University fees

[Tinaandco]

Hi, we have been here 9 weeks and our son has come to the conclusion that he might have to go back to the UK to go to University because we have been told that he can't get a student loan like he would get at home because we are not Australian citizens !!!

didnt realise this when we came so I'm not very happy that he might have to return home because he can't afford to do uni here !!!!

Tina x

[Love Shoes]

Poor thing :hug:

 

I can´t answer your query, but I am looking for work and can´t register with the local job centre because I don´t have PR .... :arghh: I get so cross because I really want to work .... I am just on the hunt through the wire so to speak ...

 

Good luck x x

[noworriesmate]

It is well documented on here and on the university sites, just what you will have to pay, if you don't have a permanent residency visa, you will have to pay overseas student fees which are astronomical, but if you have a PR visa the fees are at least half of what you would pay in the UK. Can't he take a year out, get a job, save some money, or by then be able to get a loan. This just shows that you can never do enough research, best of luck.

 

Not sure that's what the OP is saying Jim. It reads to me that they have PR which means they can get the Commonwealth price but if you are not citizens you have to pay each semester up front rather than taking out a student loan. My two boys have found it very easy to work and earn enough to pay their fees as they go. I would suggest to the OP that if their son gets a job now, he should be able to earn enough to pay the first semester in February which in my sons case is $3500. He should then be able to earn enough to pay his way through. The benefit of doing it this way is that my kids will have zero student debt when they complete their tuition.

 

NWM

[starlight7]

I guess here most students work to put themselves through uni- maybe not the case in the UK?

[VERYSTORMY]

It depends on the course and the year they are in. Some courses have a workload that is significantly higher than others. Then it changes again by final year.

The saving grace if he does go back to the UK is that I have been far from impressed with oz undergrad courses

[starlight7]

Very sweeping statement there! There is a definite hierachy of unis here- some have much higher standards than others - and the locals will know which and so will local employers. Some of the unis were developed from technical schools and some of these are not as academic as the 'original' unis. On the other hand, some of these are more practical and the students are often placed into job experience situations thus enabling them to obtain employment more easily. It all depends what subjects are studied of course. My experience is that the subjects like medicine, law, engineering are all just as good and better than the UK but some of the arts subjects are not so good. My husband is an academic and has taught at universities here and in the UK- he woulkd say that in his subject Australia is quite on a par with the UK.

[Tinaandco]

Hi and thanks for the replies, well my son is looking to do a sports course at uni and to eventually become a PE teacher so if anyone knows what the best uni for that is could they let me know please apparently our nearest uni is Deakin because we live in Geelong,

thanks Tina x

[LukeM]

Depends where you are in the country Tina?

 

Education is charged in band 1 so... from 2013 the fees per unit for Education are $733.50 each. Multiply that by 8 = $5868 per year.

 

It will vary by subject area that they want to teach. It does go up a little bit each year. 2012 was $706 per unit. I'm doing Bachelor of Education at QUT (Brisbane, QLD). My 2 areas are English and Film & Media, which are classed as Arts subjects so they're also in band 1 with Education. I was originally going to do BCT (Business Communications & Technologies) which is charged at a band 3 rate because they're 'business' units (even though they're directly related to Education and can't be taken as part of any other course at the University - go figure - in my books that makes them education subjects!!!) but I changed my mind because I didn't want to pay over $1100 for them, it's the same with subjects like IT & Business.

 

Needless to say I started out doing an IT degree. And it sucked. It was way above my abilities and mental capacity. I failed 2 units and I'm ashamed because that's $2000 wasted *literally*

 

Just be glad that he doesn't want to be a vet/dentist... they're nearly $10,000 per year. :cool:

 

OH - and an EDIT just for the record... the amount of debt that he will come out with if he does the degree in the UK (now) is going to be huge. It's tripling to 9,000 quid per year as of 2012 and remember that's ONLY for the tuition fees. You still have accommodation, alcohol and the like to pay for somehow. And hope that he might be able to get a job. And that you put his being able to return to Aus if he wants to on the line if he goes there and you stay here. And that it's more likely that he'd be able to commute cheaply here rather than having to find accommodation. :biggrin:

[LukeM]

It depends on the course and the year they are in. Some courses have a workload that is significantly higher than others. Then it changes again by final year.

