[Closed] If you were 18 again would you be going to uni?

no.

Yep, but I'd be doing engineering like all my mates did not bloody psychology. Different fee situation north of the border though.

Would I be going to my [i]alma mater[/i] or a red brick poly?

I'd be a fool not to repeat my choices if they were the same. BUT...I'd ask my sons to seriously consider choosing to go to anything but a top university when they come to make their choices. I'd rather pay towards an apprenticeship with the money a lightweight degree would cost rather than have them waste 3 years on Sports Psychology Studies.

unless the job market changed and there were more jobs which didn't state first degree minimum i think i'd have to.

No, being a qualified Geomorphologist has not really helped me in my job in pr!
However, I supported the brewing and birth control industries to a significant level so I could claim to have been redistributing taxes. 😀

No. Hated every minute of it. Did a course I hated, commuted every day from home to Uni rather than living in Glasgow, so I missed out on the "best" bits of student life. Left uni with no idea what I wanted to do, other than knowing I didn't want to be an engineer. Eventually found my way into gainful employment and worked my way up from there.

If I could go back and do it all again, I'd get a trade, probably as a mechanic.

I didn't go to Uni the first time around but as my daughter is 17, it's something we are thinking about now. For the right subject, I'd say it's still worthwhile - even if that's just to get to get a job interview!

As I did a degree that led to a decent job £40k was/is irrelevant.

Hopefully it may put people off doing worthless degrees.

Flippant reply.....after 3 years of fun like I had? Too damned right I would.

More considered reply...I am not sure an Arts Degree has equipped me for the current job market. Fortunately, in the early 1980s, graduates were somewhat thinner on the ground so the job market was less competitive. Having said that, I started working for myself within months and have never looked back.

Yes. It's about far more than qualifications and the financial rewards than may come from attaining them. New people, new social situations, new environments, it's a clean break from all the things of childhood at an age were you're still young enough to be accepting of new ideas and experiences.

The more I think about the more I think that the education is a secondary benefit.

No, I wouldn't. But that's only because I've ended up as a wage slave, getting very little satisfaction out of being an IT Consultant. When I've always had a yearning to join the Police Force. But I was academically bright and so unquestionably I was going to university. The 1st, and only, member of my family to do so.

I think a silver lining to the tuition fees is that people are questioning whether they should go to university rather than automatically going there. They are questioning the value of certain wishy-washy degrees such as media studies. And also recognising that there are better alternative for certain fields of work.

[quote=muppetWrangler ]Yes. It's about far more than qualifications and the financial rewards than may come from attaining them. New people, new social situations, new environments, it's a clean break from all the things of childhood at an age were you're still young enough to be accepting of new ideas and experiences.
TBF - you get all of that from joining the armed forces, or simply moving out of your home and getting a job.

depends on whether the career I wanted to pursue required a degree or not.

Depending on what you go into, many employers require degree level education, I don't doubt for a minute that some people who haven't been to university will be much better prepared than others that have but I'd imagine it's harder to get a foot in the door with pre-requisite in place.

I think the government's idea a while back of trying to get more people to go to uni was ridiculous and has contributed to the situation we're in now. Many people ended up studying courses that really should not have offered in the first place.

Edit:

If i had children I wouldn't encourage them not to go for the sake of the fees, I'd just make sure that they were going for the right reason (which isn't always easy to determine at 18 when everyone else is going)

Left uni with no idea what I wanted to do, other than knowing I didn't want to be an engineer. Eventually found my way into gainful employment and worked my way up from there.
If I could go back and do it all again, I'd get a trade, probably as a mechanic.

Maybe.....probably I guess. I loved uni, but I now earn a lot less in a year than my debt would be if I were to go this year!....it doesn't bother me as I love my job, and having a degree was a way into it.

No, I wouldn't. But that's only because I've ended up as a wage slave, getting very little satisfaction out of being an IT Consultant.

I'm pretty sure you'd be miserable whatever you were doing.

Probably but not to do the five year course I did. To be honest with a starting wage in the low teens (if you can get a job) its difficult to see who would.

