Question for non-US folks....

Ammo08

Here in the States, if you want to go to college there are many means available: Grants, scholarships, work programs, GI Bill etc....to get into college you generally have to take some sort of test. Getting into a specific college, say Harvard or Yale is generally competitive.

How do they do it where ya'll live? Over here I keep hearing from people that anyone in Europe who wants to go to college can because all the colleges are free...(something I don't believe)

Also, how does it work if a young English citizen in say Liverpool wanted to go to oxford? Is it competitive?

always shaken

College/university (uni) is open to every body ,regardless of money ,race ,gender,religeon,politics ,ect ect,but you do need qualifications to get in .You do need money to pay for courses,which you can get for a grant (that no one ever seems to pay back)
But the Oxford ,Cambridge system does seem to only accecpt students from either very wealthy families, or ex public school kids (same people) who then all go on to work in the civil service /government ,then **** it all up .But im sure others here will shoot me down in flames )

AlphaOmegaSin

Here in the UK, College is free (Under a certain Age). But you will need a certain amount of GCSE's to get in. I personally received just over the Amount required ( And did two Courses over the Space of two Years)

For University, you get a Student Loan (Which you have to pay back)

Thunderpussy

I got a blue at Cambridge, and if someone hadn't bumped the table, I'd have got
The pink and black as well !. ) ( very old joke)

always shaken

I went on a course years ago to Churchill College (Cambridge) we had great fun re-arranging the dons names on the resident board (it was a peg type board)
so in the morning it read
room 1 Ben Dover
room 2 Ivor Bigun
room 3 R Slicker ect ect you get the picture )
how we laughed ,the Uni people got jolly batey with us ,and we never was invited back

Thunderpussy

As Cpt Blackadder said .......
" I attended the University of life, the school of hard knocks and
the Kindergarten of getting the sh*t kicked out of me !". )

Hardyboy

Here's another one for you UK scholars: how does your student loan system compare to the US's? Our system is absolutely evil: for a period after you graduate, you pay nothing; then for two years you pay a tiny amount; then the payments increase. . .all while the interest piles up. I'm 48 and I'm STILL paying off a relatively small student loan I took out in graduate school (I received my PhD in 2000). I've been doubling or tripling my monthly payments to get this thing paid off as quickly as I can, but it's still a pain. . .

Thunderpussy

Not 100% sure about this but I think our system works on these lines.
You have to earn over £21,000 per year before you begin to pay back
your loan, at a percentage of your salary, and after 20 years, it stops,
Whether the loan has been cleared or not.
It's along those lines, but I'm not too sure about the actual amounts,
but in my opinion it's not too bad.

AlphaOmegaSin

For me, I felt that College was as far as I wanted to go when it came to my Education Life.

Thunderpussy

I'll admit I totally fu*ked up my education. I was the smartass
at the back of the class cracking jokes and having a great time.
Even though my teachers and school reports all said I was intelligent
and if I'd only settle down to do some work, University would follow, but
I didn't. Although all though High school I was in the second highest
Class in the school, even though, I never opened a book for a test, I just
Remembered stuff. which does make me think what could I have done if I
had actually studied.
So to any young members of AJB, hit those books, get a decent education
You'll only regret it later.
On a side note both my daughters are going to university, which I'm very
Proud of, as they will be the first from my immediate family to do so. and
I like to think if my birth lowered the planet's average IQ, my two daughters have
Hopefully raised it.! )

AlphaOmegaSin

I've told this story before, but I suffered hellish Bullying throughout Secondary School. I even survived a Suicide Attempt, and all of this sadly affected my Confidence. It felt like a huge Weight was off my Shoulders when I left School in 07.

Thunderpussy

School can be hell.

Number24

In NorWay college an university education is free, in the sense you don't have to pay for the courses. There is still the cost of living (housing, food, beer ....) You get a sum for studying, but most of it is a relatively cheap loan from the state. Many still have to work part-time or get money from the parents. You must of course have the right results from school to go to college or university.

Higgins

Thunderpussy wrote:

I'll admit I totally fu*ked up my education. I was the smartass
at the back of the class cracking jokes and having a great time.

Sounds like your present days on AJB :v

Higgins

Here in Germany University is free - with the exception that some have to pay around EUR 500 fees per semester.
Of course your marks have to pass certain requirements together with some additional tests ( if you want to study medicine).

