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[MR MISTER]

Student loans:
Outstanding loan debt £46 billion, expected to rise to £200 billion in the next 30 years.
About 50% of students not expected to ever earn enough to repay their debt.
£5 billion owed by students whose 'exact whereabouts' are unknown.

What it doesn't say is the number of female students who marry and never need to work. It also doesn't mention whether these loans are placed on people's credit records, thus burdening them for the rest of their lives. Does a mortgage lender take a student debt into account?

I will think very, very hard before advising g my son to go to uni.

[I_want_an_Omega]

Depends on what he wants to do career-wise really doesn't it?

If a proper choice of subject then there isn't much option really - IMHO

However, if its just for the "Uni Experience" and in some useless subject than that's another matter altogether. It's difficult enough not being able to get a job, but being saddled with a massive debt (and yes, it does go on your credit record and mortgage companies take it into account) and having no idea where that job will come from is another thing altogether and tantamount to sleep-walking.

Jumps off soap-box and heads for kettle 

[Varche]

I read that the Uk government sold on some of this debt. It was something like £300million for £146 million suggesting to me that a large amount would have to be chased or written off.

[cem_devecioglu]

question is : why schools are that much expensive ?

[cem_devecioglu]

besides , looking at the avg of graduates I dont think they deserve the money

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

When I left school in 1976 only 4% of people went on to university. This meant that almost everyone  who attended walked straight into a well paid job after leaving.

Today some 40% and more go on to university......devaluing the system, and leaving many graduates with huge debt as they flip burgers in McDonalds.
.

[MR MISTER]

I read that the Uk government sold on some of this debt. It was something like £300million for £146 million suggesting to me that a large amount would have to be chased or written off.

I think that was more like £900 million for £146 million.

[Sir Tigger KC]

These days my advice to young people would be to think very carefully about going to Uni in terms of the debt you will rack up and only do it if you are going to study something specific, that means you will come out not only with a qualification, but a skill.  So something like medicine, law, engineering etc 

I certainly wouldn't advise a media studies course or some vague 'ology' 

[Nickbat]

These days my advice to young people would be to think very carefully about going to Uni in terms of the debt you will rack up and only do it if you are going to study something specific, that means you will come out not only with a qualification, but a skill.  So something like medicine, law, engineering etc 

I certainly wouldn't advise a media studies course or some vague 'ology' 

PLEASE, no more lawyers! 

[Kevin Wood]

When I left school in 1976 only 4% of people went on to university. This meant that almost everyone  who attended walked straight into a well paid job after leaving.

Today some 40% and more go on to university......devaluing the system, and leaving many graduates with huge debt as they flip burgers in McDonalds.
.

.. and if they never progress beyond flipping burgers, it's OUR debt.

[bigegg]

These days my advice to young people would be to think very carefully about going to Uni in terms of the debt you will rack up and only do it if you are going to study something specific, that means you will come out not only with a qualification, but a skill.  So something like medicine, law, engineering etc 

I certainly wouldn't advise a media studies course or some vague 'ology' 

PLEASE, no more lawyers! 

I start my law degree in February 
Gonna run up about 20K in studentloans 

On the other hand, 20K is *not* that much - considering the sort of income I expect.
Certainly better than the one I had after doing the maths degree - and nearly killing myself with an office job 

Agreed about the "proper" degree tho - "media studies" (whatever the hell *that* is)  is unlikely to lead to a job where the degree pays for itself - unlike law  or engineering. Or off-shore welding for that matter.

[bigegg]

When I left school in 1976 only 4% of people went on to university. This meant that almost everyone  who attended walked straight into a well paid job after leaving.

Today some 40% and more go on to university......devaluing the system, and leaving many graduates with huge debt as they flip burgers in McDonalds.
.

.. and if they never progress beyond flipping burgers, it's OUR debt.

You could say that, BUT... that money goes to OUR universities. Our teachers. OUR pubs 
so is returned to the economy where (hopefully) it is used to increase the general wealth of the nation.

I find it quite <....> when people (newspapers!) talk about the government *wasting* money or spending *our* money - especially when it's "wasted" or "spent" in the UK.
It's being used to pay *our* wages, provide profits for *our* businesses, educate and employ *our* children.
You hear about the £50,000 toilet seat (or whatever it was) - but, as long as it was a british company who was selling them it, I can't see the problem - it's just *our* taxes being returned to circulation.

[Kevin Wood]

You could say that, BUT... that money goes to OUR universities. Our teachers. OUR pubs 
so is returned to the economy where (hopefully) it is used to increase the general wealth of the nation.

I find it quite <....> when people (newspapers!) talk about the government *wasting* money or spending *our* money - especially when it's "wasted" or "spent" in the UK.
It's being used to pay *our* wages, provide profits for *our* businesses, educate and employ *our* children.
You hear about the £50,000 toilet seat (or whatever it was) - but, as long as it was a british company who was selling them it, I can't see the problem - it's just *our* taxes being returned to circulation.

Fair point, but, if we're going to be writing off large amounts of student loan funding why don't we just call it a grant, and award it to those studying serious degree courses where there is a high likelihood of their subsequent career putting value back into the economy?

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

When I left school in 1976 only 4% of people went on to university. This meant that almost everyone  who attended walked straight into a well paid job after leaving.

Today some 40% and more go on to university......devaluing the system, and leaving many graduates with huge debt as they flip burgers in McDonalds.
.

.. and if they never progress beyond flipping burgers, it's OUR debt.

You could say that, BUT... that money goes to OUR universities. Our teachers. OUR pubs 
so is returned to the economy where (hopefully) it is used to increase the general wealth of the nation.

I find it quite <....> when people (newspapers!) talk about the government *wasting* money or spending *our* money - especially when it's "wasted" or "spent" in the UK.
It's being used to pay *our* wages, provide profits for *our* businesses, educate and employ *our* children.
You hear about the £50,000 toilet seat (or whatever it was) - but, as long as it was a british company who was selling them it, I can't see the problem - it's just *our* taxes being returned to circulation.

I can honestly say that I'd never spend more than £10,000 on a bog seat......

[bigegg]

You could say that, BUT... that money goes to OUR universities. Our teachers. OUR pubs 
so is returned to the economy where (hopefully) it is used to increase the general wealth of the nation.

I find it quite <....> when people (newspapers!) talk about the government *wasting* money or spending *our* money - especially when it's "wasted" or "spent" in the UK.
It's being used to pay *our* wages, provide profits for *our* businesses, educate and employ *our* children.
You hear about the £50,000 toilet seat (or whatever it was) - but, as long as it was a british company who was selling them it, I can't see the problem - it's just *our* taxes being returned to circulation.

Fair point, but, if we're going to be writing off large amounts of student loan funding why don't we just call it a grant, and award it to those studying serious degree courses where there is a high likelihood of their subsequent career putting value back into the economy?

cos "loan" implies the eventual repayment.

whereas "grant" means the daily fail readers start moaning about "lazy layabout students should get a bloody job instead of living off the taxpayer"

So what we get is the xact opposite of what you suggest - those studying serious courses repay the money, whereas the "fluff" courses students never have to. 

Which is basically the same as a grant - those earning serious money would pay it back via higher taxes. The burger flippers wouldn't pay as much.

I suppose this way is "fairer" in that the money is taken from those who benefit most from their education, rather than penalising the "self-made, left school at 16" millionaire - or the "old money, didn't get a loan, works in Daddy's office" type for that matter.