'Don't pay your kids tuition fees upfront' Discussion Area

melancholly

setmefree2 wrote: »

You know what, I just want to talk about whether parents should pay tuition fees upfront. Now if that offends you 'cos the people who can do that are wealthy then maybe you should stop reading this thread?

no you don't - you want to talk about why they should, not whether they should. that's a difference. you don't appear interested in the reasons why it may not be the best idea. indeed you launch an offensive whenever anyone who says anything about why it is better to take the loans than to pay upfront. (and since you don't think i've ever said what the advantages are - which is faintly ridiculous - it's because it's not a great risk. if you earn little, you pay nothing back. because repayments will not be that much of any salary, so while the total is huge, the repayments are small. because there isn't a commercial alternative that is anywhere close to being as good.)

your attitude of just ignoring all the upsides whilst hamming up all the downsides is what i dislike. and that's a personal opinion which you can take as an insult if you so choose - i'm trying to explain what i find so frustrating. and why many people will keep posting the other side to the situation since your opinion is so polarised.

complaining about capital letters? right.... not much to say to that. my job is quite frankly, no-one's business. on an anonymous internet forum anyone can say whatever they want so it's mainly meaningless. i have, however, never specifically tried to hide what i do - i work in research in higher education. i'm sure plenty of people who have seen my posts all over MSE would be able to tell you that - i find that a surprising attack tbh.

your tone says much more than your content ever could......

setmefree2

melancholly wrote: »

no you don't - you want to talk about why they should, not whether they should.

So???? What's wrong with that? That's the purpose of the thread.

setmefree2

melancholly wrote: »

indeed you launch an offensive whenever anyone who says anything about why it is better to take the loans than to pay upfront.

Yes, that's called a debate.....

setmefree2

melancholly wrote: »

and why many people will keep posting the other side to the situation since your opinion is so polarised.

Good. I hope they do. That's how we'll all reach the right financial decision.

The_One_Who

setmefree2 wrote: »

OMG we're finally going to be "allowed" to talk about alternatives to the SL system! Another WOW!

I (and no doubt others) have repeatedly asked you (on several different threads) to come up with and explain a workable alternative within the current reality, rather than just spouting on about how the loan system is rubbish.

Dustykitten

In an attempt to get the thread slightly back on track I feel that it really is not on that the government have still not announced what the options will be for early repayment. I completely understand the concept that a percentage of students will never pay the loan off and therefore paying up front/ or paying off on graduation may result in paying more money than you would have done.

Different people have different relationships with money though (often related to their parents views) and therefore simple may not want to take on the debt/tax/loan whatever you want to call it. Even if they completely understand the financial part of this it still may not sit happily with them.

My potential 2012 student is seriously contemplating a gap year to give time to fully consider which, if any, degree would be the best for him. Maybe this is a positive out of what is not a great situation for our younger generation.

The_One_Who

Dustykitten wrote: »

Different people have different relationships with money though (often related to their parents views) and therefore simple may not want to take on the debt/tax/loan whatever you want to call it. Even if they completely understand the financial part of this it still may not sit happily with them.

My potential 2012 student is seriously contemplating a gap year to give time to fully consider which, if any, degree would be the best for him. Maybe this is a positive out of what is not a great situation for our younger generation.

People have always taken time away from education to consider whether or not it is really for them, and in some cases this is actively encouraged. I believe for those studying maths or other maths-heavy courses it is not so encouraged, simply because of the difficulty of knowledge retention.

There have also always been people who weren't comfortable with the idea of student loans. If they want to look into alternatives, then more power to them, I wish these were more widely advertised and advocated within schools. However, for a lot of people taking the loans is going to be the only option, and I hope these students research what it is they are agreeing to.

setmefree2

The_One_Who wrote: »

I (and no doubt others)

Only you.

The_One_Who wrote: »

have repeatedly asked you (on several different threads)

I'm aware that you asked me on this thread, no other time as I recall, so that would be just the once.

The_One_Who wrote: »

to come up with and explain a workable alternative within the current reality, rather than just spouting on about how the loan system is rubbish.

and I did post, to say that I think HE should be funded out of general taxation
..... maybe you missed that bit?

But hey, you know, this thread is about paying upfront. I know that some people are gonna be upset because some people can afford to pay upfront when other's can't but there is no point attacking me or any other parent on here. I didn't invent this system and I never even voted for one of the coalition parties (believe it or not)..... so I don't feel in the slightest bit guilty!

melancholly

setmefree2 wrote: »

and I did post, to say that I think HE should be funded out of general taxation
..... maybe you missed that bit?

i think the issue that keeps being missed is that while many of us think that (and many don't!), it makes no difference for 2012 students. what other alternative is there to student loans apart from wealthy (and generous!) parents that is better? for most people, paying up front won't be as good an option as saving the money to give to their kids as a lump sum later in life.

melancholly

setmefree2 wrote: »

Only you.

*sigh* really?!