I've often asked myself this question, irrespective of the cost of it. My studies were interesting and I have no regrets about going to Uni, but I've not applied what I've learnt to any of the jobs I've done since leaving. Unfortunately I've never had that lightbulb moment of knowing what I want to do for a living, so not sure what good a second chance would do. I will advise my kids to get plenty of work experience before they commit to 3 years of study and huge debts, with the hope they might pick something they want to do for the rest of their life.

Am I the only one who sees a degree of irony there?

Indeed. I loved all things mechanical when I was young hence why I chose engineering. As time went on I discovered I loved the hands on, tinkering with stuff side but detested the classroom/office/chained to a desk side.

As for the people saying "some jobs need a degree" Id suggest that getting a degree later in life via distance learning is something that companies look favourably upon. You dont HAVE to do your degree at 18-21yrs old. I did a Masters at 28-29yrs and have just finished a diploma in plumbing studies 37-38yrs of which I am prouder than my degree 😛
Next step is an NVQ2.

There's so many opportunities out there for continuous education/learning that I think it's a pity people forget about it in the chase for a bachelors degree.

As things were i got off lightly on the loan front

Chose to stay at home and worked through out - home was only 20miles away

Graduated in mech eng

Had only the minimum loan at 0.5% above base which are repaid now

The "experiance" of being skint and loading up with debt didnt really appeal - ican understand if your going to a leading uni in your field mind you and its not near home......

If i went back today to 18 given the state of affairs with loans and interest rates they charging

Id be away training as a welder.

Nope, I wouldn't (dont tell the wife though, as I met her there).

There are people who I work with doing the same job as i am who left school st 16 and worked there way up with experience. They are all 3-5yrs younger than me with no student loan.

Id prob train as a car mechanic or plumber.

The whole idea of many of the jobs out there 'requiring' a degee is a load of BS. It looks good on the CV but there are soooo many jobs which dont in reality require a degree. Eg majestic wine 'required' a degree to be a shop assistant lugging cases of wine about all day.

work up to the same position

So yes, absolutely I would do it all again, same course, same Uni. As implied above though, (without wanting to sound too arrogant) I worked hard and had the ability to get a First from a red brick, which then leads on to the ability to make career choices that I am very happy with. I would recommend it whole-heartedly for someone with reasonable ability and a good work ethic, to do a degree in a broad science, engineering or professional area from a 'good' university (not necessarily a red brick but somewhere with a good reputation for that course). And the opportunity to move away from my (small) home town and mix with completely different people was good for me.

Doubt I'd earn anything like as much as I do now if I didn't have a degree - but it's not just the money, I may work in IT but on the whole I have quite a varied and interesting job inc once spending 4 months in NYC.

Probably not, doubt I'll ever pay off my £21k debt so any more seems even worse. Mind you considering I wont pay this debt off then an extra 20k makes no real difference I guess.. also I probably wouldn't have got to where I am without my degree, despite my job being pretty easy with no real need for the degree - it got me the interview, but then again maybe equivalent experience would have done as well?

I would only go to Uni now if it was a course I really really wanted to do. It would have to be that jump out of bed cant wait to get to lectures type of thing. I think to many people including myself went / go to uni as it is just the next thing to do and want all the fun of being a student. I had no interest in my course and I don't really know anyone that was passionate about there course. There are too many people doing academic courses that will never lead anywhere and not enough vocational courses that train you ready for a job. In the past when the state paid that didn't really matter. I am sure you could have a hell of a lot more fun traveling the world for far less debt. At the end of the day once you have your chosen job the degree is irrelevant and experience is more important.

Yep, without a 2nd thought, I'd be more likely to do it now infact. I based my decision to go on the estimated starting sallary, if they'd told me that the pay rises were 50% in 5 years I'd have been even more keen.

I suspect though that your question is aimed more at people who didn't study medicine, dentistry, engineering, architecture, or other 'vocational' degrees leading to well paid jobs.

I dont think id bother, ive not managed to pay off £12k in over 10 yrs, somewhat by avoidance i must say but with £40K + to repay i dont think i could do it to myself and i dont think id encourage my kids to either.

Willy waving maybe, but I know (single, not couples) people with engineering degrees who've saved near £40k house depiosits in under a year not long after uni. So £40k for that kind of earning potential is a bargain.

