Graduated 2015 - shock of loan cost!

[goingmadinthecountry]

Dd1 graduated last year and her fees loan (didn't have maintenance loan) has increased already from the £27,000 for fees to £30, 160! Obviously lots of people are in the same boat but I'm truly shocked at the amount of interest already. Next year's MSc will be another £10500 before living expenses. Can't see her buying a flat anytime soon!

I think it's the amount of interest that's shocked me the most.

Yes probably on the other thread sorry! Well yes it is just an accounting point - none of its actual cash, but it's that accounting point that makes the budget deficit less than it was and this means the UK doesn't have to borrow as much from the European banks and means the UK's credit rating is pretty good compared to other countries. So it does have a real and tangible consequences economically.

are they published for all countries

The numbers I quoted come from Dutch sources, e.g.

www.epnuffic.nl/en/internationalisation/mobility-statistics/incoming-degree-mobility/countries-of-origin

Ireally I would argue it is just an accounting point. Out of curiosity I just had a look at Oxford's Financial statements:

"Income
Compared with the previous year, income to the University rose by 21.7%, from £1,174.4 million to £1,429.3 million.........

...........The main changes in 2014/15 were:
■ research grants and contracts continued to be the largest source of income to the University and increased by
9.3% to £522.9 million, most of which was matched by related expenditure; the University has continued to
receive increased research income from the UK Research Councils, UK charities and the EU;
■ grants from HEFCE were slightly higher than the prior year at £183.5 million. A reduction in the recurrent
teaching grant in line with the increase in fees was largely offset by a rise in research funding. Extra funding was
received in 2014/15 for a short-term scholarship scheme and the release of capital funding to income totalled
£12.6 million compared to £7.2 million in 2013/14;

■ academic fees and support grants represent the second largest source of University income and totalled £258.3
million, up by 9.5% as a result of increased fee levels, reflecting the fact that in 2014/15 three cohorts of
students were paying the higher fees;........"

£258.3m in fees is in the context of total income of £1429.3m - so while fees are part of the equation they are by no means the only or indeed the most significant element.

Oxford is however hardly representative, even of the "Russell Group", as it has extremely high research income, so teaching income is indeed a smaller percentage of total income.

Actually I am a Glasgow graduate and when I looked at their accounts the breakdown was roughly the same.

But this thread is about teaching funding, not research funding. Governments funding now accounts for 10% of the average university teaching funds, with fees paid by the student being the other 90%. 10 years ago the percentages were reversed.

Dd had her first loan deduction this week - £18 from this week's payslip. She earns nothing like 21k but got some back holiday pay from her temp job . Unfair.

wonders if people aren't kind of missing the bigger point here - an interest rate of 3.5% over inflation while studying is cruel. The repayments are also structured to keep you in debt for 30 years. You may have a "debt" written off then but meanwhile you will have paid a small fortune in interest. The government have effectively introduced a 9% tax hike for a large part of the population.

an interest rate of 3.5% over inflation while studying is cruel

But it's nowhere near commercial loan terms. Rates for career development loans from banks would be worse, and you are expected to pay back in full regardless of your income from the moment you finish your course (or even before).

Was surprised to hear the other day that EU students at UK universities can get load from the SLC, and that the SLC does not have mechanism to chase up if those students subsequently go abroad - ie back to their home country. Which, if true, seems crazy.

titchy that is part of the point I was trying to make. So far the introduction of fees does not look to have increased funding for teaching students. It is far more the case that there has instead been a transfer away from general taxation towards taxation of graduates in the form of 9% student loan pay back. The original justification for introducing fees was indeed to increase funding and this is also the reasoning being used to justify increasing fees.

I also don't buy the argument that the uneducated working classes end up funding tertiary education for the aspiring middle classes under a general taxation system. It has never been the case that the poorly paid uneducated working classes make a positive net contribution to the tax system. It is much more the case that the wealthier you are to start with the less need of University education you have. It is my understanding that University fees are a tax transfer from general taxation of wealth and high earners to particular taxation of education.

It is also not the case that prior to the "golden age" of grants in the 60s and 70s working class women were excluded from education. My working class grandmother was a 1920s University graduate with a fully funded teaching bursary (women were about 25% of graduates). The barriers for women gaining from University education were much more to do with access to the jobs market than they were to do with access to education.

There is a mechanism to enforce abroad mrs guy, and i assume that some is recovered - but i think there are arrears. Earlier this year the government announced it would step up efforts to enforce against people working overseas who weren't repaying, though i can't remember if they were referring mainly to uk nationals or other eu nationals as well.

That is one point about a loan instead of graduate tax - you can enforce it against those who work overseas, otherwise you could avoid any repayment by emigrating. I don't think arrears are wiped out after 30 years so theoretically the amount could be recovered if you came back to retire (i think)!

the biggest problem with arrears is with students from the EU returning to other countries thepienews.com/news/uk-43-eu-student-loans-outstanding-state-funding-system-under-threat/

The problem continues to increase.

Commercial loan terms may be higher but howabout is right - we've stopped taxing wealth and started taxing education.

Yes, they used the argument big loans and £9k fees would increase funding but that has not happened.

MrsGuy - EU students also pay the same fees as local students. So a French national studying in Scotland doesn't pay fees (whilst an English national pays the full amount - usually £9k). I still can't work out why this is allowed - it seems really unfair (especially as the English student is also an EU student - at least at the moment).