University fees on perm res visa? Loans?

We were hoping to move to Oz in 3 years at which point our daughter would have completed one year of University in the UK. I really want her to come with us but we are not sure if we will be able to afford Uni fees for her in Oz. I am aware that we would have to pay her University fees as she wouldnt be entitled to any help. However I was wondering if there are bank loans available to students with permanent residence status? We desperately want to move to Oz but between debt commitments in the UK and Uni fees we are not sure it will be affordable. We have to make a decision ASAP as we have been asked for medicals. I am wondering wether to cut our losses and quit or wether to pay even more money out for what may be only a dream and never be affordable for us.

Is there any reason why she wouldn't be able to finish her degree in the UK, joining you in the summer holidays and once she finishes?

Hi yes that is a discussion we are having. She was keen to start her degree in Oz. However as my husband will be a newly qualified nurse in 2 years we don't think we will be able to afford to live there, pay UK debts and UNi fees. I am a teacher but there seems to be a lot of threads discussing the difficulties of getting jobs there. I have specialised in Special needs and now work advising teachers regarding kids with behavioural difficulties. Really worried I wouldn't get a job. Not taught for 6 years. One option is she completes her first degree in UK and we take it from there. If we have medicals etc this month and all ok then technically we have 5 years to go but it is leaving it very tight! We are unsure what to do. We have already paid a lot of money to get to this point so it is very stressful considering whether to keep going or forget it all.

Hi Geordie lass,

I myself am in the same situation, My husband will have one year left in uni when we move next year, Ive emailed tons of unis and spoke to loadsa peeps on here and the general feeling is to finish the degree in oz. However, it will mean he has 2 do 2 years over there to give him the same qualification. So your daughter will basically have to repeat her first year anyway. the fees (but all depends on which degree) are roughly £1300 per unit and ther 6-8 a year!!!!! I might be wrong but thats the info weve been given. You can get financial help once youve been there for 2 years I think. I would suggest you email the uni you are thinking of placing her in, explain the situation and they put you in touch with the right peeps. They have been very helpful.

good luck

Krazy.xxxxxx

This is one of the reasons we want to go to Australia, university courses are still the same cost as they were before this lying ConDemned government trebled the prices and would mean our kids would be saddled with over £30,000 of debt each. We can afford to pay for the courses in Australia, yes we have to get a loan, but it will mean our kids will have a university degree, will be debt free and and almost certainly guaranteed a good well paid job after they leave, which is really impossible to achieve here in the UK.

the fees (but all depends on which degree) are roughly £1300 per unit and ther 6-8 a year!!!!! I might be wrong but thats the info weve been given. You can get financial help once youve been there for 2 years I think. I would suggest you email the uni you are thinking of placing her in, explain the situation and they put you in touch with the right peeps. They have been very helpful.

HECS fees vary by course, but 1300 GBP is about $1900, which sounds like a lot to me! Most of our courses (BSc) are about $1100 per 10-unit course for a resident student (our students complete 240 units). It's more for anyone who's not here on a PR visa.

Remember also that you will have to apply for credit transfer, and for that you need as much detail about the course (module/subject) you want to receive credit for. We require an 80% match in order to give credit, and not all students receive credit for everything they studied elsewhere - it depends on how similar the subjects are.

While not impossible, I personally think it would be more stressful to start a degree in the UK & then finish it in Australia, and it could be easier all round to do the whole thing in one country or the other.

Another option would be for you all to come over here and your daughter to work for a while in order to earn some money towards her degree as well as accrue enough time to become eligible for fees assistance. Or, work and do the degree part-time (they are mostly modular, so it's possible to complete a program that's designed for full-time study. I work in one that is, but we have a significant number of students doing it part-time).Otherwise a bank loan may be possible, but I think your daughter needs to sure she'll be likely to get work on graduation that will enable her to pay it off. Some universities offer their programs on a semi-distance basis (my hubby's niece is doing teaching, and for her first year she's able to attend alternate weeks for 2 days and complete the work by distance while working full-time).

Definitely get in touch with the uni you're considering, they will be able to put you in touch with the program officer for the degree in question.

Also, be aware that most degrees in Aus are 4 years, and don't include embedded honours (that tends to be done as an 'end-on' course afterwards). Not all, though, it depends on what you're studying, and where.

Sorry for the long post - thought I'd share my understanding from the 'other side' of the situation.

Good luck.

This is one of the reasons we want to go to Australia, university courses are still the same cost as they were before this lying ConDemned government trebled the prices and would mean our kids would be saddled with over £30,000 of debt each. We can afford to pay for the courses in Australia, yes we have to get a loan, but it will mean our kids will have a university degree, will be debt free and and almost certainly guaranteed a good well paid job after they leave, which is really impossible to achieve here in the UK.

There's talk of increasing HECS fees, because they don't cover anything like the cost of running some programs. If Abbot and co. get in, we may well see a return to the scenario that happened under the Howard govt, where universities were able to implement local pay bargaining, so they laid off permanent academics & reinstated the posts as casual & fixed term.

A lot of students leave with $30,000 debt, & are still paying that off years down the track. Personally, I think there are too many people studying degrees, while there is a shortage of skilled tradesmen. University shouldn't be universal, in my view, that just leads to a situation where the only way to distinguish oneself academically is to undertake a higher degree, & a whole load of people end up doing jobs that they could just as well do without having put themselves through the financial strain of getting a degree. But I digress...

