"You also need to pay back the loan if you leave education early. IE if you quit."
That's not new. If I had quit I would still have to pay back for the time I was there. I'm in ~£25,000 debt. It doesn't affect my life, especially as I'm not earning enough right now to start paying it back, but it IS a lot of money. £9,000 a year means £21,000 debt minimum for a degree. That kind of figure is off-putting to a lot of people. It's the idea of owing that much money, not the reality.
Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean it was new, but it is the downside to the loans. However as I say it's not stopping anyone going to uni, just that it's a step towards making sure those most serious about going to uni, go. While there's still loads who go to uni for a dos, it's made it a bit better. If anything though it's probably made universities themselves go for more decent students and drop some of those mickey mouse degrees, which is definately a good thing!
But living costs have always been there. Changing tuition fees hasn't changed that aspect to make it larger.
The current guideines for allowances are woolly and so to get an accurate picture of what is available you need to get a full quote from the slc. However under the previous system full loans were available for risidual household incomes up to £61k and information is a si milar level would be the level set for the full maintenance grant and full fees loan in thenew system, which is a fairly hefty household income. Contributions for those earning over the threshold of full loan have also not changed much at all either, just the loan is bigger.
So again, this rise hasn't made it harder for anyone to get into uni.
On the current system you pay 9% on anything you earn over 15 odd thousand. If you're paying 200 a month you must be on approx 41.5k a year putting you well into the higher 40% tax rate which is really not a bad income at all. I suspect you dont earn that much? So you might want to talk to whoever is working out your repayments!
200 / 0.09 = £2222 per month income over the threashold
x12 = £26666 over the threashold, add the original £15k threshold is £41666.
In short that is about £6k more than Stacey and I earn combined. If you are on that, well done you've worked for it. In my opinion though, its worth it for £200 a month repayments. Especially since if you should find yoirself out of work, you wont be chased for payments.
It does mean you'll be paying off the loan for a longer time. The loans have jumped from £3,000 per year to £9,000 - mine was £3,000 and although it pays itself back automatically, it does increase with interest. It's a weight on your mind, something to worry about every now and then.
I do agree, though - if it's making people think harder about going to university, that's a good thing. It's something that should be considered propertly. And you're right in saying that increased fees doesn't mean fewer people can afford to go to university. It just means more to pay back later.
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That's not new. If I had quit I would still have to pay back for the time I was there. I'm in ~£25,000 debt. It doesn't affect my life, especially as I'm not earning enough right now to start paying it back, but it IS a lot of money. £9,000 a year means £21,000 debt minimum for a degree. That kind of figure is off-putting to a lot of people. It's the idea of owing that much money, not the reality.
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(The comment has been removed)
The current guideines for allowances are woolly and so to get an accurate picture of what is available you need to get a full quote from the slc. However under the previous system full loans were available for risidual household incomes up to £61k and information is a si milar level would be the level set for the full maintenance grant and full fees loan in thenew system, which is a fairly hefty household income. Contributions for those earning over the threshold of full loan have also not changed much at all either, just the loan is bigger.
So again, this rise hasn't made it harder for anyone to get into uni.
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
200 / 0.09 = £2222 per month income over the threashold
x12 = £26666 over the threashold, add the original £15k threshold is £41666.
In short that is about £6k more than Stacey and I earn combined. If you are on that, well done you've worked for it. In my opinion though, its worth it for £200 a month repayments. Especially since if you should find yoirself out of work, you wont be chased for payments.
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I do agree, though - if it's making people think harder about going to university, that's a good thing. It's something that should be considered propertly. And you're right in saying that increased fees doesn't mean fewer people can afford to go to university. It just means more to pay back later.
Reply
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