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► A fresher's story
Don’t raise the cap on tuition fees in 2010.
A fresher’s story…
Jo was lying in bed after freshers’ week, thinking how great it was to finally be at University. It had been hard – what with the new fees and having to borrow so much, but that was all to worry about in the future. Plenty of time to pay all that debt off when the money was rolling in. Time now to just think about enjoying the course and partying hard with new friends.
The students’ union was trying to talk about fees today. They said that we should be worried that the “cap” on fees at £3,000 could be lifted in 2010 and we should be worried. They’re such drama people. How can that affect Jo?
Why should anyone worry when you have already made the decision to come to University and this won’t affect you will it? Well will it affect you? You might be surprised. Just think about what lies in store for you for the future…
If you are currently 18 and have just entered University paying £3,000 tuition fees, there is every chance that you will leave University with around £25,000 of debt. If you find a partner whilst you are here you might well leave with a combined debt of £50,000.
If you work for 40 years paying off your debt (it might be nice to have at least a couple of years of debt free life before you retire!) you will need to pay £100 a month plus the interest to pay this off. Even at the cheap rates you can get your current borrowing at, you will still need to pay significantly more than £100 to get it cleared in 40 years. Let’s say £150 a month to be on the safe side. Sorted. Not so bad, you might think.
But hang on, we are also being told that we are now in a state whereby there will be no state pension for 18 year olds when they retire, so they will need to sort out their own pension right from the word go. Most respected guidance recommends something like a third of your income needing to be used for an adequate pension, but let’s not go that far. Let’s say we’re good, but we’re not that good. Let’s try and start with 25% of our salary going towards our pension. Say we both start on an average Graduate salary of £18,000, that means £4,500 each a year, or £375 a month each. So out of our combined take home salary of about £2,000 a month, £900 is already going on past debts and future pension. Ouch, that starts to hurt.
We’ll just have to give up ever owning a house, at least until we’re way into our forties. Still £500 a month on rent will buy us a nice simple flat.
Oh well, we lived like paupers for three years so a few more will have to do.
Hang on. I want a family at some point. Let’s say that we decide to start a family in a nice planned way by the time I am 30. Sounds good. Always fancied two kids myself, say a couple of years apart. My nice perfect family. What happens if they want to go to University when they are 18? Well, even today, on the current rates of £3,000 a year fees, if you want to help your son or daughter and pay their fees, you will need to start saving £25 a month right now, and every month for the next 30 years! If you a planning two children, then that is £50 a month right now. And that is just for the fees at the current rate, with the cap at £3,000. If you don’t want your children to keep on repeating the debt cycle that you are facing, then you might want to give them the equivalent amount for their living costs. So for two children that would then be £100 a month from right now.
Wow. How is that going to be possible? We can barely afford to live ourselves without saving for our kids higher education. But maybe it will be possible if we are really strict with ourselves.
Hang on. The Government have only put a cap on the £3,000 fees until 2010. What happens if they then lift the cap and it increases to the levels predicted. What if it goes to £15,000 a year? That would mean saving £500 a month, every month, for the next 30 years, just to pay for two people’s fees for University.
Add this to paying your own debts, trying to live, trying to plan for your own future… this looks like ADMISSION IMPOSSIBLE for your children.
Life is already going to be hard enough for you financially without you having to worry about how your children will be able to afford to go to University.
Don’t let it happen.
Join the campaign in the SU to keep the cap and fight fees.
For more info email vpedandwelfare@upsu.com
