Cost Of University

[Yamin151]

And in sure no child (myself included when I was a student) would get a job if their pants seem to think it's not possible. Likewise, future students will be far more bowed down by debt and the stress about it if it's always talked about as a millstone, as opposed to accepting it and talking about it as a necessary but manageable monthly cost, once they are in a good job. No point making them feel like victims if they don't need to.
As some others have said, if we did have the resources I think we'd rather use them to fund a deposit for a house, than uni.

Most students could use a little less beer and curry anyway!!

(Runs for cover, I am sure no ones children ever has time to drink beer, oh my goodness, the poor things barely have time to eat a bag of seeds on the way to the next lecture!!)

[KB]

I am sure there are plenty of students who still have time for beer drinking but certainly not all!

I'm not up to date with US system but certainly in the past it was set up around students working -the courses were less intense ie took longer.

Feedback we had a few years ago re science/ engineering degrees was that gap year should include relevent work/ experience. My DCs decided against and were pleased with decision as felt they would have lost ground academically.

Personal attitude has been that I'd rather they weren't working during term if it puts extra pressure on study time or makes it hard to make the most of opportunities they won't ever get again. If they had been lying in bed till noon or spending money on socialising I expect my attitude would have changed! One barely made it through as it was and another put in a huge amount of effort to excel at something they will remember and benefit from for the rest of their lives. I am very grateful we were in a financial position to support them.

On a practical level, an alternative to gap year is a year in industry. Income varies widely but one of my DCs saved in excess of £10,000 as well as supporting themselves for that year.

[SteveDH]

some universities prefer you do a year in industry as apposed to a gap year as after a couple of years study you'd have some of the necessary knowledge to to make the most of it.

In My DD's course you need to do a summer internship after the 1st year, however its proving a bit of a pain finding a suitable one as most want you to have completed at least 2 years of the degree course.

[moved]

The US has (always?) required students to be self-funding and the universities have developed strategies to help them cope.

A student who goes to a 'needs blind' university in the States (such as Yale, MIT, Harvard or Dartmouth) can reasonably expect to come out of college with no debt, but he or she is expected to play a part. The college looks at parental income, the student's savings and other financial info and then works out how much parents and students can 'afford' to pay each year. The student is then expected to make a contribution - probably though wages earned over the summer vacation - and is also expected to get a job during term time. The university offers loads of employment, from early-years child care opportunities to work in the admissions office. Once all this is added together, the university's endowment funds make up the rest of the estimated costs, including travel home, accommodation, food and university fees.

It's obviously a very different system over the pond, but I wonder whether we might start to see reflections over here. Oxford, for example, is certainly trying to build up endowments by 'encouraging' former students to donate.

An American colleague thought that the biggest mistake of her life was to do her PhD as at age 45 her debt was still £250,000. This meant that she couldn't take an academic post at Oxford as it doesn't pay well enough. There are a great many Americans with enormous debts, I really hope we don't follow their model.

[moved]

I would like DS to do a sponsored degree. No debt, the company pays the fees and an income of approximately £15k. Not to mention valuable work experience.

[KB]

Are such things still available?

[moved]

I've only found one for him.

[Yamin151]

Is he not researching them himself? Wondering why you are finding them for him. But I do think they sound like a wonderful opportunity, if a bit of a holy grail!

[hermanmunster]

I would like DS to do a sponsored degree. No debt, the company pays the fees and an income of approximately £15k. Not to mention valuable work experience.

There is an accountancy degree where the students spend some of the year working (?London I think) then several months over the summer studying in Durham or Birmingham
http://www.kpmgcareers.co.uk/school-lea ... -programme" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tinkers]

Sponsorships are very few and fair between. You may find a few more that will look at students in their first and second years once they are already studying. They are basically trying to steal a March on the best students before they start applying for jobs.