To consider moving to Wales, to avoid tuition fees?

[serin]

We live very close to the Welsh border (crossing it most days), and it just seems so unfair that my kids will have to pay uni tuition fees yet if we moved few miles away they might not have to. Although I am aware that this situation may change in the future.

Anyone know how long one has to be resident there to qualify?

Don't get me wrong - I think the current HE policies are dreadful and I deplore the marketisation of education. But I have a real worry that the poorest children - those for whom there is lots of help available, but who are likely to be more debt-averse than children from wealthier backgrounds - will be frightened off even considering uni. All that happens then it's that it's the richest who go, not the brightest.

I don't agree that postgrads should be supported though. There really is only so much money to go round and I'd rather it was spent on early years than on people who've already had the opportunity of HE.

Runlolarun, I think you need 3 years' ordinary residence in your country of choice before the beginning of the course.

Right now it's a bit like this: the richest and brightest go to the best places. The rich but not so smart into the second best. And the rest apparently don't matter to the govt. I am sorry but this ' inequality and unfairness' is here to stay for a bit I don't see unis hiring the good experienced research active staff back again. I don't see them lowering fees and I don't know if they can question Scotland anymore.

I have no idea what the situation is now, I went to uni 6ish years ago (can't remember exactly) but I grew up in England and went to Cardiff University (incidentally v. good for engineering). My boyfriend also went to Cardiff. I moved over the border to Cardiff with him in the summer before he started, but took a gap year so I could earn some money before starting uni. Because I had moved to Wales not technically for the purpose of education (I had moved to be with my boyfriend), when I started uni I could claim all sorts of Welsh Assembly grants to cover tuition fees etc. I'd only lived in Wales for 12 months by the time I started uni and had done no schooling there.

Like I said, this was a few years ago now, but I'd carefully study the rules.

That's all assuming the situation stays the same between now and your DC going to uni, if they want to/are able to.

As an aside, I think the whole uni system's wrong - 50% should be going to university? Bollocks should they. Also, my maintenance student loan debt is just getting larger - interest is being added much faster than the salary deductions are paying it off. It's almost like a graduate tax already - except the richer people end up paying less and the poorest people pay less as they never pay it all back. It's the middling people who are screwed, but that seems to be par for the course these days.

Three years in the country, not just for educational purposes. Things might change in the meantime. Move if that's where you'd like to live anyway.

I think that our children will have a different attitude towards debt and won't consider a student debt of upwards of £30,000 such a big deal. With fees going up to £9,000 not quite so many families will be able to pay this upfront, so more people will have these large debts. Therefore, for our children, it won't be such a big deal amongst their peers.

I'd do it!