No but then I went at 21, which I appriciated alot more, still not paid off my student loan though, worked all the time I wasn't studying as well.
Have started saving to finance our two already (9 months & 3 years)

Eg majestic wine 'required' a degree to be a shop assistant lugging cases of wine about all day.

Interesting point this.

In my post Uni and travelling years I needed a job sharpish, so got something local to me that didn't require a degree of any sort. I was over-qualified but fitted in well and did a good job, with fairly regular pay rises soon getting me to a half-decent salary (for a young 'un). When the company required someone else for a similar position, they asked for degree-level candidates. I'd clearly shown them more skills than the specific - and irrelevant - ones from my degree.

Yes - I didn't get in and now they'll take any thick idiot.

Probably not. I had a fantastic time, broadened my horizons, met some great mates, most of whom I still see at least once a month, and it led me to the life I now live - happily settled, living in sin and with two lovely kids.

Experiences aside, I've got where I am now through hard work and time spent on the job - something I was sadly lacking the ability to commit at University, hence I left before my final year and spent the next 5 years drunk in far off lands. If I'd started work instead of uni and knuckled under I'd probably be in a better position now.

Sadly the biggest difference financially would be if I'd not gone to uni and bought the biggest house (or houses) I could afford. I'd probably be paying about 27p a month off of my very small mortgage, buying bikes and going on holidays 🙂

I had a relatively free ride, the thought of £30k + of debt at the end of it makes me very worried for my kids. As much as I'd love them to go to university if things are the same or worse by the time they can go (15 years yet!) then I doubt it'll be possible.

yes - it was an incredible experience and incredibly formative. without it, i'd not have had the same experiences and opportunities i've since had - i simply would not have had them other wise, and I wouldn't be where I am now (quite honestly, my dream job).

and the whole fees thing certainly wouldn't put me off - there's a lot of mis-information out about them.

(from [url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/student-finance/9554693/Student-finance-Students-wrongly-worry-about-repaying-tuition-fees-study-shows.html ]here[/url])

Student Finance Day 2013 – Ten point myth-buster

• You don't pay up front to go to Uni. First time undergraduate's fees are automatically paid by a Student Loans Company loan. There are also loans of up to £5,500 to live off (£7,675 in London) and those from families with income under £42,611 get living grants of up to £3,354.

• Students don't repay, graduates do, but only if they earn £21,000+. You repay 9 per cent of everything earned above £21,000 starting the April after graduation (2017 for most). This £21,000 will rise from 2017. Those who never earn over it, never repay.

[b]• Monthly repayments are the same on £6,000 or £9,000 fee courses. As monthly repayments depend only on earnings, the course fee size doesn't impact it.[/b]

[b]• It’s wiped after 30 years. Whatever you still owe, repayments stop after 30 years.[/b]

• There are no debt collectors. Repayments are taken via the payroll, just like tax. So you never actually handle the cash, meaning there are no debt collectors chasing.

[b]• Repayments are £470/year lower than before. Those asking "how can anyone live with such debts?" may be surprised that future graduates will initially have more disposable income than today's graduates as they repay above £21,000 earnings (under the old system, it was £15,795). This is also a mild improvement for building a deposit and getting a mortgage in the early years after graduation.[/b]

• You will owe for longer and may pay more. The bad news is compared to today's graduates, 2012 starters onwards have much bigger loans and pay higher interest (as much as inflation plus 3 per cent), so it'll take much longer to repay than now and depending on earnings, may cost a lot more.

• Many will never pay it all back. Even many starting on £25,000 graduate salaries (and rising after) won't repay everything owed within the 30 years (test your situation at www.studentfinancecalc.com) meaning they'll often be repaying for much of their working life.

• Many won't pay more on £9,000 courses than £6,000. As even many £25,000 starters won't repay combined £6,000 tuition fees and living loans before the 30 year wipe, it won't cost them any more to take a £9,000 fee course.

• Paying up front could be throwing £10,000s away. Fee fears mean some parents aim to pay them upfront. For those planning to use savings, remember as many won't repay what they borrowed at today's prices before the 30 year wipe, you could be throwing big money away. Don’t make knee jerk decisions to pay upfront without doing research.

