University fees - is it true that European universities are much cheaper and British kids can apply?

[nkf]

Could that be one way round this obscene amount of money that has to be paid in the UK?

Another reason to learn German or French!

The Government can vary the interest rate on student loans whenever they like, and can change the other T&Cs very rapidly.

And PattyPenguin's point about how banks might view student debt when assessing eg size of mortgage offer is well made.

I'm saving, and will certainly encourage DC to look overseas for their degrees (or do something else plus OU) simply because I do not want them caught up in the politics of repayments, graduate taxes etc.

For degrees that lead to professions that require you to be chartered or registered in some way, you'd need to make sure that the foreign degree course is recognised by the appropriate professional body in the UK, if your DC intend to work in the UK.

Titchy, I bet they can change the rules for people who have taken loans out already.

They did with me and my 20 year old loan. Used to go up at the rate of inflation based on CPI which was nothing. So now they've changed it to rpi and the amount I owe is increasing at a rate of 5%.

I don't think it has been mentioned but the loan you can take for living costs in the uk doesn't even cover rent, let alone the rest of the costs, at a lot of UK Unis. A friends child recently quite liked a hall of residence which has rent of £6500 a year.

If you are living in England and your child is only just starting secondary school, you could do worse than to move to Scotland - or Wales. I'm not sure how long the residence qualification is - someone here will know - 5 years?
This English government should never have shrugged off its responsibility to educate its young, especially when it is those same young people who will keep us in our old age. It is shameful.

I agree that debt is a bad thing, plain and simple. Deep debt, promoted by the government, for our brightest 18 and 19 year olds (but not, of course, those of the Cameron/Clegg/Osborne social class). Sickening.

It can't really be a healthy mindset, can it, to encourage people to think, OK, I'll take on £30,000 (or £40,000 or £50,000) of debt and not worry about it, because I probably shan't have to pay it off -?

Quite right about the business of goalposts being likely to be moved. No promises were made about the rules being fixed - and just look what happened when promises WERE made to our young people before the last general election.

And may I add something else that's great about German unis?

The halls of residence! Where I went, I had a single room apartment with my own kitchen and bathroom for 195 Euros a MONTH!!!
The canteen called Mensa in German did healthy 3 course meals for 1.95 Euros. This was 5 years ago, so prices will have gone up a little but not much. My DD is being raised biligually and I'm pretty sure she won't be going to university in the UK. Or maybe she will as we are in Scotland...

Studying overseas is one possibility, but will still in most cases need parental support for living costs.

But at my uni, the applications seem to suggest that studying locally is the growing trend. If you live in some areas such as London or the Midlands were there is a great choice of unis and courses, why run up lots of debts for rent?

We too are considering sending ds to study (probably engineering) in Germany or Switzerland. Great courses, cheaper fees and better quality of living (and probably better job prospects!)

I was looking into this and was excitedly telling my sister I had thought of a great way for DCs to go to UNI without getting loads of debt. She brought me down to earth by pointing out that a lot of degrees depend on where you have studied, so basically the same point that Greythorne made about choosing the right sort of Uni. Also BikeRunSki made a valid point about making sure degrees obtained overseas are recognised here in the UK. Not trying to put a dampener on it, if you can find a good Uni with a course recognised in the Uk, then it is definitely worth considering, but it may not be the Utopia it at first appears especially when you take into account the living costs ! Wish our government would just see the benefit of investing in further education and abolish or reduce the fees substantially.

But certainly a very good reason to push dcs towards MFL at GCSE level.

I'll certainly be encouraging mine to look long & hard at studying abroad, especially if the affordable alternative is staying at home & going to the local Uni.

It's good, as it happens, but I'd like to see them spread their wings a bit more than pottering off to a course down the road, probably taught by someone I know.

As tempting as it sounds, you will have to think about other factors.

Flights home add to your costs and you are assuming that your child will be happy to go and study in a foreign country. Not just for a semester but for the full 3 or 4 year course.

German unis are indeed much cheaper and some teaching is in English but not all (depending on the Uni)

You are more likely to find English classes in larger towns, which are then more expensive for living costs. Halls of Residence are often only available for the first year, then students have to find a private flat.

In Munich or Hamburg a one bedroom flat can easily cost €500 a month, although most people share larger flats and only pay for a room.