University Fees

Gloomendoom

Prothet_of_Doom wrote: »

Really? Then the business model is flawed, perhaps? Not enough research paid for by big business ?

Constraints on fees and student numbers restrict the scope of the 'business model'.

There are exceptions but undergraduate students don't generally get involved with research.

duchy

FBaby wrote: »

I don't think any degrees are totally worthless. Depends what you want to do with it, but are they all worth the investment of 30K



That is exactly my point. If the degree my kids decide to go for is unlikely to pay much, then why should I pay for it? Not sure about seeing student loans as a door not to care much. These will either have to be repaid, even if at a very low level each month, or if they are never repaid, it's a waste of tax payers money as the government will just lose the income it invested.

If your ONLY concern is your child's future earning power then you may have a point-but what about the other aspects of university?

Many people with what are considered the hardcore degrees like Physics, Maths etc have a fairly narrow outlook on life.....lots of contact time at uni plus labs doesn't give much scope for cultural activities, sport and generally socializing with a diverse assortment of cultures. These degrees often don't have (or the student declines as they see it as frivolous )a year abroad built in .

I'm a (very) mature student and already I am seeing the change in some first years as they are exposed to new ideas, new types of people-the chance to try new things -the uni has schools of pharmacy and law it's rarer to see students from those schools trying new things.

At eighteen a lot of young people don't have a clear idea of where they see their future careers-I see little point in shoehorning them into a rigid degree if they are only doing it because they don't really know what they should be doing. I've heard so often the last few weeks "I'm not sure if this is the degree for me but my Mum wanted me to do this one" or similar.

A history graduate can still do a law conversion course or enter accountancy and those industries welcome people with life experience and a broad outlook and real commitment and direction to a graduate with the same First or 2.1 in a narrower discipline who has never looked further than the end of their nose. -never studied abroad, never done anything outside the limits of their course of study. Which would you prefer to employ as a graduate you hope will climb the ranks of a multinational organization ?

Person_one

FBaby wrote: »

I don't think any degrees are totally worthless. Depends what you want to do with it, but are they all worth the investment of 30K

Well, that's a decision for the potential student, not their parents. The debt will be in their name, they'll be the ones paying it back,

FBaby

Well, that's a decision for the potential student, not their parents. The debt will be in their name, they'll be the ones paying it back,

Exactly what I have said from the start... I would never go against my kids' choice of study, I just won't pay for it if I don't agree with it. That doesn't mean that I have already an idea of what they should study. It would depend on what it is, their reasons for studying them, their plan for the future, how it relates to any ability/skills etc...

FBaby

At eighteen a lot of young people don't have a clear idea of where they see their future careers

And I find this so sad when they take on such a massive loan on (regardless of whether they will be paying it back or not). I regularly discuss my kids' interests, talents, what they think they would like to do in the future, whether they aspire to earn a lot or not.

My DD has now been set on what she wants to do for 2 years, based on her interests and her academic abilities. She seems very motivated. This is not what I would insist on her doing and if she were to change her mind, that would be absolutely fine, and of course, she could decide once she graduated that it wasn't for her, but it is the sort of studies that even if she changed her mind, it would look good on her CV and help her with other paths.

Gloomendoom

I have known several students that have had a very clear idea of where they see their future careers from day one but then graduate and become merchant bankers.

poet123

duchy wrote: »

If your ONLY concern is your child's future earning power then you may have a point-but what about the other aspects of university?

Many people with what are considered the hardcore degrees like Physics, Maths etc have a fairly narrow outlook on life.....lots of contact time at uni plus labs doesn't give much scope for cultural activities, sport and generally socializing with a diverse assortment of cultures. These degrees often don't have (or the student declines as they see it as frivolous )a year abroad built in .

I'm a (very) mature student and already I am seeing the change in some first years as they are exposed to new ideas, new types of people-the chance to try new things -the uni has schools of pharmacy and law it's rarer to see students from those schools trying new things.

At eighteen a lot of young people don't have a clear idea of where they see their future careers-I see little point in shoehorning them into a rigid degree if they are only doing it because they don't really know what they should be doing. I've heard so often the last few weeks "I'm not sure if this is the degree for me but my Mum wanted me to do this one" or similar.

A history graduate can still do a law conversion course or enter accountancy and those industries welcome people with life experience and a broad outlook and real commitment and direction to a graduate with the same First or 2.1 in a narrower discipline who has never looked further than the end of their nose. -never studied abroad, never done anything outside the limits of their course of study. Which would you prefer to employ as a graduate you hope will climb the ranks of a multinational organization ?

Really? Things must have changed then, it was the Pharma/Law and Med students who partied the most and were the most adventurous years ago. And from what I was told by my kids it hadn't changed much when they were at Uni.

I agree you can do conversion courses but you are in adding more debt.

I think that there are degrees which are of less use than others but any degree can be turned to advantage or built upon if you have the drive, but that makes for a more circuitous route into a career.

thatlemming

poet123 wrote: »

Really? Things must have changed then, it was the Pharma/Law and Med students who partied the most and were the most adventurous years ago. And from what I was told by my kids it hadn't changed much when they were at Uni.

^This is right, its the whole 'work hard, play hard' mantra they've got going on.

Spendless

Person_one wrote: »

Well, that's a decision for the potential student, not their parents. The debt will be in their name, they'll be the ones paying it back,

Isn't it this that parents are concerned about though, rather than the debt the child will be paying back?

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/loans/2013/09/student-loans-are-not-big-enough

Person_one

Spendless wrote: »

Isn't it this that parents are concerned about though, rather than the debt the child will be paying back?

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/loans/2013/09/student-loans-are-not-big-enough

It certainly should be!