My son failed his university degree

[SHMumindespair]

I feel at a loss. Could I have done more? I was supposed and looking forward to a university graduation when my son sends a message that he will.jot tet a degree. He filed too many times. 4vyears. £70000 debt and no degree. Future ruined. I am.just at a loss and just crying, feeling a mix of anger, disappointment, responsibility.... I could go on but feel like a failure myself as a mother.

@HungryLittleCrocodile We don’t have 50% of school leavers going to uni. It’s more like 38%. With uncapped places it’s risen and risen. In the workforce around 50% have degrees.

@RampantIvy I just think people put their heads in the sand. Uni has been an expense for decades. The big problem is living costs in new blocks. We have these at the expense of sinful housing. So if unis scaled back - social housing could be improved!

I do think we have too many graduating and getting non grad jobs. It’s not even a tax if you do not earn much! You pay next to nothing back. Single parents I know work part time to ensure dc get bursaries and full loans. They pay nothing but dc have more than dc from hard working families. Difficult to know how to sort this out but work doesn’t always pay!

@TizerorFizz

The 50% target of higher education was set by Blair in 1999 and was reached in 2017-18

Exactly! It was 50% for a while. I didn't realise it had dropped to just under 40%. Probably because of the outlandish debt you get with it! Even so, nearly 40% is too much IMO. 4 out of 10 people do not need to go to university. 2 out of 10 would be better IMO.

As has been said, there is just not enough degree-related jobs and careers for so many post grads! (And like I said earlier, it's created a shortage of blue collar workers/tradies!

Glad to hear the amount of people going to uni has dropped a bit tbh. A few less people will have a shed load of student debt now, and can pursue other avenues. (Like apprenticeships.) Hopefully it drops a bit more, and only people who really should be at uni end up going. (ie; very academically smart people.)

I don't know if the OP is going to come back but my son recently graduated and it looks like you can collect credits for different levels of award, so you may well be able to salvage something from a failed degree:

Undergraduate Integrated Masters Degrees 480
Honours Degrees 360
Ordinary Degrees 300
Foundation Degrees 240
Undergraduate Diplomas 240
Undergraduate Certificates 120
University Certificate 60

@HungryLittleCrocodile Er no. HE is all post 18 study. So includes diplomas. University degree numbers have grown and grown. Lots of apprentice degrees are undertone bg existing employees and they are adults. Lots of degree holders in the workforce didn’t get their degrees here. So 50% never was all 18 year olds. It’s about degree holders in the workforce, and that’s different.

I do think we have too many degrees where dc don’t get degree level work. Even dc from sought after unis cannot get very much. I think the sector does need to contract and more dc head to work with day release. Apprenticeships. However these are absent if you don’t live near a big employer who employs degree level people. So in this case, the DC could try for a new career and get day release I think.

My son went to Uni and got a Desmond (2.2) Came out got a reasonable job, but could not take a promotion because repayment of his student loan would have kicked in and he would have ended up
Worse off financially if he took the promotion. Uni is a money making con imo. I told him not to go. I think he regrets it now as he probably could have got this job with A levels and could have took the promotion.

I think he regrets it now as he probably could have got this job with A levels and could have took the promotion

Interesting view - I think the issue is that a lot of jobs say they require a degree but actually it would be fine to have A levels. I think going to university good for helping young adults grow up and make the transition from being a kid at school or college to, well, an adult. But employers need to realise that degrees teach skills, they don't teach experience, and so employers need to be willing to train youngsters and give them that experience. At the moment you need an internship to get an internship.

With what I know now, the thing I would advise any 17 year old to do is apply for a sandwich course with a year in industry. Although I am not sure the placement is always guaranteed. But if it is, you are winning. A year's experience when you graduate.

could not take a promotion because repayment of his student loan would have kicked in and he would have ended up worse off financially if he took the promotion.

This is never the case, you only pay 9% on the sum over the threshold, not on the total amount, happy to be corrected but that is my understanding.

Yes I think that's right and it's a bit of a short term view as well, to refuse a promotion on those grounds.

@Makethisrainstop he should definitely take the promotion! It will be worth it financially in the long run. Is it too late for him to change his mind?

@Makethisrainstop

Uni is a money making con imo.

Who do you think is making the money?

Many people will do OK in ordinary 'unskilled labour' jobs. There are plenty available ... As I say, a lot of people don't need to go to university, and some should NOT go. It needs to drop down to about 15%.. The amount of debt some young people are in now with their student debt is sickening. It was a TERRIBLE idea from the government for 50% of people to go to university! The debt the country has now - because of this - is horrific.

You sound a bit hysterical. They pay back 9% of their income over the threshold, and will be for many years so not really an onerous arrangement.

He would not be able to pay his rent and bills and driving lessons. He's probably better off taking those driving lessons

I have not read the full thread but could he redo the final year? My son did a 3 year degree in 4 as stopped year 3 as late with dissertation and then resumed year 4.

I don’t know if anyone’s mentioned this yet, but continuing elsewhere or at the same university may be a problem because he’s likely exhausted his student loan funding.

My husband got a third and has a very well paid job. It is terribly disappointing but he will move on and hopefully find something in life that he loves doing. X

this Just doesn’t make sense. Using the latest plan where threshold is £25k as an example, just change the threshold figure if on a different plan:

Someone earning £25k a year (no repayments)
Someone earning £26k earns £25k plus pays 9% on the £1k after tax. So they are not taking a pay cut. It just doesn’t make sense what your son has told you.

If person took promotion, paid into work pension

Would this take the person under the level to start paying the university loan ?

Or are uni loans taken before a company pension ?

It’s gross pay, before any deductions I believe.

Yes but if you pay in extra through salary sacrifice , it can reduce student loan payment.

If you pay in to a personal pension, whether monthly through your company payroll or directly as a lump sum, student loan contributions are worked out using your gross pay, unless you pay in to your pension by salary sacrifice

Some info here

www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan

Back in the day before every man and his dog went to Uni it didn't matter if you got a third because it could get you accepted for teacher training. Now I believe it's a 2.1 . People said my son had failed because he got a 2.2 . He enjoyed his time at uni and learned how to stand on his own two feet but I think he would have done ok without going to Uni . His life / his choices . He's happy healthy and in the same career path and level as a lot of his friends who got a 2.1

I also read in the DM about a lad who sat his degree through the open university over three years . It took an incredible amount of self discipline but he did it and ended up with a good job . Maybe the OP son could go down this route as he will have acquired some credits towards a degree ?

Unfortunately lots of employers who take lots of grads want a 2:1. That’s the current currency because very few get a 2:2.

I think you need a 2:2 for teaching training but not too sure