Student loans and the cost of University

[Gary88]

hope this is the right place

I'm sure i'm not the only person going to university this year and there must be many more already there or going soon.

basically, how much does it cost to go to University or College where you are?
How do you feel about how much you're paying?
How are you going to pay for it?


i live in the UK and we have a reasonable system but it has flaws.

University used to be free but now it is only subsidised, the government set a maximum amount that Universities could charge UK students, this was £3000 a year but it rises with inflation so its £3070 this year. the government still subsidise the cost though because foreign students can pay upto £30,000 a year!
to pay for this you get a student loan, its a very low interest loan which covers your course fee and gets paid automatically to the University. you dont have to pay it back till you earn over about £15,000 a year and all debt is cleared after 25 years. i think this is a very good system.

ontoop of your course fee you have living expenses like accomodation and food and you get another loan for this (paid directly to you) the amount you can borrow depends on 2 factors, firstly where you are going. because london is so expensive you can get more (my friend going to UCL is paying over twice the amount for his accomodation) but a quarter of your loan is 'income assessed, meaning if your household earns more than a certain amount you are not entitled to any of the further 25%.

this is where the system gets tricky, naturally low income families cannot afford to help their kids out financially and high income families can but the families in the middle suffer because some can and some cannot but they are all assumed to be able to provide a certain amount on a sliding scale and so get less loan. what i find is absurd is that it is the student who is obligated to pay the money back yet the income of the family that decides how much money the student gets. i think its unfair, when you have to pay it back with interest everyone should be able to get the same ammount.

finally their are grants which go to the really poor saps, these are again income assessed but what happens is that a portion of your grant is used to pay off the income assessed part of the loan. for instance i got the full extra 25% of the loan but half of my grant has been used to pay that off (automatically) so i have less to pay back in 4 years.

hope that made some sense and let me know what its like in your country

[ajm317]

University used to be free but now it is only subsidised, the government set a maximum amount that Universities could charge UK students, this was £3000 a year but it rises with inflation so its £3070 this year.

What about room and board? I assume that's just tuition.

In the U.S. 3000 pounds (I don't have that nifty symbol on my American keyboard) would be, if I recall, about what we charge at our public (read state owned) universities for in-state students.

Costs accelerate quickly if you go to private universities or out of state schools, going up towards (or possibly well above) that 30000 pound mark you mentioned for private schools.

Currently I'm a PhD student. I don't know how they do things in UK (or in the humanities for that matter) but as a Physics grad student in the U.S. I don't pay tuition. Actually I am paid a stipend, which works out to something like a bit less than $20,000 a year. In the U.S. most of the work in universities is done by grad students, not faculty. My first 2 years I was a TA (teaching assistant). This year I got a position as a RA (research assistant) which basically means they pay me to do research, which is good because I need to do research to graduate anyway.

[Gary88]

What about room and board? I assume that's just tuition.

it depends where you are and what the accomodation is like, i'm sharing a house and its costing me £2,300 for the 40 week period, my friend in london is paying £4,600

as for PhD's i cant speak from experience but i think they dont pay fees either but thay have to get grants for living expenses which can be as little as £3000 a year

[Dayman]

around $20,000 or £10,000 for Pennsylvania State University per year.

[Farnan]

around $20,000 or £10,000 for Pennsylvania State University per year.

No... instate cost for PSU at Main Campus for Tuition and fees is $12,844 or £6447.79 per year.

Altoona is cheaper, but I don't care I'm being paid to go to college so tuition doesn't bother me.

But Penn State is not a state school, but a state-affilliated school (as in the state gives it money to keep tuition down, but it does not control cost of tuition).

State schools, like Slippery Rock cost $6619 per year or £3322.79 for tuition and fees.

[Dayman]

No... instate cost for PSU at Main Campus for Tuition and fees is $12,844 or £6447.79 per year.

With R&B and fees it's 10k a semester.

CALC PA TUITION 6142.00 6154.80
CHRG INFO TECH FEE 212.00 6366.80
CHRG ACTIVITY FEE 68.00 6434.80
CHRG ROOM CHARGE 1910.00 8344.80
HRG DINING CHARGE 1965.00 10309.80

[Gary88]

what do you think of that? is it fair?

[The Super Pope]

I can go next year but I almost certainly won't. Too expensive and is counter-productive to a career in the police

[JP226]

I went to a private college for a year at it was around 30k a year. then when I switched to a state university, it cost maybe 16k annually? After you've factored in food, living, books, and classes.

[Farnan]

Oh, I didn't want to include Room and Board because that is not a fee paid by all students.

[Dayman]

Oh, I didn't want to include Room and Board because that is not a fee paid by all students.

I see.

[Gary88]

R&B is a *****, ****ing budgeting!

[removeduser_487563287433]

Well, let's see. My outgoings last year were tuition fees, £240 rent monthly, food and alcohol. You soon learn how to make a fiver go a long way, unless you are one of those spoiled ****ers. Essentially; you'll live. I subsidise myself with a job.

[Gary88]

unless you are one of those spoiled ****ers.

i made £5 phone credit last a year...i should manage

[Tiwaz]

Hmm. Finland...

University is free, food in cafeteria is subsided so it is very cheap.

Books and other stuff you have to buy yourself as well as arrange lodgings.
You can apply for money from government/KELA (no idea how to make system clear to you foreigners) which will pay both small monthly amount as long as you fulfill certain studying criteria (certain amount of credits per month or so).

You can also get support to rent. 80% of rent above monthly amount of 33,63 euros up to maximum of 252 euro rent monthy, making it 26,90 - 201,6 euros per month.

[Cluny the Scourge]

Universal free education. Now. We, the People, demand it.

[Chlodwig I.]

Germany
University is free
you only pay a fee each Semestre between 100-750€ depends on University and State you live in.
But for living, housing, books, food, party, beer etc.
you can count 700-1000€ per Month.

[Gary88]

see i'm mostly pretty socialist but when it comes to higher education i feel you should pay your way (even if it is vastly subsidised) because it rises you above those that dont go so i think you really get what you pay for, i'm certainly prepared to pay for a degree.

[Tiwaz]

see i'm mostly pretty socialist but when it comes to higher education i feel you should pay your way (even if it is vastly subsidised) because it rises you above those that dont go so i think you really get what you pay for, i'm certainly prepared to pay for a degree.

BAD idea.

It gives problems for less fortunate part of people to get higher degree education.

Receiving higher level of education should NEVER be about money, but your BRAINS.

If you are not smart enough, you do not get into university. If you are smart enough, lack of funding should not prevent you.

[Chlodwig I.]

I would prefer a system where you pay for your degree

BUT
Our schoolsystem is so f.....d up
only children of Academics get the Degree to study
so there is normaly no need to get it payed by the Taxpayer

BUT on the other hand the children of poor people are so also able to go to university....well lets say those of middle class families, the poor get loans

For me it wouldn't have been possible to get a Masters Degree if I had to pay for the University.
My familiy was to rich for getting a student loan
but on the other hand my familiy was to poor to give me money to study at a university. So I had to work 3 days a week to while studying to earn the money for living.
A Private Bank loan wasn't an option.
the current situation of employment doesn't guarantee a job where you can pay back a private loan from a Bank.
You will get as a MoS in Economics 40.000€ p.a.
and state will collect 18.000€ p.a.
then take away another 12000 p.a. for living if you continue to live like a Student....
that leaves you 6000€ to pay back a loan and for a higher standard of living then that of a student.
So there is not much left for paying back a loan.