Worried about rise in tuition fees

Do they still not have to pay tuition fees in Scotland?

That young man came from a very privileged background. Don't think he'd have been greatly burdened with debt.

He'll be able to continue his studies in prison and not be landed with a big debt for student fees!
Hooray.
Nicely takes us back to the topic of this thread.

I go bed now. Night night. x

He is very young.

Hopefully he will be able to continue his studies in prison. All may not be lost for him.

Lots of people get wound up, break the law, then cool down and regret it.

Lots of people get wound up for perfectly justifiable reasons, but they control themselves and don't break the law.

Yes, his life chances are ruined. Thank God, he didn't ruin anyone elses.

I bet he regretted it as soon as he cooled down.

Two and a half years. His life chances ruined.

No. Its too much.

I know.

But still....

Sorry jangly I can't agree that throwing that fire extinguisher can be excused under any circumstances. I doubt whether you would think it was reasonable either if it had landed on someone you care about. Thank goodness it didn't.

I have been chatting about this with he-who-knows-everything ie my son , and I think I have actually changed my views. They are going to have HUGE debts to pay off, mortgage type debts. Apparently there are only three or four unis who are charging less than about £9000 a year so that's £27,000, and then there is interest which builds up fast if they can't pay it back quickly.

Apparently we are going to fall way behind other european countries in the future because we won't have enough skilled people and overseas firms won't want to invest in us.

And this government has buggered spoiled things for the young by doing away with the education maintenance allowance just when bus fares have gone sky high. Now we are going to have more young people out of work instead of learning in college.

Perhaps young people are getting a really raw deal.

I suppose that is why they were banging on Charles and Camilla's car during the protests. And I worry about that young man in prison for throwing the fire extinguisher. Heat of the moment in a reasonable cause? Seems unfair to lock him up.

Notso you are a very remarkable gran! There was a lot of knee-jerk reaction to the new scheme for repaying university fees. If it had been called a graduate tax - which it very closely resembles - would there have been such enormous protests?

I have two teenage grandchildren who were initially up in arms about increased charges but I explained ......
1. The government cannot afford to pay for you to have a university education. They agreed.
2. Your future career prospects and life choices will be considerably enhanced if you attend university. They agreed.
3. You will be in a better position to earn a higher than average salary if you attend university. They agreed.

I then asked 'So who should be paying for you to have all these additional benefits? Either yourselves once you have a good job and are earning enough to pay back the fees? OR Should it be paid for by the people on basic wages working at McDonalds or out of my pension?

Nuff said.

jangly Just seen you have posted on grandchildren's bones at 14.19.49
You asked to be shot so - BANG!! BANG !!

BTW if anyone sees me on Gransnet again today please shoot me.

Ta.

I feel a bit upset that my daughter seems to have decided that neither of my grandsons will be going to university because of this debt. In practice I don't think the debt is so painful as it seems at first. The employer would take a smallish sum out of their wages each month. And then its only after they start to earn a certain amount. Its like an extra tax to pay for something that you have had.

University has got to be good for the "growing up" aspect hasn't it, as well as the learning?

Money Saving Expert has produced a guide to student finance which may help to set students' and parents' minds at rest.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/student-finance

Not going to university isn't the end of the world

I was lucky enough to go myself - but that was back in the days of full grants and when a degree really helped with a leg up the career ladder.

These days, with so many going to university, the reverse is often true and employers in many fields are looking for skills rather than academic learning. Two of my 3 children chose to eschew uni after 6th form in favour of apprenticeships, having decided that starting their adult lives under huge debt was/is not their ideal.

My youngest, at 18, has only just started his IT apprenticeship but is enjoying both learning in a practical way and earning a wage. My eldest, at 22, has finished her apprenticeship and is reaping the rewards in terms of a job that she loves, her own place, an income far in excess of that of her friends who chose university and .... instead of a mountain of debt she has substantial savings with which she intends to travel extensively (whilst plying her skills and experience wherever she goes).

Thanks for your response harrigran. Personally, I would be happy to help out, but my counterparts on the other side of the family tree don't seem as keen. And let's not forget, this is a LOT of money we're talking about.

I've helped out my older grandchildren but this is three times as much! Does anyone else feel cheated that the government has imposed this on families like ours? Why does it come down to us - my grandchildren are independent people and would love to do it for themselves, if they were only given a chance.

I understand your worry, can both sets of grandparents not contribute a little ? Most of my friends children have financed themselves at uni by working part time too. Where there's a will there's a way as my mother used to say.