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[Argos 191]

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Edited March 16, 2014 by Crow

[Anonymous~ 591]

Oh man, I know what kind of situation you are in (if you fail your exams, that is)... I live in a s**tty country (not implying that Netherlands are like that, don't get me wrong) where pretty much you have to be an ace in everything to get free studying opportunity (as in, you don't have to pay anything to be in an uni). Of course, I'm not an ace and I'm not going to reach the minimal scores --which are really high-- in my exams... and taking a debt for a poor family in this country is like buying a death sentence. So, I have no idea what I will do. If that wasn't bad enough, I have no idea what I want to study... but that's another story.

 

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Edited May 16, 2013 by Freckle

[Argos 191]

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Edited March 16, 2014 by Crow

[I am Lunar Fire 198]

This is a reoccuring situation everywhere around the world. Austerity measures appear everywhere and are putting those already at financial risk out in the streets. This is already problematic and on it's way to become even more.

I will talk about Quebec here but I know by my involvment in the ISM that those kind of measures are taken worldwide by right-wing governments. Spring 2012. 200 000 students on strike against the 75% hike over 5 years in tuition fees. The liberal party kept their stance and kept the raise, even if the whole school system was about to be paralyzed following the strike.

Eventually another party came to power, cancelled the 75% hike, and everything came back to normal. Or did it?

No, this new government impopsed a perpetual hike (inflation) of 5% per year. What this means is that the price of a semester is raising as fast as your loaf of bread or your your bag of chips. Of course salaries don't inflate as fast as everything else, and eventually more and more people will not have access to school.

For most who do, they have to take loans. Either governmental loans or a bank loan. Either way it ends up in the same hands. But the government has a maximum familial revenue to be eligible to loans. Which means that if your parents (and siblings) make more than x, you can not get a governmental loans. Even if you are studying away from home. Even if your parents do not (or can not) help you financially.

And the longer this lasts, the more students will get in debt in order to study. Also this brings up a number of related problems like the 1% getting constantly richer and scholarship becoming more of a commodity than knowledge. And this is dangerous because this deppreciates the value of education until it becomes a commodity only the richer can afford and that you need to buy to make it to the higher tier of society,

I could rant on and on about the subject of education long enough but I think I have deviated fron the topic enough for now. Just remember that getting a loan is not the only problem to an expensive school system. And those problematiics are true wherever you are, this is not limited to Quebec or the United States or North America.

[Gone for good 1,593]

Welp, I dunno about you guys but I dropped out of college because in the end I couldn't afford it. I could pay for one or two  classes, but then came the rest that I was supposed to get help in but nope and then all the stupid fees and other charges for things I didn't even use blah blah blah.

 

I'm currently in some relatively big debt despite going to community college, my credit score is ruined, I can't afford health insurance, car insurance, a car in general blah blah blah and the job I like to say I have isn't even a real job and pays less than minimum wage.

 

I'm not worried, though. In fact the main thing going through my mind is

[Evilshy 5,090]

I'm trying to avoid debt as long as possible; I work when not in school, and if I can't pay for my next semester, I'll take the semester off. I don't really care if it takes me longer to get through college, I don't want to go into debt to anyone.

[HungryTroll 137]

Im so happy that studying in my country costs much less, but they going for european system now, so I guess 5-6 years and it would be the same here

And because It's cheap a lot of people styding just cause they dont know what to do, and after they graduating (and most of them with a lot of difficulties) they getting the same work as people without education.

[Aaramus 449]

This is the main reason that I skipped University, asides from having little interest in further education.

 

Had I have gone to Bedfordshire it would have been a 3 year course for around £9,000 a year, totally up to a £27,000 (around $41,000) debt after the three years. That isn't even including living costs! We have a system in the UK means you don't have to start paying back until you're earning a certain amount, but some students are not paying off their loans until they're in their 40's!

 

It's pretty ridiculous, I can't understand how University used to be free. I'm very happy and fortunate to be in a stable job I enjoy, but many of my friends will be in the above situation.

[Verily British 145]

I'm not in uni yet, I'm still in high school but I plan to go to uni, but I know that you accumulate a study loan debt thingy and after searching on the internet the average UK undergraduate leaves with around £43,500 of debt. Now I don't know what the exchange rate is for the British pound and the dollar and whatever it is that they use in the Netherlands so if someone could figure that out it would be great.

 

But if this is how much an advanced academic qualification costs then I'm still going to be in debt long after I leave university. I don't know how accurate this information is but here's the website I got it off.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/student-finance/9740974/English-students-in-twice-as-much-debt-as-rest-of-UK.html

Edited May 16, 2013 by British Brony

[Hansel 1,512]

I'm not in uni yet, I'm still in high school but I plan to go to uni, but I know that you accumulate a study loan debt thingy and after searching on the internet the average UK undergraduate leaves with around £43,500 of debt. Now I don't know what the exchange rate is for the British pound and the dollar and whatever it is that they use in the Netherlands so if someone could figure that out it would be great.

 

But if this is how much an advanced academic qualification costs then I'm still going to be in debt long after I leave university. I don't know how accurate this information is but here's the website I got it off.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/student-finance/9740974/English-students-in-twice-as-much-debt-as-rest-of-UK.html

 

Around about $66,500 / 51,600 Euros

 

 

Well, I'm nearing the end of my final year at uni, so hooray. 

 

I don't know about the Dutch education system, but I honestly don't have much of an opinion on the recent changes to the university costs here in the UK. I guess I'm kinda neutral on the subject. 

Edited May 16, 2013 by Hansel

[Creamy Arty 6,252]

College cost me approximately $30,000 with an 11% interest rate on my loan. I finished paying it off last July. Going back to school for some other things has been on my mind lately, but whenever I think of that monstrous loan I just paid off and the relief I felt when I did, I quickly decide I'd rather not go through it again.