Apart from the fact that all this was just fields when I was 18, the job market was also different back then

Having a degree was something special, an indicator that you were prepared to work hard. The courses were nearly all what you might call 'core' subjects and qualifying opened a lot of doors.

Things are different now and if I was 18 I seriously doubt I'd do anything other than a degree at a top-level uni (if I could get in)

Yip. I would go to uni if I had my time all over again. I had too much fun, met too many good people and learnt a lot about life to say that I wouldn't repeat it again.

Not at 18, would wait until I A) grew up a bit to take seriously B)knew what the hell I wanted to do. I just went hated, did poorly, mucked about, could not wait to leave as I went a little squiffy in the head.

I did engineering when I was a fresh faced 17year old. Next choice was Geography, so clearly I didn't know what I wanted to do.

My degree definitely helped me, got my last year company sponsored and a job after graduation, but its largely redundant now. Mind you 12 years later I'm still in the field, largly aircraft with a bit of boats for good measure. Does it excite me greatly? no, but I had a great time at uni, in the good old days of no fees and grant cheques. No loans, I worked part time the whole way through, and stayed at home, my uni wasn't far enough away to justify moving into Glasgow.

My parents have never been prouder. It was for them as much as anything. Ahh nostalgia. As my wee mam says "no one can take it off you"

The problem now seems to be not what going to uni gives to most people, but what not going loses.

It seems that even the most basic jobs now require a university education, it is very hard to get a start without one. I would hate to be starting my working life now as just a school leaver as I did in the mid 80's.

to get into the field Im in (cancer research) yes theres no choice

but the pay is no where near good enough to deal with that kind of loan

so bit of a tough one really

Yes.

I wouldn't be doing the job I am now without a degree, and it'd be a different job again without the PhD. Whilst like any job it has its bad points and drudge work, for the most part it's fascinating, hard, I get to learn, and it's pretty "cool" work.

I realise I'm in a minority though.

No.

This country in general, the students and the parents need to break this fixation that you need a minimum of a degree to get on in life these days. A lot of graduates seem to finish uni and not have a clue what they want to do, or have too high an expectations of what job they believe they are entitled to. They also don't seem to realize the sectors where jobs are when they pick their courses.

I did an apprenticeship when I left school at 16, as well as college you get more real life training in your subject. Graduates that came in to the industry were so out of touch with the reality of the work environment as it's all black and white to them.

Yes I would.

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Its a difficult one. I did graphic design, to be... well... see if you can guess.

I love what I do for a living. Could I do it without a degree? Yes, in my opinion.

Would any employer give me the opportunity to do it without a degree? Or even give me an interview? No!

Would I saddle myself with tens of thousands in debt to do it now? For the salary I'd be earning at the end of it? Not a chance!

So ultimately, unless the attitude of potential employers changes significantly (can't see that happening with 2.5 million unemployed), or those potential employers start offering proper training, and apprenticeships worthy of the name (can't see that happening either) then nowt will change.

Yep was there for 9 years although can really only remember about a fortnight of it.

Would buy a house earlier as I lived like a king without spending a penny on accommodation or bills while my mates had relatively cheap rooms. Mind you I did have three jobs, even through my post grad.

I did an apprenticeship when I left school at 16, as well as college you get more real life training in you subject. Graduates that came in to the industry were so out of touch with the reality of the work environment as it's all black and white to them.

Unfortunately the fixation with degrees has destroyed proper workplace training (well that and the YTS scheme). It has also seemingly destroyed the possibility of gaining promotion from "the factory floor" in most organisations. Nowadays it seems either your on the graduate fast track, or you are dirt.

I really get sick of the CBI constantly bleating on about the government not providing the skilled employees they want, well ****ing start taking some responsibility for training them you ****s!

I wouldn't go to university but then I didn't first time round.
I'd had enough of full time education, wanted to earn some cash and wanted to start getting my hands dirty with a trade. I took an apprenticeship which had block release at a polytechnic. I'd do something like that again. Wonderful series of life and work lessons which I felt prepared me for the work environment really well.

I'm a huge believer in apprenticeships and am currently encouraging my current business to expand their apprentice scheme. The benefits are obvious for both the company and for the apprentices.

