So uni fees are going to increase?

[nearlylovemyusername]

University sector calls on Labour to raise tuition fees to ‘stabilise the ship’ (ft.com)

Given paywall, the essence it this:

"One former university vice-chancellor said the fact that Labour had acknowledged the sector was “in crisis” indicated that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Phillipson, who have not ruled out a tuition fee increase, were likely to act.

“The short-term pain of putting up fees could be blamed on the Tory inheritance . . . and then traded against a transition to a better deal for young people, which Labour can deliver before next general election,” he said."

So it won't be limited by VAT on PS, uni fees will be up, potentially significantly and repayments for higher earning grads will go up much more - this is what artical says.

Oh they can sod off. By the time my little one is old enough, it won't be worth going. I'm going to make sure she knows that degree apprenticeships are an option, hoping she would rather travel the world! She can of course be whatever she wants to be but I'd be gutted if she wants to spend her savings I'm putting away for her on University.

I'm going to make sure she knows that degree apprenticeships are an option,

If the sector goes under who do you think will be able to provide the degree part of degree apprenticeships?

What if your dc wants to study History, or English or any other non-training type degree?

degree apprenticeships are rare too and there are a lot of kids chasing them.

They can be pro US all they like but a US degree will be expensive for most as full rides are hard to come by.

I'd also question the point on quality, I have former students at Colombia who got further maths A level and who have been able to skip the first and second year of maths classes which are intended for those who want to take it further not as a core subject.

Free rides are means tested so there will be very few getting a free rides from an independent school. It's likely to be limited to those on full bursaries.

I do know someone on a free ride at Harvard. Straight A student, parents separated and in low income jobs and went to a comp in a very deprived area.

I think a lot of people don't realise that equity in family homes is also considered by some US schools as part of assessing need.

Yale do, as do Cornell and Columbia, Harvard don't. It really rather illustrates that people talk nonsense.

Most US colleges provide scholarships or part scholarships specifically for Indian children and they aren’t means tested.

Where there's a will, there's a way. The brightest and the best will be able to find an option, it's just sad that this path is becoming more difficult for many.

We may argue all we like, but UK unis are slipping in international ranks, that's the fact. There is a lot of wrong attitudes in Britain now against aspiration and success.

The point is that those who will be able to make it will be mainly the most driven, ambitious and intelligent ones. There is a very strong chance that those going to study abroad won't return to the UK and it's a huge loss for the country.

"Most US colleges provide scholarships or part scholarships specifically for Indian children and they aren’t means tested."

Hmmm, wouldn't you need to be an Indian student studying in India to qualify?

The rules are pretty strict about who is eligible.

This is such a lot of guff, said by people usually who are having their privileges challenged.

UK universities are slipping down international rankings mainly due to being excluded from funding from the EU and associated bodies, the QS rankings take into account post graduate work done and not just the undergraduate experience, so many US universities are on there that would not provide as good as a teaching experience as UK ones. This is due to the massive difference in endowments that they have.

" There is a lot of wrong attitudes in Britain now against aspiration and success."

No there really aren't, again this is just guff, taxes on our highest earners and wealthiest are lower than in most other countries.

Although preaching about going to the US, which has the lowest level of social mobility of any country as a thing of aspiration is rather hilarious.

What you mean is, the US will continue to let you buy rather than earn your privileges, the UK won't

“Where there's a will, there's a way.”

Yep, DS2 going to ETH Zurich. No 7 in the world rankings, he can do the free exchange with MIT (No 1 in the world). He will be paid 20 pounds per hour for work in Zurich. Uni pretty much free. He will be living with family for free. It makes perfect sense to him.
Still hoping he may come back for a Phd, we shall see. But my brother ended up staying there. So who knows.

Love how you all fail to acknowledge that in the QS rankings 3 the top 5 are UK universities.

4 out of the top 10.

The US has the same. :)

It's going to badly for the UK.

It actually has 9/50 which means that it massively out performs for the population size/ no of Universities.

Although I question the QS a lot, Manchester and Kings are ranked above LSE

"This is such a lot of guff, said by people usually who are having their privileges challenged."

Gosh, if you could only know my story 😂
My parents were starving for many years to afford to feed me when I was a child

Yes and everyone tells the truth on the internet don't they.

Everyone comes from hard backgrounds and made it through their own graft.

Even people like Elon Musk like to make this claim.

Even if true, it also doesn't mean you don't have privileges now.

Do you wnat to care to explain how the UK "hates aspiration".

Even people who say they teach economics in one of the top London indis 😉

As mentioned before, let's compare notes in 2029

@Araminta1003 So like many, you are also hugely privileged. My DD did a semester at Geneva, thanks to Erasmus. Others just have connections whilst others on these threads think that’s entirely wrong. Most dc won’t get to live and study in Switzerland. Let alone earn enough to live there.

Funded by the government via tax payers

I never claimed I came from poverty.

It's a common trope on the internet when someone mentions privilege.

In reality, anyone going abroad to study is relatively privileged. Most students in the UK rely on the loan for the fee and accommodation, which you can't get from the SLC if studying abroad.

@TizerorFizz - no idea if we are privileged. Don’t feel rich because we have 4 DC to support and the prospect of uni for all 4 is quite overwhelming!
DS2 is gifted in Maths and my brother works in Zurich in tech and trading, so that is why DS can go study there and live for free. Housing costs in Zurich are prohibitive.
We also have family in the US and elsewhere. All options for the youngest and we shall explore what makes most sense at the time and what it is they want to do.

My kids stay home and travel to uni. They will still be 45k in debt by the end of it. They need uni to get the job they want in the nhs. So yes it's a choice but if people stop the nhs will have very few workers in years to come unless they get them from abroad.

The nhs won’t really care what uni but other dc do need to be far more careful. My “home” uni is bottom 10%. Is that all I’m worth? Or my DC? Fine if you are in Bath or Leeds - not fine at all for us country bumpkins.

Debt is immaterial in some ways - repayments are based on earnings. The nhs is getting workers from abroad. Our trained people leave the uk! So what value are they?

To be fair I've always hated the "ratings" systems of universities, there are a great many post '92 unis that do a great job but have lower ratings due to the fact that they don't do as much research that generates money, get high level grants etc.

One way of measuring is "graduate prospects" which is all very well if you are a university in the Russell Group etc which are basically the home counties on tour, with a high percentage of students coming from private schools or well off backgrounds. Students leave, move back the the home counties/London, earn more due to weighting or can live at home for internships and be supported during them and this increases their prospects.

Not quite the same for somewhere like Teeside where 75% of students are part time, and local, will remain local afterwards and tend to go into public sector roles or get lower paid jobs in industry because of where they are located.

Don't even get me started on parents that bang on about RG universities and their average incomes afterwards without really understanding the data.

a university in the Russell Group etc which are basically the home counties on tour, with a high percentage of students coming from private schools or well off backgrounds.

😁Although a slight exaggeration perhaps @Aladdinzane , bit of a mixed bag the RG.

However

Don't even get me started on parents that bang on about RG universities and their average incomes afterwards without really understanding the data

is a spot on assessment. Though perhaps schools / colleges that bang on about them / have them as performance metrics are even worse, and ought to know better.

Evidence?

I think you are talking nonsense here.