Bloody students

[Shad]

All they ever bloody do is winge winge winge, moan moan moan. Well now it's my turn to have a moan

Why are they so adverse to paying £3k for a course? "The debt is too much... we'll be paying it off until we're 80!"

Absolute bollocks. By the time they've finished the course and got a job (!) they'll have a decent enough starting salary to pay the bloody loan off within a year easily! I borrowed 11k last year, and I'm paying it off easily NOW earning far less than I'd be earning in 3 yrs time with a degree! Honestly, wtf is there to complain about?!?!

Always after a free lunch, that's the trouble. Too busy squandering their money on dope and partys. Irrisponsible, short-sighted fools sucking the blood and money from this country.

I feel better for that

[Raz316]

If I didnt know better I'd say you've moaned once or twice before

I start Uni in september, and financially I'm sound. Granted I've been working full time since I was 18 (and I'm 21) so I should be.

[Shad]

Exactly how higher education should be Raz, get out there and discover what you want to do, then get qualified. Get some damn life experience first.

Then at least you can fund your own way!

[Bunjiweb]

i could reply and rant on and make little - no sense at all, but i'll cut it short by saying i agree with you Shad...


Ben

[Russ]

xtr has s*** loads of qualifictions form uni, where u work XTR?

experince is important shad

[J4MES]

er, i think the objection is to paying £3k a year in fees, plus needing loans of £3k a year to pay for food/rent etc (beer?)...

[tiggerai]

so when we're paying all that off, and trying to start a family and get on the property ladder, we'll all be swimming in money... oh yeah... of course...

i wish people would stop moaning about students moaning, it gets right on my tits. (believe me, you don't want to do that!)

There is a definite objection to paying £3k a year... plus a loan on top of that... that means a debt of at least £24k and that's before you've even thought about mortgages / cars / families etc. I for one am not looking forward to graduating with just £13k in debt, let alone more.

and how am i supposed to raise a family knowing i've got that kind of debt hanging over my head already? it scares the bejeesus out of me.

shad: "Always after a free lunch, that's the trouble. Too busy squandering their money on dope and partys. Irrisponsible, short-sighted fools sucking the blood and money from this country."
I take HUGE offence to that. When I am at uni I do not party and squander all my money on dope. I work EVERY holiday to earn money to live on. Yes i might be short sighted, but contact lenses sort that out. Yes, free lunch, because it's better than the crap we have to live on. (try living on £10 a week for 9 months then tell me who wouldn't pass up a free lunch!) I think you are passing judgement too quickly. Woe betide you if you ever cross my path.
If it wasn't for my loan, i wouldn't be able to live at uni.
My accomodation is £2k, tuition fees £1200 all out of a £3k loan, that's me down by £200 and i haven't started eating or reading books yet.

BTW... what kind of starting salary were you thinking of??
minus the loan repayments and the tax... it doesn't leave you with much.

[floppybootstomp]

The worst students are student teachers.

What's their path? School >> College >> Uni >> Back to school, where they then attempt to get students ready for the 'real world'. Of which they have no real experience.

That was my rant

Time was in the UK, only the rich were able to attend University. This kept the plebs down and firmly in their place and thus the Hooray Henries kept the working class firmly in their place as factory fodder, pit workers etc.

Then it all changed. Anybody who had the brains could take exams and gain entrance to a University, gain a degree and get a decent job. And all for free, paid for by the State.

I believe it was a Labour Goverment that implemented those changes, but it was before my time.

And now Tony Blair, supposedly a socialist, is changing it back again. Soon, if your family ain't loaded, you just won't be able to gain that degree. Which I personally think is a shame.

I say education in this country should be a right, not a privilege, and that providing you have the intelligence to make it, you should be able to acquire a degree.

Having said that, I also think it should be compulsory for every student to have at least six months work experience before starting a course.

/end of rant # 2

[Cat Woman]

and how am i supposed to raise a family knowing i've got that kind of debt hanging over my head already? it scares the bejeesus out of me.