[i]I love what I do for a living. Could I do it without a degree? Yes, in my opinion.

Would any employer give me the opportunity to do it without a degree? Or even give me an interview? No![/i]]

My dad ran a graphic design company in manchester for many years. He'd have given you an interview. He didn't have much time for graduates, reckoned most of them were rubbish compared to those who worked their way up.

For lots of people apprenticships are a good way forward, we are looking for some as we are doubling our in take this year.
It's great to see some of the youngster (i'm old) leading teams or departments, it only seems like 5 minutes since they were learning to pilot a brush or their totectors were all shiney.

My dad ran a graphic design company in manchester for many years. He'd have given you an interview. He didn't have much time for graduates, reckoned most of them were rubbish compared to those who worked their way up.

If only everyone were as enlightened as your dad fella. Unfortunately when I graduated, you could take it as read: no degree, no interview.

I chose my course though as it had a bias towards actual practical stuff (print production etc) as opposed to spending weeks at a time 'conceptualising' like they did on some other courses. So I know exactly where he was coming from on that score. I've met plenty of graphic design graduates who didn't have a clue how to prep a job for print, and a ridiculous notion of actual deadlines.

I think he had plans for me to take over the business.
Unfortunately I'm shit at graphic design.

Whereas I'm shit at everything other than it 😀

Yes,

And I'd try and have a lot more sex this time, possibly cut back on the beer a bit though

Yes, I can't imagine my life in anything else than a scientific pursuit.

"I really get sick of the CBI constantly bleating on about the government not providing the skilled employees they want, well * start taking some responsibility for training them you *!"

@MSP
Given some of the young people we have tried to employ over the last 10 years, the CBI chap could have been refering to reading an writing, an rithmatic (dance to the tune of a hickory stick, sorry Louis Jordan School Days) and taking basic instuction he could have a point.

I do understand your point though, many companies had until recently stopped training young people but then complained they could not get the staff. Short sighted in my view. The standard complaint is that "they leave when we have trained them", that's right some will but you'd be a mug to let a good one leave. If other companies are training also, some of there staff will come to you. Thats how it used to work, some people would change jobs to rivals or companies in connected industries but may come back in a more senior role with greater experiance.

As I have mentioned on another thread, since the changes to uni fee and the recession our apprentice applicants general standard has improved markedly.

Yes I wish I'd of done better at school and instead of doing a Btec national diploma in travel I'd of done my A levels done a degree and applied to do Medicine at Manchester or St Andrews.
But I went and did Travel, and then joined the Army for 5 years then came out and did my Nurse training and qualified two years ago.

I chose my course though as it had a bias towards actual practical stuff (print production etc) as opposed to spending weeks at a time 'conceptualising' like they did on some other courses. So I know exactly where he was coming from on that score. I've met plenty of graphic design graduates who didn't have a clue how to prep a job for print, and a ridiculous notion of actual deadlines.

I'd say if you're too dumb to realise the fees are a non-issue as they aren't going to cripple you with debt then you're too thick to go to Uni anyway.

that was bold fuzzy, there will those along to have ago shortly.

binners - Member
My dad ran a graphic design company in manchester for many years. He'd have given you an interview. He didn't have much time for graduates, reckoned most of them were rubbish compared to those who worked their way up.

If only everyone were as enlightened as your dad fella. Unfortunately when I graduated, you could take it as read: no degree, no interview.

A wise man you dad, Samuri.

When we were a full service agency we employed a few graduates straight from Uni, and they were a proper pain in the bum. Clearly the degree they had chosen had made them infallible and so confident in their own ability I spent most of the first year of their time with us apologising to clients and fixing their work in between smoothing the ruffled feathers of good staffers who they had wound up to the point they were humming like that kid at the end of Torchwood.

Yes, I would. but I'd do industrial design rather than the poorly re-marketed maths course that Mech Eng was.

And then I'd move to Italy or Germany giving the bird to the SLC.

Oh yes.

There's shagging [i]in lumps [/i]at them unis, [b]in lumps [/b]ah tell thee!

Least there was when I was there...

I really get sick of the CBI constantly bleating on about the government not providing the skilled employees they want, well * start taking some responsibility for training them you *!

