Tuition fees- Value for money?

melancholly

ceewash wrote: »

I just feel we are being misled by the university system.

i'm not really sure why there is this common misconception about what university involves - it's been like that for years, but somehow most people get the impression that it has the same number of hours as school. a lot of people think this, so it can't just be people making a mistake!

i suggest you encourage your son to join some clubs and meet some people, then he can be busy and active even when his flat mates aren't there (and give himself some CV fodder as well!)

roxalana

From my experience University counselling services are as good as suggested by the brochure - someone I know was depressed to the point he was hospitalised in March due to not looking after his medical condition. The Counselling service at his Uni (one that prides itself on its support services!) said he would be made a priority and his first counselling session is next week! I hate to think what would be a non -priority waiting time! Mind you - we are still waiting to hear from the NHS specialist!

welf_man

surfsister wrote: »

History and have heard it's excellent! Any info would be useful. Also what's the best acomodation to go for? etc

thanks

Well, I haven't had much with History, which is probably a good sign as I deal mainly with academic problems!

York is a very small place and there's not a huge amount of nightlife, though it's only 20 miles to Leeds, so a lot of people go there instead. If she's a party girl (and I realise you may not know!) then it may not suit her.

Regarding accommodation - go for something mid-range but check carefully what kitchen facilities there are, as some of the Halls are very basic. It's very important to come to an Open Day - and go to other institutions as well - to make sure she's really clear on what's on offer.

Mel.

bestpud

roxalana wrote: »

From my experience University counselling services are as good as suggested by the brochure - someone I know was depressed to the point he was hospitalised in March due to not looking after his medical condition. The Counselling service at his Uni (one that prides itself on its support services!) said he would be made a priority and his first counselling session is next week! I hate to think what would be a non -priority waiting time! Mind you - we are still waiting to hear from the NHS specialist!

I have had a very different experience with a student counselling service so I guess it comes down to them having busy periods and just being snowed under. Non-priority students can have a wait of several weeks at peak times in some unis but even that is much better than the waiting lists for most NHS counselling.

I've just re-read your post - do you mean he has been waiting since March? If so, I'd say somthing has gone badly astray! Like they lost his details or something?

studentphil

The fees probably aren't value for money when you consider how few people walk into top jobs or any job at all. But maybe as a more longer term investment the fees might be worth it.

The_One_Who

studentphil wrote: »

The fees probably aren't value for money when you consider how few people walk into top jobs or any job at all. But maybe as a more longer term investment the fees might be worth it.

I really dislike this view that university is there to churn out people to walk into good jobs. One of my friends is choosing to do a degree (which wasn't his first choice, far from it) purely because he believes he'll be able to walk into a good job with it. He has never undertaken any form of work experience in the field and so doesn't actually know what type of job he wants or if he'd even like it!

studentphil

The_One_Who wrote: »

I really dislike this view that university is there to churn out people to walk into good jobs. One of my friends is choosing to do a degree (which wasn't his first choice, far from it) purely because he believes he'll be able to walk into a good job with it. He has never undertaken any form of work experience in the field and so doesn't actually know what type of job he wants or if he'd even like it!

Sadly you must must must earn tons if you have 20 000 of debt or you will have a life of poverty saddled with debt.

The_One_Who

A life of poverty? I doubt that very much.

studentphil

The_One_Who wrote: »

A life of poverty? I doubt that very much.

I think you could if you earn 10k a year have hundreds of pounds a month in all these student account overdrafts and cards to pay back.

The_One_Who

If you are earning £10,000 a year then you won't be paying off any of your student loan since you are below the threshold. Also not being able to pay off your overdraft and card payments isn't the university's fault, it's your own.

Plus, £10k is not exactly a graduate salary; if you are earning that then you should be wondering where you went wrong and try to move into a better paying job.