 

 

What's worse is that for a while I was employed by the college (now a university) that I attended, and I got to know several people nearing graduation there who will owe more than I did but can't find jobs better than retail.

[Winterbass 763]

Being from Holland too and having checked out the whole Loan system I can say that it's not that bad at all. Right now, parents have to pay for the expenses and not only that, you'll have to pay for a place to stay too. For me coming from a village in Limburg and going to Utrecht for studies, travelling by train is not an option. Even then, paying both expenses for studies and rent is going to be a problem for me as it is very expensive(I'm going to stay at a relative thankfully). And yes, while we do have the two types of scholarships the debt still accumulates really quickly, more than with the loan system.

 

That's where the loan system comes in. You're still able to get the supportive scholarship depending on how much your parents earn. And while you'll have to pay it back later, everyone is able to go and study. Not only that, you'll only have to pay it back when you have found a stable job. So there isn't really anything to complain about. Not only is it totally possible for you to pay it off without any hassle, your parents can relax too for not having to pay a lot of money. Allowing for bigger budget for you to stay at a place. Because let's be honest, the rent in Nijmegen, Amsterdam, Utrecht and Einhoven is insane, my father had to pay less than half the rent when he was studying in Nijmegen than my brother has to pay now and he's staying in the exact same room as my father did.

 

Think about it like this, a study or an HBO training is actually both an investment for your future as well as the government investing in you. With your education you're able to help the country run. So the government is investing in you to get a higher education and you'll have to pay it back because you actually invested in your future yourself. That's way more realistic than having to pay the moment you start the study.

 

So that loan system ain't looking that bad now, huh?

[I am Lunar Fire 198]

We have a system in the UK means you don't have to start paying back until you're earning a certain amount, but some students are not paying off their loans until they're in their 40's!

 

I know the system you're talking about, they proposed it in Quebec to try to calm the students down after the tuition hike. A lot of people rejected the proposition, after taking for example the british school system. The system doesn't only indebt the students ofr as long as they cannot afford to refund it, but it also costs the governement a lot of money in interests. The only people for whom this system has a payoff are bankers, as they keep getting interest money for a loan that can take take up to 30 years before starting to get refunded. 30 years of interest on a 27 000 pounds loan is, I believe, twice or thrice as much as the loan itself.

[joeyh3 153]

I'm trying to avoid debt as long as possible; I work when not in school, and if I can't pay for my next semester, I'll take the semester off. I don't really care if it takes me longer to get through college, I don't want to go into debt to anyone.

 

Really, this is one of the better approaches to college. I hear people complaining about student loan debt all the time, but they often fail to remember that they're the ones who accumulated it. Graduating college does not guaranty you a job, so it's just putting yourself in debt that you risk not being able to pay off. 

 

If the school you're going to is too expensive to reasonable accumulate enough money to pay it off as you go along, then it may be wise to reconsider your choice of school. If it's far away from home (Requiring a dorm/apartment, meal plan, etc), it may be worth it to look into colleges closer to home, as living at home can lead to substantial savings. 

[Evilshy 5,090]

Really, this is one of the better approaches to college. I hear people complaining about student loan debt all the time, but they often fail to remember that they're the ones who accumulated it. Graduating college does not guaranty you a job, so it's just putting yourself in debt that you risk not being able to pay off. 

 

If the school you're going to is too expensive to reasonable accumulate enough money to pay it off as you go along, then it may be wise to reconsider your choice of school. If it's far away from home (Requiring a dorm/apartment, meal plan, etc), it may be worth it to look into colleges closer to home, as living at home can lead to substantial savings. 

 

Student loans aren't necessarily a bad thing. For example, I have a friend who recently finished a childhood education degree, and her husband recently finished a Masters in Physics. They both have quite a lot of student debt, but they can get good jobs with that education.

It's the people who go into debt for degrees like Humanities, Art, Sociology, stuff like that, who have a real debt problem.

Edited May 21, 2013 by Evilshy

[Wonderbolt_Spitfire 235]

I've been really blessed to not have debt. That's mainly due to my father paying for all of my tuition and other assorted fees. I due have some loans from back when I was going to a top engineering school, but that's another story.  When I'm fully done with all my degrees I won't be surprised to see my debt somewhere near six figures. It's mildly depressing that a piece of paper costs that much, but it is what it is I suppose.

 

Student debt really is a killer though and some people don't realise that going to a state school or even community college for certain degrees can save you tens of thousands of dollars. Most of the time going to a more prestigous school only gets you more debt and nothing more (If your not good at networking). Other times it is well worth it as it can get your foot in the door to a great job that will get you resume experience and good contacts for later on in your career. Honestly its a real toss up as to what to do because both types of schools offer very enticing upside.

[I am Lunar Fire 198]

Problems is when we look at education for the piece of paper at the end of the line. It is really not what education is about, but is starting to become the main problem with neoliberal school reforms. They are making school more and more expensive, and that leads to education getting perceived as more of a commodity than an emancipatory establishment that will allow you to succeed later on.

The problem is that when people pay 20k a year to study, it is unthinkable to make anybody flunk a class. This would be throwing a lot of money out the windows. So what happens in American or Canadian universities is that everybody passes and we have people that did not necesserialy understand the content of the courses get out of university after 3 or 5 years with a diploma they didn't earn, but rather pay for.

This is the heart of the problem with school today. You do not earn a diploma. You pay for it. The day money is going to stop being the number 1 factor to decide who gets to study, we will solve a lot of problems including student debt. Students will still get in debt, but not by ridiculous amounts they will take years to repay. Because remember, the only people ever making money off loans are banks.