new round of student protests.
About 10,000 people are expected in London tomorrow to voice their concerns over tuition fees and cuts.
Scotland Yard Commander Simon Pountain said 4,000 officers will be on duty from forces across the UK.

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/11/08/rubber-bullets-will-be-available-to-police-at-student-protests-in-london-115875-23545470/#ixzz1d658DeUy

melancholly

not sure that many of the changes are actually newsworthy:

"Vice-chancellor of West London University Professor Peter John said the university had decided to lower its fees slightly from £7,498 to £7,400 after the mechanism for calculating average fees was changed."

a £98 a year reduction........

we won't find out until the end of the month about the specifics. this may be more about a few unis trying to grab some headlines than anything that would make a significant difference to students paying fees.

Taiko

If you're thinking of protesting and don't want to be fired on with rubber bullets, just keep it peaceful, right?

melancholly

Taiko wrote: »

If you're thinking of protesting and don't want to be fired on with rubber bullets, just keep it peaceful, right?

well i'm thinking about it..... i'm not quite the type to trash the tory HQ..... i'd think about it but it's not going to help anyone if tomorrow ends up with mass violence. a calm protest, with 'adults' there too rather than just being almost entirely 18-21 year olds would be the best possible demonstration of how unhappy people are.

they're talking online about occupying oxford street afterwards so my guess is that a small minority of militant violent idiots will attempt to spoilt it all. plus anyone going anywhere near central london might want to think of other plans!

citizen119

Martin,

I am concerned that few if any seem to know how compound interest increases the cost of loans, whatever they are for.
A student leaving University with a degree is going to have accrued a loan which will be the thick end of £40,000. Interest on that at 3% is £100 per month. If the sum is RPI at say 4% + 3% then
monthly interest is £233. Even at RPI of 2% interest alone is £166 per month.
As time goes on, it is certain that these loans will be sold to private companies, who will want 100 cents on the dollar.
Student loans in the present climate will become debt slavery for most. There aren't that many jobs around in the 50 grand plus area, and £21000 is not much money. I don't see much changing any time soon.

People must make their own minds up, but there should be more emphasis on the effect of compound interest.