9% of kids from poor families go to university in Barnsley

Here is the link....
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loans-tuition-fees-changes#tabTwo

Sorry but you the table shows £39000 at todays prices. there is even an example (caveated by individual circumstance) that states:
And if you earn £31,000, what do you repay? The answer is £900 pa. £31,000 is £10,000 above the threshold and 9% of that is £900.

The interest rates are relatively irrelevant since it simply adds to the total capital amount os which since repayments are fixed at 9% over £21k mean the repayment period changes rather than the monthly repayments. Since any outstanding amount is written off then it does not impact the debtor. Paying off the loan early is often not advisable (as Martin Lewis says) for a number of reasons one of the main ones being that since you may in 10-15 years find yourself out of work or below the threshold for paying so your payments would cease for the duration of the unemployment or the low salary. interest on deposit accounts could increase so savings interest yields could offset the payments you are making. Unless you instantly go to at least £40k p.a. and stay at that level or above for 30 years you will never repay the total amount due.

 

The link you posted isn't to the page I saw as it has a lower borrowing figure but will do.

I know repaying is inadvisable, I have never suggested that that is a good course of action (unless you earn a LOT in which case it is vastly better in the long run but you can never guarantee that you will keep that wage for 30yrs so still too big of a risk really). You are taking the £31,000 pa. figure as absolute. The amount you quote is what you would pay in one year, yes. However, that wage will change drastically over 30yrs due to both inflation and pay rises.

My biggest problem with student loans really, is the fact that it can change at any time. I accept the pay back rates, and interest rates sort of (although I am on the old system that they retroactively changed from being linked to CPI to being linked to RPI) but whatever you sign up to should be fixed and any changes should be for new students. I also dislike that fees are now so high that all but a tiny minority of students have no choice but to take out a loan. I find it worrying that students are being backed into a corner to take out something that can change whenever and however it wants. For example, it's extreme but there is no guarantee that in 30yrs they really will wipe out the debt, there's no guarantee that they won't increase both repayments and interest rates at the same time as refusing to wipe it out so you could be paying huge sums indefinitely. I know it's unlikely and scaremongering but the truth is that they could if they wanted to. That shouldn't be allowed.

 

I totally agree with all of that especially as that with governments the goal posts can be moved at any time since they simply rewrite the law. As you say the 30 year limit could be changed or even removed!
My wife got caught not once but twice when the state pension age was moved (for her) from 60 to 63 then at an accelerated time frame to 66 . Although she is only 5 months younger than me she has to wait almost a full year to get her state pension after I start receiving mine (She was of that mid 50s age group where the changes hit hardest). In spite of the govt arguing otherwise it affected her (our) retirement plans significantly . Nevertheless we cut our cloth accordingly and life goes on. It leaves a bad taste though.

 

That's rubbish for your wife and I think it's terrible that they have done that to women of her (and my mam's) age. The thing about your wife being only 5 months younger than you but being treated unfavourably is similar to my husband and I with student loans (except he is on the worst side of it). He is 6 months older than me and is in the year above so he took out his loan in 2005 whereas I took mine in 2006. Despite the fact that the '30yrs until debt wiped out' is a popular talking point, that doesn't actually apply for either of us. His loan won't be wiped until he turns 65 and mine will be wiped after only 25yrs.

 

The state should pay for degree level education in professions that are seen as adding value or scarce such as nursing, medicine, science, teaching, anything that adds value to GB plc.

There could be a prescribed list that is amended over time but retains a core.

For less essential degrees then these should be self funded but at a reasonable rate with maintenance loans for those from the poorest backgrounds and course fees to be returned to no more than a maximum of 3000 for the courses that require extensive teaching. Prices to be set by Govt not institutions. All paid courses should be interest free. Students should be offered an alternative to the loans system for these courses in the form of an additional tax. Of say 1% The system as it stands is untenable as its architect Lord Adonis has pointed out with senior Tory advisors this week describing it as a Ponzi scheme. It has to change it is not fit for purpose.

 

Yeah I'm chuffed to bits to be honest, my employer is paying for it as well as giving me time off from work to attend. I'm doing Quantity Surveying at Salford, I already do the job but getting the qualification will open up a lot of possibilities in the future but I know it's going to be hard work.

 

Great stuff! I know it'll be different attending as a mature student but I think you'll have a fantastic time.

 

Yeah really looking forward to it, being described as 'mature' is a bit ironic though ha ha