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

Oldernotwiser

Many student loans were sold years ago; mine was one of them. The company that bought them (Honours Student Loans) were a real pain but none of the conditions changed.

PaulW1965

And if you think this government's word is it's bond it's about to stiff pensioners (big mistake imho)

THE UK government has come under fire after giving itself an “out” that could allow it to avoid paying an extra £1.8 billion in benefits and pensions triggered by the rate of inflation rocketing to a record 5.2 per cent.
Consumer groups, charities and union leaders rounded on ministers after the government refused to confirm whether benefits and state pensions would rise in line with the September inflation figure, which is the usual procedure.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/treasury_refuses_to_back_5_2_pensions_pay_out_1_1917406

Don_Draper

The UCAS form has gone in. The school told my child to tick that she would be applying for a loan even though as a family we are not sure if she will.
Does anyone know when the government will decide about the early repayment penalty?
Thank you.

kayr_2

Don_Draper wrote: »

The UCAS form has gone in. The school told my child to tick that she would be applying for a loan even though as a family we are not sure if she will.
Does anyone know when the government will decide about the early repayment penalty?
Thank you.

Have not heard any news on this but am interested in the outcome. Consultation closed mid September. You should have time to think about this (assuming they divulge their plans before the academic year starts!) as I don't think you need to apply for a loan until end of May-ish. I think that if you are applying for the minimum loan (i.e. no income details supplied) you could easily apply much later as those applications are more straightforward if Home Status is clear cut. That's the impression we got anyway.

GeneHunt_2

Don_Draper wrote: »

The UCAS form has gone in. The school told my child to tick that she would be applying for a loan even though as a family we are not sure if she will.

UCAS form gone in here too. Daughter put "Don't know" to the SL question. She agonized every semicolan in her personal statement so fingers crossed.

It looks like some Unis are having a rethink

As many as 28 universities in England are considering lowering the fees they have said they will charge from next year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-15389378
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/oct/20/some-english-universities-drop-fees?newsfeed=true






What a mess!

WISHIWASRICH_2

GeneHunt wrote: »

It looks like some Unis are having a rethink

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-15389378
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/oct/20/some-english-universities-drop-fees?newsfeed=true

That's good news. It sounds like the beginning of the end for the universal £9k fee......there is a god!

PaulW1965

GeneHunt wrote: »

UCAS form gone in here too. Daughter put "Don't know" to the SL question.

Our son put "Don't know" also. However, we will probably pay upfront if nothing changes. I can't stand the thought of my kids paying "an as yet unknown bank or financial institution" 9% (above threshold) of their salary for 30 years if these loans are sold on. And I can't stand the thought the government will sell his loan for a fraction of it's worth, just so I "might" save a few quid (but it will be just as likely end up costing us more). I'd rather just give the money to their university and that'll be the end of it for the tax payer. Maybe I've "got ethics".

Anyway, I appreciate not everyone will feel the same.

Good Luck to your daughter! Hope she gets what she wants.

WISHIWASRICH_2

Just came across this from the Indy

The National Union of Students (NUS) said the hastily drawn-up plans had plunged this year's already troubled application process into further chaos as many students were in the midst of deciding where they wanted to go next year.

Those likely to be affected will be applying to so-called "middle-ranking" universities

At present, only 29 out of 140 institutions charge less than £7,500 a year.

I think that means that the above 29 plus the new 28 = 57/140 will be charging less than £7500 a year. ????

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/universities-given-14-days-to-justify-fees-2373800.html

melancholly

WISHIWASRICH wrote: »

Just came across this from the Indy

I think that means that the above 29 plus the new 28 = 57/140 will be charging less than £7500 a year. ????

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/universities-given-14-days-to-justify-fees-2373800.html

i'm not sure - it's all very speculative. there are also some unis which have some courses at under £7.5K whereas most are more, so i wonder if they count in those totals....

i'd be surprised if many changed for this coming year to be honest. they always used to get about £10K per student with the student fees plus the government money, so they're already getting less than that. i'm sure that they will make changes to make things more efficient in the longer term, but i'd be surprised if most unis without big donations can afford to run the place on much less than £7.5K right now. which also means that the 2012 intake would really lose out being the guinea pig year.....

it's amazing that the changes to the banking system can't be implemented until 2019 to make sure they're done properly, but they can decide to upturn uni finance with 9 months notice to UCAS opening. 70,000 students have already submitted applications via UCAS so shifting the goal posts now is just surreal - if it shifts fees down that may appear to be good for students, but the calculations have shown that the difference between £7.5K and £9K fees is not all that meaningful for repayments, since the vast majority of people won't pay off loans for either level. for those paying up front, then it could be good news. although too late to take the info on board whilst making uni choices!

fwiw, here's the same story in the THES. for anyone interested in the topic, it's a good website to check for news about it all. plus the comments sections at the bottom can get very entertaining!

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=417870&c=1

GeneHunt_2

melancholly wrote: »

it's amazing that the changes to the banking system can't be implemented until 2019 to make sure they're done properly, but they can decide to upturn uni finance with 9 months notice to UCAS opening. 70,000 students have already submitted applications via UCAS so shifting the goal posts now is just surreal - if it shifts fees down that may appear to be good for students, but the calculations have shown that the difference between £7.5K and £9K fees is not all that meaningful for repayments, since the vast majority of people won't pay off loans for either level. for those paying up front, then it could be good news. although too late to take the info on board whilst making uni choices!

It totally stinks!