That is the role of the CBI, to demand someone else (ie taxpayers) subsidise them so they can give even bigger bonuses to their CEOs. Investing in employees is not the done thing in industry, exploitation is where its at now.

Indeed. Whereas the documentary [url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b038669g/Make_Me_a_German/ ]Make me a german[/url] the other week showed, they favour proper apprenticeships, and investing heavily in training their workforce. And R&D. And providing decent wages and conditions for their employees, in return for high productivity

But then what the **** do they know! 🙄

Probably not. But then again, I didn't go to Uni after school in the first place. I did my degree much later in life (27 when I started) and did it part time while I was working. It was bloody hard work especially as my kids were born during the latter stages of the course. I missed out on the "fun" side of going away which is something I probably regret a bit. However, I was earning throughout so had no fees and it also meant that when I did the degree I knew what I wanted to do and the reason I wanted to do it.

I agree with other posters though - this country's obsession with having a degree is rubbish. It seems like an incredibly lazy approach by recruiting departments of sifting applications that is just as likely to sift out the good candidates. I would say there are a lot of jobs that "require" a degree that simply do not. The push by the last government to guide 50% of school leavers into higher education was little more, IMHO, than a scheme to delay the flood of school leavers looking for a job. Soften the potential hit on the unemployment stats.

I also agree that the CBI and businesses need to get off their high horse of expecting the education system to provide staff already qualified to do the work they want. Foxtrot Oscar to that one. Businesses need to be prepared to invest in properly training and developing their staff. What the education system should be doing (certainly pre graduate level) is providing young adults with a good, rounded general education and a decent awareness of living. We don't appear to be doing too well at that at the moment sadly, which also seems to flow through to a number of graduates who don't really appear to have a clue about very much despite having a "degree".

And Fuzzy, I suspect there may be a significant number of people who would suggest that someone who makes such a sweeping generalisation over attitude to fees is probably a bit too thick to understand the concerns over fees. While it is true that a lot of students will never pay off their loans for most of them they will spend a significant proportion of their adult life paying off their uni fees and as their income increases so will the repayments. Sure, they may not be big in the grand scheme of things but that is a monthly outgoing that affects your disposable income in a way that those of my generation who didn't have fees to worry about did not have to experience or pay for.

My advice for my daughter is that I will happily support her if she believes in the degree she is doing, is fully committed to doing her very best and has the confidence of achieving at least a 2:1. If the answer to any of those is no then to be honest I don't think it will be worth it.

Indeed. Whereas the documentary Make me a german the other week showed, they favour proper apprenticeships, and investing heavily in training their workforce. And R&D. And providing decent wages and conditions for their employees, in return for high productivity

You're not going to be accepted in the Tory party spouting that kind on nonsense!

nope, waste of time and effort back then and to add a massive debt on top no thanks.

No unless i was doing a vocational degree or going to a Russell group uni

I very much doubt the premium for a degree will exist [ to any real extent]when 50% of the population have them and the debt level is quite high as well

i dont think they could persuade folk in their 30 or 40's to take a £75 k loan out to get a degree.

IMHO we need to return to free uni education and also cherry picking of the brightest.
We need to combine this with the german system as mentioned above

not a chance. i would take the apprenticeship i was offered instead and be a fully skilled toolmaker and then get the company to pay me to get a degree later

I was very lucky to finished before tuition fees etc.

I'd think twice nowadays. Three years of boozing, shagging, playing sport and studying something I was really interested in was great. Still good mates with a few people as well.

But the job market was different then. I had a marketable degree from a good university, so I did ok when it came to getting jobs that were nothing to do with what I studied. Jobs were like that then!

Now everything seems to be considered from an 'investment' point of view. This is probably good in some ways, but I do feel like I was one of the last of the 'golden age' of further education.

I blame Blair's policy of selling FE as a sort of right rather than privilege. You can't have it both ways. You either put FE on a pedestal and make it something 'special' or you devalue it by giving a degree to everyone. Sad but true.

Milk round employers just switched their entry requirement for graduate trainee position from '2:1 or better honours degree' to '2:1 or better honours degree FROM A REPUTABLE UNIVERSITY'. The definition of 'reputable' was theirs.

