MSE News: Student loans are not big enough

M00minMama

As a parent with DS now in 4th year at Imperial college I can say the costs are daunting. Students request preferences but get one offer of what is available. DS wanted cheap room on own and was willing to travel. Actually got offered a shared room within walking distance.

The shared room was tiny and he was still paying more for this than his other friends were for ensuite rooms in other unis.

After 1st year is even worse. Landlords want 4-6 weeks rent as a deposit, rents run 150-200 pw for a shared room plus bills. DS did want a bicycle but can't use one for medical reasons so needs an oyster card on top too.

It is no wonder that there are no British kids on his course who are getting grant top ups. If your family finances are that low to qualify you just can't afford to give the financial support needed to undertake a course in central london. For many students this must be a barrier and an easier way to get loan/grant funds must be forthcoming.

We've had to dig deep to help our son out, even though he works full time every summer. As a student he did everything we asked- worked Hard, got good grades and was offered a place on the course of his dreams. As parents we wanted to help him, even if it meant selling some things.

Lokolo

TurnUpForTheBooks wrote: »

Lokolo, are you okay? There isn't a whole lot of logic or spellchecking in your response to this one, and that is most unlike you!

Sorry my only point was meant to be about "not being able to go to university". Whereas its possible, perhaps not at the university they went to, but there are ways of going into higher education without such high costs.

Lokolo

Something some may find interesting which I read in the metro this morning

http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/01/students-dig-the-high-life-the-luxury-flats-for-undergraduates-4130564/

regprentice

Cant stand these articles on student loans, they constantly reiterate You only repay after you earn £21K, some may never repay at all.

Personally i think, on a website such as this, this statement should be caveated with

If you have no intention of earning £21K why are you spending 3 years of your life to...
- Probably never be able to afford your own home
- Probably never be able to provide an adequate retirement income for yourself

gadgetmind

Lokolo wrote: »

Come on, £182 a WEEK for a ROOM in a SHARED hall, IN LEEDS?!

In a very nice room in a fully-catered hall that's right on campus.

Can I also add that I live in Leeds, and if I glance in the windows of estate agents in the home counties, it all looks a bit spendy but not mad. Sadly, this is because southerners, who mostly don't know the value of money, have been coming up here for work and pushing up house prices.

For the last time, it's *grim* up here, you don't want to come and you will *not* be welcome.

Thanks.

gadgetmind

regprentice wrote: »

If you have no intention of earning £21K why

Why ...

... don't you give yourself a right big shake because we pay fresh grads many £k more than that from day one.

If we only offered £21k we'd get *zero* applicants because good graduates (sorry, 2.2 media studies peeps!) can get good jobs, earning good money, and be on a fast escalator to many times their starting salary.

University should not be simply raising the school leaving age to early/mid 20s, it should be a key part of feeding smart people with relevant skills into the industries that the UK needs.

I'd say "rant over" but it isn't, far from it!

Medstudent

TurnUpForTheBooks wrote: »

Er MedStudent, are you sure you aren't guilty of the same thing you accuse MSE of doing - I mean exaggerating? You have bolded the word PREMIUM but with help from your link, we can see that PREMIUM is by no means Imperial's best offer in that building

Viz
I am vaguely familiar with Falmouth Hall as was. Has it been rebuilt since it was first named? If it hasn't, I read on www.british-history.ac.uk that it might be 50 years old this year :eek: I hope any hint of asbestos has been removed, but I would think those RCS types might have known better by 1963, eh?

I remember some pals from Imperial showed me another of the accommodation blocks down somewhere south of Gloucester Road station which was converted Victorian/Edwardian houses I think. It was a total rabbit warren of a place which again I hope has been totally gutted and rebuilt because I remember one fire escape route which gave me nightmares after one crazy party. So I may have dreamed it, but I recall it went into the roof space in order to cross to the neighbouring block but the route was so narrow that someone like me had to turn sideways to squeeze through!

Yes there are even more expensive rooms in the same hall, I don't however feel that because the most expensive one was not used as an e.g. but the one below.
It isn't the same building it was rebuilt in (I think) 2008 so relatively new.

The old houses are still being used bar one but they are gradually selling them off and plan to ship students out to acton, not going down well with students though!
Having lived in Beit myself I spent not much time in the glouster road halls so cannot say much about fire safety.

Dunroamin

regprentice wrote: »

Cant stand these articles on student loans, they constantly reiterate You only repay after you earn £21K, some may never repay at all.

Personally i think, on a website such as this, this statement should be caveated with

If you have no intention of earning £21K why are you spending 3 years of your life to...
- Probably never be able to afford your own home
- Probably never be able to provide an adequate retirement income for yourself

Why should university be only for those who want to earn a high salary? Many people manage to have a decent standard of living, buy their own home add provide for retirement on incomes where only a small portion of their loans will be repaid.

ETA

I think that your quote refers to people not repaying the whole of their loans, not to people never earning over £21k and paying nothing.

rozmister

gadgetmind wrote: »

Why ...

... don't you give yourself a right big shake because we pay fresh grads many £k more than that from day one.

If we only offered £21k we'd get *zero* applicants because good graduates (sorry, 2.2 media studies peeps!) can get good jobs, earning good money, and be on a fast escalator to many times their starting salary.

University should not be simply raising the school leaving age to early/mid 20s, it should be a key part of feeding smart people with relevant skills into the industries that the UK needs.

I'd say "rant over" but it isn't, far from it!

That really depends where you choose to live after university. Outside of London there aren't that many grad jobs paying over £21k and so competition is bloody fierce! I applied for about 50 graduate jobs the summer before last and probably looked at well over a thousand adverts. I saw very few that paid a starting wage of £21k or above outside of London. I have a friend whose a Russell Group STEM grad who chose to go back to the area we grew up in (Rural South); he's now on a £14k placement after a year unemployed and he has a 2:1. It's not a land of opportunities in all of Britain!

The_Jakal

This has been an issue for a very long time now and I'm surprised that Martin has only approached it now!

However, it is a very big issue.

In my personal opinion one of the main issues is that students whose parents earn above the threshold can end up with the least support from the government who then "suggest" that the parents help with the shortfall.

However, some of these students (for one reason or another) are not given any support from their parents which leaves them in a tricky situation.

Another issue that regularly occurs is if parents have 2+ children that go to university. Are they expected to support all of them? If you catch my drift.

There is no doubt that the gvt. won't want to increase the contributions as it's more money that they'll be loaning out that they'll more than likely not see again...