Exam Results

[pebbles]

It is not the end of the world.

[clvrlad]

thats the thing with exam results getting good ones is good but if you dont in can help motivate you

that or they might not be relevant to what you want to do ive been told loads of time..."i dont know why you arent doing x"
the best answer ive come up with is "i dont want to..." worked as a toddler works now

just dont forget to stamp your foot when you try it out

[Biscuit]

thanks sounds like i am no alone.

my daughter is going to study psychology

biscuit

[Bunnylump]

Well if she needs some case studies, there are plenty of us on here who'd make interesting studies!!!
I wish her all the best with her course.

[Wulfruna]

Which just goes to show, it's not really the end of the world, is it?

That's so important to remember! These days there are some good alternatives to university which don't leave you in huge debt and may even lead to better opportunities - despite the current dire job situation.....

[Bunnylump]

Child number one already £21000 in debt. AND she has another year of study too!
Child number two currently £7000 in debt.

It is SO depressing.

[strep98]

Well done to all of you talented people. 115mph Bunny!!!!!!!!!!

[fernando]

Child number one already £21000 in debt. AND she has another year of study too!

What sort of course is she taking? Is it a medical course or another long one?

[Bunnylump]

She's going to do teacher training. That lasts a year. Mind you, at least this time she can live here rather than having the £400 a month for a room in a house!! Mind you it will mean extra bathroom rows...

You need to get good at science. There are lots of bursaries around for that!! (Well, to qualify, unless you do conservation biology and ecology like my son has. No bursaries for that. )

[fernando]

Ah right. If all goes to plan, she should be able to pay it off when she is employed then I guess.

Maybe being in debt now will teach her to stay on top of her finances in her future life.

[giraffe]

Fernando, you have no idea. By the time she's earning a teacher's relatively low wage, she'll have the tax man taking his cut and then living expenses etc eating most of the rest. It'll take years to pay the student debt off. Poor bunnylump may end up housing and feeding her and fighting her for the bathroom for a good while.

[fernando]

Oh. I'll make sure that I don't get a debt then. Looks like I am sleeping in a cardboard box at the side of the road and eating bread and water while I am at university then.

[Laura]

Or you could just stay at home like I did, and work too, then you don't get into debt. It is much more boring than actually being at uni though.

[giraffe]

I think this thread has inspired Fernando into a thrifty mood. While we were shopping this morning he paid the remains of his birthday money into the bank. Well done F!

[fernando]

It was only £30 but as Tesco would say 'Every Little Helps'

[clvrlad]

well you can always do the "student" things once you've left
that way it wont mess up your studies too
just don't tell giraffe i suggested it

[eirian]

I presume Student Loans work the same way as they did when I did my teacher training 10 years ago, so you only pay them off once you earn over a certain amount, but the amount you do pay off seems to go up quickly once you are over that amount (I'm still paying mine off as I don't exactly earn even the wages of a starting teacher, wish I knew how much more I had left!)

[Biscuit]

Luckily my daughter's boyfriend has got a summer job which he should get about 1200 after tax/ni approx for 5 weeks work - he could have got more weeks but. This will help him some way towards paying his course overdraft. He is lucky too as he gets a bursery and of course he only pays NI as he is a student, but I do know that jobs are hard to come by. He was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. I mentioned my nephew hurting himself, well they needed a replacement druing the holidays.

Biscuit

[Bunnylump]

You pay back the loan(s) once you are earning over a certain amount, and it's automatically deducted. Apparently if you haven't paid it back after 25 years it's all cancelled. I think this is my son's plan: have all the fun of uni, then never earn enough (or get a job) so he never has to pay it back.

My daughter has been working (driving trains) for most of the summer, but that'll just about pay off her overdraft...

[MBH]

I thought of a plan when the big 'Lesson Fees' debate was going on - all further education should be free (you feed and house yourself), and for every year of education you've enjoyed there is an ring-fenced half-percent income tax for the rest of your life. So if the stories are TRUE and you do end up in highly paid jobs, then the country benefits - if you end up working in McD's forever then you lose very little out of your wage.

Two conditions: (1) This tax follows you wherever you go in the world [Yes - I know the technical difficulties - but since it's never going to HAPPEN, who cares] and (2) It can be back-dated for all the politicians, doctors, and everyone else who enjoyed a free education.

I'd be happy to pay my extra 0.5% for my one year at Gateshead Tech


I always smile at the people who bemoan 'higher rate tax' - as with 3 jobs at once I've never been in that bracket. To my mind, if you need to pay higher rate tax then you've got a lot of money.... well, relative to me anyway.


Having had debt problems I certainly don't think it's right that teenagers and early 20s are leaving school saddled with a mountain to climb before they even start thinking about a house and the rest of life.


EDIT: Scurra - if this becomes politcal debate, then feel free to cut it. I treated it as a 'real life puzzle' a few years ago.