I'd be inclined to finish what you have started rather than mucking around with RPL and an extra year for honours in Australia - do the 3 years and get it all out of the way. Permanent residents have to pay up front although you do get the domestic rates.

I find it hard to believe that anyone - other than in the business of making money - would be recommending a move part way through a degree course. A UK degree is very portable and would be easily equivalent of an Aus degree when considering work or further study.

The $30k debt is still less than half of the debt they leave with here in the uk, based on average wages, we would be able to pay this for them, but we can't afford to pay it for them in the UK and with all the changes to contracts, pay, pensions, high unemployment, etc here in the UK we are not certain whether going to Uni here is worth it anymore and my 17 year old son mentioned this to us first, so he is thinking on similar lines to us.

Hi thanks for all the replies. We have spent hours discussing options. I think we would be ok funding her in Oz if both me and my husband secure work. He will be a nurse with one year of experience (second career and will be 46 but hope this won't be an issue) and I am a teacher but to be honest would be happy to do anything!we reckon my husband would be earning around 50K and I would hope to get the same for whatever I can do! She is interested in genetic research and is looking at science degrees at Queensland uni. We were working out how much it would cost to do a degree here and it is ridiculous £9K plus living expenses. So maybe we would be better biting the bullet and going without for a few years to get her started off and secure. It is very difficult - husband with a new career but hopefully a good one and daughter who desperately wants to study at Uni. She is doing her A levels and has agreed to do an English AS level to ensure she has relevant entry qualifications for Uni there)and she hates English!) I just feel that I am messing her about but we know financially the next 5 years are going to be difficult.

Hi just a quick question to the ropes Hoff - would we be able to get loans to pay for her fees when we are in Oz? It's the paying the amount upfront that is the problem. Just whilst we get on our feet? If hubby starts on the nursing route he will be able to look at the salary packaged things they do too whic may help with fees. Hate to get into more debt but if it means we can get there and start the new life it may be the way to go. The UK has nothing to offer.

Oh for a crystal ball!!

Hi just a quick question to the ropes Hoff - would we be able to get loans to pay for her fees when we are in Oz? It's the paying the amount upfront that is the problem. Just whilst we get on our feet? If hubby starts on the nursing route he will be able to look at the salary packaged things they do too whic may help with fees. Hate to get into more debt but if it means we can get there and start the new life it may be the way to go. The UK has nothing to offer.

Oh for a crystal ball!!

We were told we could get a loan because we were bringing a lot of money with us, but i think as long as you have a job and can prove you can pay back the loan, you should be ok. I will re-post the thread, so you can read it and ask the guy who i think is a financial expert. Best of luck.

Most uni students here have part time jobs so that helps with their tuition fees.They don't necessarily depend on their parents in fact most would not do that- they are adults after all!

Hi Geordie lass,

I myself am in the same situation, My husband will have one year left in uni when we move next year, Ive emailed tons of unis and spoke to loadsa peeps on here and the general feeling is to finish the degree in oz. However, it will mean he has 2 do 2 years over there to give him the same qualification. So your daughter will basically have to repeat her first year anyway. the fees (but all depends on which degree) are roughly £1300 per unit and ther 6-8 a year!!!!! I might be wrong but thats the info weve been given. You can get financial help once youve been there for 2 years I think. I would suggest you email the uni you are thinking of placing her in, explain the situation and they put you in touch with the right peeps. They have been very helpful.

 

good luck

Krazy.xxxxxx

Hi and welcome.

I dont know who told you That after 2 years of being here in Australia that they would help you. I know for sure they will not. Mt daughter is waiting to go to uni and cannot go until feb next year. We would have been here 4 years then at that time she can take her citizenship test. Once she has taken that and passed she can then get some kind of help, but I think thats the same has the UK its just a loan and will all have to be paid back once she starts work.

:biggrin:Hope this helps and good luck with everything

Hi thanks for all the replies.

My daughter is fine with working to help with fees and has said if necessary she will work part time and study part time to get through. I know she will be an adult but I want to help her as much as I possibly can. I was lucky enough to have my parents fund me through uni and I would really love to be able to do that for my daughter. But I think the main thing must be for us to get over there and get jobs. I am sure that a nurse and a teacher ( willing to do any job) will be ok!? We can stay in the UK and struggle ( and wait for more pay cuts/ robbery by this govt) or work our backsides off in Oz to achieve ultimately what is a better life. I grew up in South Africa after my parents emigrated and it was the best thing they ever did. I want a better life for me,my husband and my daughter and am convinced that will be in Oz. I think we will go for the medicals and take it from there.....

The $30k debt is still less than half of the debt they leave with here in the uk, based on average wages, we would be able to pay this for them, but we can't afford to pay it for them in the UK and with all the changes to contracts, pay, pensions, high unemployment, etc here in the UK we are not certain whether going to Uni here is worth it anymore and my 17 year old son mentioned this to us first, so he is thinking on similar lines to us.

I understand that HECS fees are lower than fees in the UK, at the present time; however, that may change in the not-too-distant future. Personally, I'd caution anyone against going to uni unless they absolutely need to in order to pursue their chosen career.