MSE News: Guest Comment: Govt student loan explanations 'woeful'

Maggiearj

The professor is right for people who can easily afford it all, but I don't know if I can afford the living costs for my daughter to go to uni, as she will have to stay in student accommodation. She will get a loan for fees and the rest of it will have to pay for food and expenses but I'll have to pay the £4000 a year rent. After that the student loan will be a lot of money for her. The prof has made it seem a lot rosier than it is. Hopefully it will be worth it, but I know quite a few graduates who have almost given up on getting a really good job. He obviously enjoys his job!

The_One_Who

Why does she have to stay in university accommodation?

Oldernotwiser

gadgetmind wrote: »

It's at least 50x what I did, but she's facing different challenges and is therefore playing a different game. Her work ethic will take her a long way. Who am I to criticise?

Criticising the system doesn't equate with criticising your daughter; that amount of hard work should be put to better use.

Oldernotwiser

Maggiearj wrote: »

The professor is right for people who can easily afford it all, but I don't know if I can afford the living costs for my daughter to go to uni, as she will have to stay in student accommodation. She will get a loan for fees and the rest of it will have to pay for food and expenses but I'll have to pay the £4000 a year rent. After that the student loan will be a lot of money for her. The prof has made it seem a lot rosier than it is. Hopefully it will be worth it, but I know quite a few graduates who have almost given up on getting a really good job. He obviously enjoys his job!

Most people use the maintenance loan to pay their rent. If you're on a low income she'll get a grant and most people will have a part time job. Also, you'll save the money you spend on keeping her at home.

gadgetmind

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Criticising the system doesn't equate with criticising your daughter; that amount of hard work should be put to better use.

What better use of her time was there other than getting good grades at AS level? Her next job is to do well at UKCAT, and her university applications, and after that to ace her interviews and then get three solid A levels. She knows all of this, and doesn't need nagging or prompting, just our support.

Of course, you could argue that this is too much work to put into revision and exam practice, but I'd say that 90%+ of her time went into learning the material and only 10% into understanding the art of giving the answer the marking scheme expects.

Another good outcome is that I know that I could now probably get solid A's in maths, physics and chemistry, which wasn't the case prior to this as my memory had faded somewhat over the decades.