The saving grace if he does go back to the UK is that I have been far from impressed with oz undergrad courses

 

Interesting that you should say this VERYSTORMY.

 

As a current student who was faced with the possibility of having to go to University in the UK, possibly, I am glad that I didn't. I don't like the look of the "partying" culture that UK students experience more-so than Aussie students.

 

And also that there are SO many degrees available in the UK... heck there are so many rubbishy "throw away" degrees (that's how I refer to them as)... you can even do a degree in stand-up comedy... yeah. There's a degree for everything you can imagine now. I don't see the point. Most degrees allow you to specialize in a field here. You don't need a whole degree on something so pin-pointed and fine-lined.

[Tickled Pink]

My husband and I are both academics working in a 'group of eight' University here in Australia. We are also both currently continuing to collaborate (in terms of on-going projects/publications) with two Universities in the UK - both of these are in the current UK top ten.

 

In terms of which is better? there are pros and cons to both sides of the water. We don't feel one is better than the other, they are just different. Academic qualifications wise there appears to be no difference in how they are taken on board by employers. What is more likely to matter is the classification of degree you come out with. A rubbish one, from either side of the water, will be seen less favourably than a higher pass. As already mentioned, some Universities are better than others and this is applicable in both the UK and Australia. For example, as a ballpark, a 'group of eight' institute is the same as a top ten UK University.

 

Fees wise, with the exception of International fees, I think students are better off here (Aus) given the new fee structure now in place in the UK. As previously mentioned, most decent Universities are now charging £9000, that doesn't include cost of living.

 

I wouldn't slate one or the other, as I say, I work within both systems, You just have to look at specific courses, weigh up the merits of both, do some costings and see where you stand at the end of that.

 

TP

[Bob1]

this in the paper today -

 

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/14560949/uwa-ranked-among-worlds-top-universities/

[connaust]

There are alternative pathways via TAFE (with entry to 2nd year uni) which can make significant savings before committing to (more expensive) university. e.g. in Geelong, Gordon TAFE http://www.thegordon.edu.au/Courses/Pages/AwardCourse.aspx?CourseID=224 and Deakin University.

[KazzE]

My niece put herself through Uni here, she had to pay full fee because they wedding not have PR when she started, she had to stArt or get a job which would have meant she was no longer dependent so no choice really.

 

Because of the way the degree courses are structured most students can work enough to pay their way, my niece managed to work three days, including week end and extra shifts during holidays to pay the full fees ANd they had to be payed up front at the start of each semester.

 

I would get advice and research, research, research before you make the decision.

 

We had some great help from Study options;

 

Telephone: 020 7353 7200

International: +44 20 7353 7200

 

Address: 16 Temple Chambers, 3-7 Temple Avenue, London, EC4Y 0DT

 

Web: http://www.studyoptions.com

 

Good luck

[Perthbum]

My husband and I are both academics working in a 'group of eight' University here in Australia. We are also both currently continuing to collaborate (in terms of on-going projects/publications) with two Universities in the UK - both of these are in the current UK top ten.

 

In terms of which is better? there are pros and cons to both sides of the water. We don't feel one is better than the other, they are just different. Academic qualifications wise there appears to be no difference in how they are taken on board by employers. What is more likely to matter is the classification of degree you come out with. A rubbish one, from either side of the water, will be seen less favourably than a higher pass. As already mentioned, some Universities are better than others and this is applicable in both the UK and Australia. For example, as a ballpark, a 'group of eight' institute is the same as a top ten UK University.

 

Fees wise, with the exception of International fees, I think students are better off here (Aus) given the new fee structure now in place in the UK. As previously mentioned, most decent Universities are now charging £9000, that doesn't include cost of living.

 

I wouldn't slate one or the other, as I say, I work within both systems, You just have to look at specific courses, weigh up the merits of both, do some costings and see where you stand at the end of that.

 

TP

In Australia do you pay your fees back when you are earning over 21k like in the uk...

[Davo1]

Not anything to contribute really as not yet in Oz but once we get there my daughter is looking to go to Uni and we will be PRs - so just wanted to thank everyone for the useful information.

[LukeM]

In Australia do you pay your fees back when you are earning over 21k like in the uk...

 

I believe it's around the $45,000 mark somewhere. They are then paid off by additional tax on your income. And as has been pointed out in the thread you are not entitled to defer your fees like this unless you are an Australian citizen.