Degrees in (comparatively) trivial subjects should not have been sold to school leavers as something they should just do as some kind of rite of passage.

If I was 18 now, I'd seriously be considering a vocational course. My major problem was that I had no idea what I actually wanted to do as a career.

In my view, graduates who have gone into an industry should really have to earn their corn to stay in line with equivalent people who have been on, say, an apprenticeship.

There was just so much less pressure when I went through all this. That was purely down to luck. I worry about my kids and their education now, they will have much tougher choices to make than I did.

Plan 2 (post 2012) student loan repayments are lower. But the interest is 6.3%.

If I had a debt of £27k - lets assume 3 years on a £9k course, and then earned £25k upon finishing uni, I would pay £30 a month on Plan 2. On Plan 1 (pre 2012) the repayments are £65 a month.

So, on Plan 2 I would pay £360 off a year. 6.3% interest on £27k is £1710. So while I would have more disposable income than my pre-2012 counterparts, my student loan debt would, in fact, be getting bigger, not smaller. So effectively, I wouldn't be paying my loan debt off at all, and I would be stuck with it much longer if I couldn't pay down any of the actual loan itself.

So, if I never earned more than £25k 30 years, the Government would only recoup £10,800 from me.

I fail to see the financial sense in the Government's plan, surely if they want to charge for education, they should charge in such a way that it means the fees will actually get paid back?? I mean, given that they're saying that we haven't got any money and we can't afford to pay for students to go to university and all that stuff, because [s]Labour[/s] the bankers [s]spent it all on welfare[/s] gambled it all away and had to be bailed out....

Although I flunked my course, I think that the peers you meet at uni inspire you to achieve, they certainly did for me.

In terms of career I'm on a level with most of my old uni mates.

The danger with not going is getting stuck in some low skilled provincial job thats hard to get out off.

So would I go again, yes, would I fail again, probably..!

Binners, there are companies that provide "proper apprentiships" and that invest heavily in training in the UK. Some of us are bit to busy to go shouting about it. Some companies having been taking on apprentices for years, even in tough times. It's a no brainer really especially with an aging work force with particular skill sets then certain types knowledge taken for granted at all levels in a company.
Our view has always been "train our own".

And then I'd move to Italy or Germany giving the bird to the SLC.

WRONG! They tracked me down in bloody Canada, they'll track you down in Germany no probs 🙁 Not that I'm begrudging paying the loan back, I was just pissed off that I'd fallen for the 'you don't pay it back when you're abroad' myth.

They tracked me down in bloody Canada,

Really? I wonder how. So what happened as the repayment is done through PAYE in the UK?

I wonder what they could actually do to you in Canada though, other than write threatening letters. Ultimately I think (unless someone actually knows better)that they couldn't enforce a contract under English law through the Canadian legal system, and would need to bring some form of legal charge against you in the UK that would require extradition. Which would seem an unlikely although possible scenario.

I suppose they could mess up your residency visa by telling the Canadian authorities that your a wrong un. But even then there would have to be some sort of official channel for such information to be passed over.

hey couldn't enforce a contract under English law through the Canadian legal system

Loans contracts would normally be enforceable otherwise international banking wouldn't exist.

They tracked my sister down in New Zealand, and she has now paid hers off.

I graduated 2 years ago. I'd do it all again in a flash, regardless of the debt (but maybe without the grimy student housing)

Knowing what I know now- I'd defer for a year or two, I was a child in my first couple of years, I wasted a lot of the opportunity. And not just the course but the social stuff. I had a great time at uni but it could have been better. TBH I never even really new it was an option to delay, it didn't seem to be on our radar.

I work in uni recruitment now and with about 20% of the kids that come through my door, I just want to say "Go and get a job, or go backpacking, or [i]something[/i]. Come back when you're an actual person."

But maybe I'm wrong, I did most of my growing up at uni, maybe that was a good way to do it and I just regret the what-wasn't without appreciating what was.

Yes, I would definitely, for the experience and also for the type of job I'd want. I would probably delay it for a few years and go as a mature student. I am sure I would have got more out of it both intellectually and socially.

Yes absolutely . It's where I grew up. It's where I became educated.

There was some stuff about Laplace transforms but it really didn't matter compared with everything I learned .