10 replies to this topic

[andresf91]

I'm studying History at university in my country, and as I have an "advanced" level of English (FCE, CAE), I began wondering the other day about how much would it cost me to finish my career in the United Kingdom.
So, I'm reading The Guardian's University Guide 2010 and found that all institutions have a £3,225 fee.
But what is that fee? A monthly fee? Annual? The whole course?

Hope British students help me here

Andrés

Edited by andresf91, 29 May 2009 - 06:11 AM.

[rvalkass]

The £3,225 fee is per year and is known as the university 'top-up' fee. The rest of the cost of your education is funded by the government (ie. the tax payer) and the university itself. Most courses last for three years. At the moment this fee is covered by a loan taken out at the beginning of your course. The fee is automatically paid each year to your university, and you only pay it back once you have finished your degree and are earning money.

However, as an international student you have to pay all of your fees yourself. These vary from university to university, but are around £10,000 per year. To be granted a student visa you need to show that you can afford to pay not only the university fees, but that you have enough money for accommodation, food, etc. This is currently recommended to be around £8,000 per year. To be granted a student visa to enter the UK you need to show you can afford this.

There is more information in this booklet. It's specific to the university I'm at, but there is lots of general information on the costs, getting a visa, etc.

The English Lanuage requirements again vary between universities, but my university has a fairly comprehensive list of accepted qualifications here. If you don't have one of those qualifications then you have to attend a short English course before your actual course starts.

There is lots more information here. Again, some of it is specific to my university, but a lot of it is general advice. Also, feel free to contact me with any other questions you've got about university here in the UK

[webishqiptar]

Wow, how to difficult to support University in England, what about other post-graduation course for International students for foreign students, I mean if I finished dentistry in Albania, what should I do for a course, on one of the branches of dentistry?

[andresf91]

rvalkass, thanks for the information, it is really, really useful.
However, my (family's) budget can't deal with £18000 a year for college. Anyway, it was just a curiosity.
Although, I think that my faculty (I'm studying History) has some kind of exchanges with other universities around the world, since there are several foreign students here... you know, people talking Japanese or German in the corridors...

So, I see what I can do. Maybe, I'll just visit the UK to know.

[dangerdan]

The £3, 125 is what I, as a British student at a British Uni (not strictly true, but...I won't) but I pay that little because my LEA (Local Education Authority, in my case Solihull) HEAVILY subsidise the rest for me. International students pay between 10-20k per year based on what I've heard but I'm not entirely sure.

Now to open this debate a little wider and talk about the general inaccessiblity of University education. Universities remain heavily dominated by students from high income families and despite this there is talk in the media to INCREASE tuition fees. To me this seems absolutely ridiculous and counter-productive to achieving the economic aims of our government.

University is generally funded by a student loan but I am not sure if international students can apply for them! They are split into two parts the tuition fees I already mentioned and the other part is the 'maintenance' loan which is essentially to live off.

[andresf91]

dangerdan, on Jun 8 2009, 02:55 PM, said:

Now to open this debate a little wider and talk about the general inaccessiblity of University education. Universities remain heavily dominated by students from high income families and despite this there is talk in the media to INCREASE tuition fees. To me this seems absolutely ridiculous and counter-productive to achieving the economic aims of our government.

Absolutely agree with you. Elites dominate universities, almost everywhere. Even here, in Uruguay, where you don't have to pay a fee in the public university (there are private ones too, but they're not as prestigious). Because, students needn't money for a fee, yet we still need it for books, food, etc... So, we still need to work. This means that, generally, for the worker that reaches higher education, it takes twice or more the time than for someone who can cover the costs of living and studying... Pretty unfair uh?

dangerdan, on Jun 8 2009, 02:55 PM, said:

University is generally funded by a student loan but I am not sure if international students can apply for them! They are split into two parts the tuition fees I already mentioned and the other part is the 'maintenance' loan which is essentially to live off.

A loan? I've heard about it... But that means that you have to pay interests???? That'd be insane!

[rvalkass]

andresf91, on Jun 13 2009, 08:28 AM, said:

A loan? I've heard about it... But that means that you have to pay interests???? That'd be insane!

Yeah, we have to pay interest, but the interest rate is tied to inflation. As we are currently in a recession, the interest rate is either 0% or negative at the moment Basically you end up paying back exactly what you borrowed, but adjusted for inflation. I don't believe the company running the student loans makes a profit, and they're government backed.

[jullaby]

Sometimes, the fees are so ridiculously high, it'll take you half your life to earn back the money you used to pay for tuition fees. Especially if you wanna study overseas. I'm looking to study either in the US or UK but i'm so tied down because of the money.

[andresf91]

Regarding this topic, I read a work by the thinker Alex Callinicos which may be quite useful for those interested in this topic.
It's called Universities in a Neo-Liberal World, it has 23 pages and the explanation is really neat and easy to understand.
Here's the link.

I'd like to highlight an extract from the Introduction that gives an idea of what it is about and how the changes affect us all.

Quote

British universities are in fact being driven by priorities shaped by the needs
of big business. They are being reconstructed to provide British and foreign corporations
with the academic research and the skilled workers that they need to
stay profitable. At the same time they are being transformed from scholarly
institutions into profit centres earning foreign exchange for the economy of the
United Kingdom.
To this end, expansion takes place on the cheap, as resources per student are
slashed, and universities, departments and individual academics are encouraged
to compete with each other. The shift away from student grants to loans and
tuition fees forces many students to work long hours to support themselves in
preparation for a life of wage-labour. No wonder potential students from
poorer backgrounds are being discouraged from going to university.

Hope you like it.

Edited by andresf91, 18 September 2009 - 08:47 PM.

[akira550]

i wish to study in different someday also

just a dream ahaha i need to finish my studies in my own country first 

and earn money before doing things crazy