Are top up fees putting you off going to uni?

Pearly

Hello :wave:

The number of people apply to uni has dropped for the first time in six years, down 3.9% (13,000 students fewer than last year).

I wanted to write an article reflecting the new numbers and how top up fees appear to be putting a lot of people off going to uni for fear of being in debt.

See these articles:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2042803,00.html
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/56313.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4646920.stm

-Do you feel they are justified?
-How you will cope with paying for them
-Have you decided not to go to university due to the expense?
-Will you prefer to pay the fees on leaving university as a loan, or did you like the idea of paying for them upfront?

I would be really interested to hear your views on this subject.
Thanks
:cool:

JsT

I started university this year, I was intending to take a gap year but obviously that would have meant paying higher fees when I started, so I started this year instead.

Former Member

I was always expected to go to uni, had there been slightly less of a family precedent it may well have put me off. I was never going to affect me anyway cos of my age, but if I were younger it would have affected a decision to take a GAP year

Former Member

This issue is further complicated by the fact university funding is different throughout the UK. For example, I'm living in Wales, but going to study in England. How much I will have to pay, I'm not yet certain, as I'm waiting for my local education authority to get back to me on that one. Whether they're justified is a question I've answered before, but it's blatantly clear by saying no that I have another agenda.

Payment for my fees will have to come from a loan. There's no way I can find £3000 out of the blue each 12 months to pay them, and thousands more to fund day-to-day living. Having to pay these upfront would mean massive numbers of people not being able to attend university. Obviously, I will have to pay them back after leaving in 2009.

To be honest, I had applied to go to start university in 2005. I was hoping to start at Cardiff University. However, a number of things put me off. Aside from personal issues at the time, I also was aware I had to pay a certain amount of my fees beforehand. I wasn't sure how I was going to do this myself. I'm trying not to go to my parents about money - my sister's starting university in 2007, I believe she should take priority over me. She will be going to a Welsh university, thus saving herself a fortune. Perhaps I should have applied for a university in Wales, but I don't regret choosing what I did.