Who should pay for kids to go to Uni? Kids or parents?

lostinrates

Homeownertobe wrote: »

Indeed it does but that's a separate issue.

Is it? Personally I don't think so. I would have thought its a hugely important issue in funding.

In many families its subtle pressure, maybe even subconscious or desire for parental approval...that is not obviously or overtly linked to financial power but both parties know its there.

Doesn't mean the parents don't love the kids or what ever.

Gloomendoom

Person_one wrote: »

It should be taxpayer funded, and all the inequalities in admissions need to be purged somehow so that its truly based on merit!

At what stage in the university admissions process do you believe that applicants from less well off backgrounds are excluded?

toniq

Gloomendoom wrote: »

But if you had fewer mouths to feed and a smaller place to pay for, you would have more money to spare.

Your lifestyle choice.

Unfortunately it isn't that simple, If my children were from a household with parents on benefits, They would have a loan and grant.

Those parents lifestyle wouldn't be impacted,because the government decides they have the bare minimum to live on, yet we pay our own way as rightly we should,What we have left after mortgage,council tax bills etc they have no idea of and make judgements that we can afford to put our kids through uni when like those on benefits we live to our means.

Yes my kids worked through summer to save up for uni and we topped their bank accts up by saving like mad and cutting corners as most parents do.

If we didn't cut back our kids would not be able to afford to study without working whilst at uni. We even cancelled our wedding to make sure the children were funded properly and didn't go without.

It should be fair for all kids, some should not have it handed it on a plate the chance to go to uni by the state.Good for some good for all.

Both my girls at uni are A* students and are using uni for the degree to walk into their chosen at the time professions, one hopes to be a lecturer/professor and is studying in USA next year as part of her degree, the other aims to go into politics.If they do or don't at least they tried it isn't about the partying and getting out for a few years for them.

They full realise if they get career they can have a better quality of life, the degree is the means to that.

I'm not arguing with you just trying why we as tax payers and middle wage earners feel so aggrieved.

Indie_Kid

toniq wrote: »

It should be fair for all kids, some should not have it handed it on a plate the chance to go to uni by the state.Good for some good for all.

You'll never have a fair system. Why should someone from a well off background get the same amount as the person whose parents barely have enough money? I used to live with someone whose parents paid for her accommodation and gave her an allowance of £200 per month and she had her non-income assessed student loan. Because this was London, that was just under £5k. There was no way my parents could afford to for my accommodation and give me money on top. In fact, they couldn't afford to give me much money at all.

toniq

Think you hit the nail on the head, there will never be a fair system,Just upset me dropping one of my girls in their first year at the cheapest halls which as you can imagine were very basic and in need of major repair,whilst hearing of boasting from some acquaintance that there kid had one of the better halls yet they don't work.

Walking back to the car at Birmingham uni past the really lavish accommodation upset me greatly.

Made me and hubby feel we failed them somehow, One of ours is fine with it the other a second year admitted it upset her greatly in her first year.

Ah well we do our best and can only do as much as we can.

Thanks Indie you made sense x

Gloomendoom

toniq wrote: »

I'm not arguing with you just trying why we as tax payers and middle wage earners feel so aggrieved.

You do have my sympathy, but it hasn't always been that way?

When I was at university, the irony was that some of the most well off students were from poorer backgrounds or divorced parents. More than one of my peers had to quit their studies because they couldn't live on the minimum grant and their parents refused, or were unable, to contribute.

onlyroz

Indie_Kid wrote: »

Yes, but the extra money for these larger loans has to come from somewhere, no?

Um the people paying them back? If £9k can be found for the tuition fees then why can less than half that be found for the maintenance loan?

Person_one

Gloomendoom wrote: »

At what stage in the university admissions process do you believe that applicants from less well off backgrounds are excluded?

Every stage, from primary school onwards.

I find it thoroughly disheartening that several people in this thread refuse to see the inequalities that still exist in our society.

As for the children of the well off being naturally brighter and better, well, a glance at the current cabinet should disabuse anybody of that idea.

j.e.j.

Person_one wrote: »

Every stage, from primary school onwards.

I find it thoroughly disheartening that several people in this thread refuse to see the inequalities that still exist in our society.

As for the children of the well off being naturally brighter and better, well, a glance at the current cabinet should disabuse anybody of that idea.

I don't know if anyone 'refuses to see' them or if they're just a bit more mature about it and accepting that the utopian idea of every person in society being truly equal is just that, alas: a utopia.

The leading figures in the government are mostly Oxford-educated, except for IDS who seems fond of telling porkies about his education.. and a lot of other things.

His claim that he studied at the University of Perugia was later found to be false after an investigation by the BBC.[7] His office subsequently admitted that he attended the Italian Università per Stranieri (founded 1921) in Perugia for a year but he did not obtain any qualifications or finish his exams.[7] In 1975 he attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was subsequently commissioned into the Scots Guards.[8] Duncan Smith's biography, on the Conservative Party website, claimed he was "educated at Dunchurch College of Management" but following questioning by the BBC his office confirmed that he did not get any qualifications there either, stating that he completed six separate courses lasting a few days each, adding up to about a month in total.[7] Dunchurch was the former staff college for GEC Marconi, for whom Duncan Smith worked in the 1980s.[7]

taken from wikipedia

I suppose the sad fact is, you don't have to be brighter or better to get to the top. You just need to mix with the right people, be in the right place at the right time and have unshakeable belief in yourself.

System

Homeownertobe wrote: »

I'm not surprised if you put it to her like that. Restricting her to whatever university was commutable and then making it sound negative.

I dearly hope for your sake that she doesn't resent you for that.

Why would she? If she really wanted to go she would have gone wherever she had wanted to.

As it was, she said she didn't want the debt with no guaranteed job at the end of it.

She's 28 now and happy with her life. Happy with her choices.