Im right with you there. Some of us work our ar$es off to get in to a reputable course and get a great portfolio etc and then discover that there are no jobs in that division as thousands of other people have taken the same course and have got there first.
Im currently doing a HND after doing an ND just to get on to my degree course as it is the only course of its kind in England (Contour fashion, lingerie, bridalwear, swimwear). I will be in education for at least another 4/5 years yet which means i might have to pay back over 20k by the end of it and now they're adding to the debt with this larger course fees idea!

I worked for Abbey on my year out and I worked much harder than the people that were making a career out of it and i was only 19.I had nothing but retail experience beforehand.

Not all of us are spongers/dope smokers/work shy, a lot of us are just trying to get the best we can out of life and follow our dreams!

[tiggerai]

Right on sister!!

(P.S where in MK are you?)

[Cat Woman]

I'll send u a p.m.

[Angus]

The problem with degrees now are that too many people do them.

If you have a select few that get degrees because they are intelligent, then they can command higher wages. If you have many people doing degrees then the graduates saturate the market and the employers can have their pick of anyone they want. Hence Graduate wages decrease (or reamin static compared to inflation).

The way I think that the university system should work is that students are sponsored by industry to do their degree. Obviously the better the student; the better offer they get (from bigger company etc.) This means that students from poorer backgrounds won't be affected by tuition fees etc. and uni entry would be more about merit than money.

Industry would only sponsor graduates as required; so only the intelligent would get degrees and such a qualification would actually be worth something.

At the moment there are so many people doing degrees that the UK is lacking in skilled tradesmen.

Well that's me done

[Skii]

Agreed.

Too many people are going to too many Universities to do too many degrees.

Will an employer care that you have a degree in Sociology ? No. This idiotic government idea that we need as many people as possible in higher education is utter tosh - we can't afford to fund all these people obtaining qualifications that will be of no use to them once they leave university.

[Steve]

I'm starting a job soon - of which half my monthly wage I'll be putting in my savings account, as I fear I won't have a cat in hell's chance of affording uni.

However, a sponsorship is really what I'm after.

[Cat Woman]

People who have commented on students having work experience, I'd like to say on my course its essential in the first year and you are more likely to get a job at that particular place if they've seen you churn out money making designs.

I believe most sandwich courses have a years work experience sometimes abroad.
When i say sandwich i mean the 4 year courses, not a sandwich making course although it does sound appealing.

[Bindibadgi]

Always after a free lunch, that's the trouble. Too busy squandering their money on dope and partys. Irrisponsible, short-sighted fools sucking the blood and money from this country.

See this is what i bloody hate. I will pay MORE NI and MORE tax on my earnings when i leave uni if i get that "better job". Not only that, but i work at LEAST the same amount as you, but the difference is when you get home you dont have to think about work anymore. I get home, and i do work. I get up and i do work. Im in 9-5 most days, then i go home and do work.

What's it like for parents with multiple kids at uni?? Itll end up like the US having to save for a collage fund from birth. Itll put people off going to uni and getting educated WHICH IS AGAINST government policy??

Dont stereotype us all please, some of us work hard. I start my life of work after uni with a debt, i bet you didnt when you started work. Not only that, what happens if people drop out? Or if they dont get a good job?? It relys on theory that fits everyone into a single mold and just doesnt work.

The thing is - if you're going to uni do a degree that means something. When i come out ill have a core science degree which, imo, means more than an arts subject *dons flameproof suit*. EDIT: Actually im taking this back, some arts subjects are ok, but very few do the same degree of work as a science. But at the end of the day, i spose its what job you want to get. Experience dose account for a lot though, ill admit, but during the summer ive been lucky and worked in industry so am pretty well off experience wise.

Im sorry if this has been said before, but im only adding to the wave

EDIT: I dont hate you ... much (needed some smilies to mellow the mood )

EDIT2: The qty of courses is the governments fault - they want something like 50% of the population into further education by 2010 (or something stupid like that) so they are effectively decreasing the value of the whole system. Cheers Tony