UK V US universities. Tables have turned re costs?

[yellowbananasorangemelons]

When I was a student (93-97) I got a grant and a small loan. I was there just as loans were being introduced. Left with £6k of debt.
My neighbour was an American exchange student. I remember her telling us how much her education was costing and being absolutely gobsmacked. And feeling so lucky that I was in the UK.

I've just seen the thread about Uk fees rising again and am so sad that is where we are.

But I'm also curious. I got the impression (and I could be completely wrong) that I'm the US there are lots of options for scholarships/ financial assistance, basically many ways that a student can apply for reduced or no fees. So although college is incredibly expensive, it can also be affordable for many depending on their circumstances.

From talking to friends at that stage (our DC are still at secondary), the threshold for being entitled to anything about the basic tuition loan of pretty low. It seems that degree apprenticeships would be the way to go but I imagine they are incredibly competitive.

Have I got it completely wrong? Or are we now in a place where uni here is far more expensive than the states purely because there are zero options for scholarships etc here?

We are in the States and the cost of university has risen in the past 30 yrs by something like 400%.

There is financial aid at the top universities for those who genuinely cannot afford it but have excellent academic credentials, prizes, sports allocates and top scores in the SAT etc. But given the acceptance rate for those places is something like 3% of all applicants, this cannot be relied on for every top student.

There's also a lot of universities trying to attract more top students, due to the fact they have a deficit of them. University of Alabama in the past few years would offer a free ride (100% tuition and living costs paid) to anyone with a certain grade level and top SAT score. I'm not sure that is still something they offer.

And there are a ton of universities to choose from, of wildly varying quality. Top high school students can attract merit aid at places that are generally lower ranking than they'd normally aim for, but for the majority of students whose grades are very good / average and their parents are in the "donut hole" financially - ie they aren't poor enough for FA but they aren't rich enough to pay the costs of attending easily, so there is a lot of debt taken on.

We live in California where there are some top universities. If my DD wanted to go to UCLA the tuition is much lower than anywhere else in the country, $15000 per year (for those coming in from out of state its more like $40k per year tuition) . And her accommodation would be approximately $20k per year. This is for 4 yrs. It is still more of a saving for us to send her to the UK and pay international fees for 3 yrs.

So taking all this on board, an extra 2,000 pounds per year for UK home fees, looks small fry, though of course it is going to impact a lot of families badly.

https://www.topuniversities.com/where-to-study/europe/united-kingdom/uk-fifth-most-expensive-study-destination-world

This has us at fifth.

Top 10 countries in order of most expensive
Minimum yearly fees (in British Pound Sterling)
United States £19,968
New Zealand £14,335
Australia £11,453
Canada £10,376
United Kingdom £9,250

I think as PP point out there's more variation in cost that some headline figures suggest in USA at least and there patch work help available to some. There is some here - I got small grant to help with field work when I was studying DD1 was invited to apply for a grant at her Uni - she didn't get it but someone did.

Some top American universities now offer generous needs blind admissions to all students. For example at Harvard and Dartmouth if a student’s family earns less than US$100,000 pa, that student is fully funded by scholarships, grants and perhaps a bit of gentle part time university employment.

At Yale I think the threshold is lower, and I believe a handful of other top universities do the same thing. This includes tuition, residential, laboratory and other essential fees.

(BTW a few of these such as Harvard apply this criterion equally to Overseas students. The Fulbright Foundation website has more on this.)

Also some states such as California have excellent Community College programmes. In addition to providing vocational training, these often offer course units that will satisfy the General Education requirements of the state university system(s). The fees are nominal. If one completes the GE requirements for Cal State or UC with C’s or better in the CA CC system, one is guaranteed a place in the state system if choice. This reduces the fees discussed by PP from 4 years to 2 years.

Other states work similarly, and many have lower fees that UC to begin with (Cal State also has lower fees).

OTOH the sticker price at private universities, or the out of state fees at the best state universities, compared to UK fees, is shocking. Very little financial aid for the latter, as politicians believe the aid should be directed to the state taxpayers who are funding the university.