Hidden costs, heavy debts…at least there may be happy hearts!

In amongst the usual reports of Mickey Mouse degrees (which I’ve covered in the past), student costs and debts are now also in the spotlight.

photo by austinevan

One survey, for the NUS, has revealed that some degree courses involve massive hidden costs.

Maths and Computer Science students have been found to spend the most ‘hidden’ money. They spend, on average, £1,430 a year on books, trips, equipment, extra coursework/exam fees and so on. Least hit are those studying a degree in Education, whose average yearly spend is said to be £432.48.

It’s no surprise that some outlay is needed to buy books and fund the odd trip, but would prospective students realise just how much money was involved in order to earmark for study-related purchases?

There is no way students can currently tell how much they need to spend on these extras. This doesn’t help when many students are only just getting to grips with financial planning and may not have enough funds to cover the cost of these necessary purchases.

Better mechanism needs to be in place to ensure students are aware of various costs, so they don’t receive surprises further down the line.

Worse still, the NUS survey also found that, as students became more strapped for cash as time went on, half of all final year students needed paid employment or a different source of loans in order to cope. All this at a time when study is so crucial, not just at that moment, but also for the future. If a student cannot put their full attention to their degree, how can they get the most from it? And how upsetting must that be when it’s costing a great deal to them in the first place?

Talking of this massive cost, another survey has revealed that student debts are rising fast. So fast, that the average rise is over 10% higher on last year, with students reaching an average £6,626 debt during the year.

The Push Debt Survey found that by the end of a degree, the average student would have a debt of around £23,500.

This morning, Radio 4’s Today programme spoke to Nick Barr from LSE (who helped design the student loans system), and NUS President, Wes Streeting, to discuss the debt report.

Barr compared credit card debt with student loan debt, arguing that “£23,000 of credit card debt would give parents sleepless nights. This shouldn’t.”

Streeting went on to say that in the forthcoming tuition fees review:

“[Barr] and others may well be arguing for a higher rate of interest for some or all students on their student loans. There is a push at the moment…for commercial rates of interest or real rates of interest on student loans and I’m glad he fully supports the current system at present.”

Barr brushed aside this comment, saying that nobody in their right mind would suggest credit card levels of interest.

Two things on my mind:

Commercial/real rates of interest may not be as scary as credit card rates, but they’re a scary enough prospect. With the tuition fees review, they have the potential to be as scary as personal loan interest rates. And if rates do increase to reflect something higher than inflation, I imagine the loans may start to be taken into account as a true source of debt. At least in the current system, student debts are generally kept to one side. If this changes, loan applications such as taking out a mortgage could become even more difficult for new graduates.
Massive student debts may or may not give parents sleepless nights. But isn’t this about the people who actually HAVE the debt!?

Nick Barr later said on Radio 5 Live, “this debate about student debt is very largely a red herring.”

I totally disagree. Yes, people still go to uni. Yes, applications are still rife. Yes, National Student Survey results are mainly positive. But…

No, that doesn’t mean fees are way forward. Especially if the fees could soon increase.

If the cap on student fees is raised or, worse, completely removed, it will cause more debt woes. Let’s get behind a different method of funding Higher Education!

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After this bad news, there is a bit of light relief. I laughed at the news that one in five students will find love after meeting someone at university. Aww, bless!

I met the love of my life in a year out before uni. But you know what? Most of my year out was spent hanging around…a university. And I took a liking to one of the students there. So, in a way, I still found love after meeting someone at university. It just wasn’t at the uni I attended!

Volunteer for the NUS

Don’t stay silent, get involved! The National Union of Students are looking for volunteers to give up 2-3 hours of their time each week to get involved in promoting the NUS and working in campaigns to help promote a new blueprint of proposals for funding higher education that doesn’t involve upfront tuition fees. I’m passionate about the blueprint and look forward to increasing discussion around the country.

Volunteers are needed in 10 towns for special ‘Town Takeovers‘ in Liverpool, Bristol, Sheffield, Manchester, Southampton, Reading, Newcastle, Cambridge, London and Birmingham. If you study in any of these towns, now is a great chance to get involved locally in an important national campaign. And while there’s a serious point to it, you know it’s bound to be fun too!

What are you waiting for? Check it out!

Building an opinion – 10 tips

I recently talked about ‘information overload‘. Today, I want to discuss the importance of getting enough information to build an opinion.

Opinions can end up as misguided when you don’t have the right amount of information at your disposal. It’s okay to misunderstand or make the odd mistake, but a regular lack of detail starts to cause a breakdown in communication.

photo by Marcio Cabral de Moura

This isn’t just about study. We’re constantly engaged in an ‘information gathering’ exercise. It may be about new music, sport, your mate’s haircut, the person you fancy down the corridor, anything at all. While you’re living and thinking, you’re learning about new things and developing opinions all the time. Therefore, it’s crucial to take a balanced overview, no matter how strong your opinion is. Once you have enough information to hand, you have every right to a strong opinion. But as with your coursework, make sure you can back it up! 😉

Here are ten tips to help guide you and allow the right flow of information in your life:

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Tumblelog EduLinks

Here is the first set of the best links from TheUniversityBlog Tumblelog. If you don’t read it or subscribe to its feed, now is the chance to see what I’ve been recommending. If you do read it, let me remind you… 🙂

Clearing 2009 – Helpful Links

Recent information to help with the upcoming clearing process. I’m sure there will be more articles popping up around the start of clearing later this month.

The Independent – Student Banking

Looking to pick a student bank account that’s best for you? This article in The Independent is a good starting point for some of the deals this year, including best overdrafts and freebies. It also warns about some of the problems you might face.

MoneySavingExpert – Top Graduate Accounts 2009/10

So graduates don’t feel left out, this banking article is for you. The always helpful MoneySavingExpert site gives you the lowdown on all you need to know.

Helping Graduates Into Work

Mayor of London site packed with advice, links and information for graduates. Suggesting what you can do with your degree, where to go when looking at a specific career, how to go about applying for jobs, what job boards to check out for London, which careers events are coming up, and what further studying opportunities are available. Quite simple to navigate and use.

Lifehacker – How to Highlight Text Like a Keyboard Ninja

Insanely helpful tips on highlighting text. Speeds up the process a lot of the time.

Scientific American – Why is it hard to “unlearn” an incorrect fact?

Discussing ‘proactive interference’ and how to retrain your brain.

New York Times – The Compliment Guy

Whatever the weather, Brett Westcott would go on campus at Purdue University and give free compliments to anyone passing by. He says:

“I have already experienced the life-changing truth that one person can change the culture for the better. Life does not get much more fulfilling than that.”

Fantastic.

Virtual Learning Suite (Intute)

Tutorials to help you get the most out of your degree subject. Full of good resources and links.

MakeUseOf – 6 Less Known Free Online Word Processors

…with links to the better known free online word processors too. Something for everyone here. For those who don’t want distraction while writing, looks like DarkCopy and Writer would probably help.

Intelligent Life – Is Google Killing General Knowledge

A fantastic article. I mentioned one quote on the Tumblelog, but the whole piece is worth reading:

“A Google search, once you have keyed the words in, takes a broadband user less than a second, and the process will only get quicker. As for those laborious keystrokes, voice-recognition technology will enable us to bypass them. And soon pretty well everybody, from schoolchildren to drinkers in pubs, will be online pretty well all of the time. In that context, perhaps there is no longer any point in keeping facts in our heads. If you want to know who wrote “Skellig”, or whether Norway is a member of the European Union, or what Cary Grant’s real name was, you ask your laptop or your phone.”