You'll get also affordable loans for the living expenses, which you pay back later and a large portion of these debts will be waived later often.

Absolutely_Cart

This is probably why people in Europe are, on the whole, educated, and people in the United States, on the whole, aren't.

Captalism's a great system for making t-shirts and refridgerators but a horrible one for education.

AlphaOmegaSin

The Leaving Age here has now been extended to 18. You finish like normal at 16, but you do a Course (Or Work Experience?) Until your 18.

Barbel

always shaken wrote:

the Oxford ,Cambridge system does seem to only accept students from either very wealthy families, or ex public school kids (same people) who then all go on to work in the civil service /government ,then **** it all up .But im sure others here will shoot me down in flames )

Nope, seems a pretty accurate assessment of the situation.

Silhouette Man

Barbel wrote:

always shaken wrote:

the Oxford ,Cambridge system does seem to only accept students from either very wealthy families, or ex public school kids (same people) who then all go on to work in the civil service /government ,then **** it all up .But im sure others here will shoot me down in flames )

Nope, seems a pretty accurate assessment of the situation.

Indeed it does.

AlphaOmegaSin

I agree

Thunderpussy

) I'm not going to argue, either. )
As pointed out during the election, the PM, the Chancellor, the leader
of the opposition and the lord mayor of London all went to the same school. )
A political elite in Britain ? No way. )

Lady Rose

Silhouette Man wrote:

Barbel wrote:

always shaken wrote:

the Oxford ,Cambridge system does seem to only accept students from either very wealthy families, or ex public school kids (same people) who then all go on to work in the civil service /government ,then **** it all up .But im sure others here will shoot me down in flames )

Nope, seems a pretty accurate assessment of the situation.

Indeed it does.

Well, I'm going to disagree with you all.

Lady Rose Jnr is going through this very process as we speak.

A friend of hers, at State School, has been offered a place at Oxford on the very sort after PPE course ( Philosophy, Politics and Economics). The course some of our most prominent politicians have done.

She also has another friend offered a place at Oxford on a singing scholarship. So, that proves that it is open to all.

Admittedly places like OxBridge and LSE (London School of Economics) are very difficult to get into and money and position has to have a bearing but there are opportunities to be had.

Students who want to go to University can apply for an very low interest tuition loan for their courses, £9,000 per year. They can also apply for a maintenance grant (which will be changing to a maintenance loan following the last budget).

They only start to pay it back after you have graduated and are earning £21,000. Th payments are relative to what you earn. The more you earn the more you pay. If you don't earn over £21,000, you don't pay it back.

(This is slightly different in Scotland and N.Ireland)

As for actually getting in to University, you usually need at least 3 'A' Level qualifications but what University you go to depends very much on the grades achieved .

If you want to study English at Oxford/Cambridge/Bristol/Durham or the like you would need something like A*, A, A to get offered a course there.

If you want to go to Bournemouth or Winchester you would need lower grades like B,B C ...

There are all sorts of variations but that's the basics.

Ammo08

I finished my bachelors degree in 36 months, by going straight through, no breaks. I had the GI bill from my 4 years in the USAF, I think I got $360/mo. I also worked as a bartender and maintenance man for the apartment complex I lived in. I only paid $50/mo for the apartment, my truck was paid for from my 4 years in the Air Force. I didn't borrow any money, I hate borrowing money.

I was in school with rich kids, poor kids etc...my state will send you to school if your grades are good, but you will not be able to eat out ever night, or have premium beer every night...My sons have friends who borrowed huge sums of money and never finished school because of grades, booze, drugs, or getting someone pregnant or getting pregnant..but now they want the taxpayer to forgive their loans..doesn't make any sense to me.

Golrush007

Here in South Africa, students from a previously disadvantaged cultural background (ie black, Indian etc) often get grants or bursaries to cover their university tuition. For white people it's generally quite difficult to get any sort of financial aid because it is all allocated to the racial groups that were disadvantaged by apartheid. Student loan is usually the only option for white students. If I remember correctly, after I finished my studies I was given six months before I had to start repaying the loan. Unlike Hardyboy's experience the payments didn't slowly increase over time. I had three years to pay the money back.

sniperUK

There are other ways to get university funding, on of my cadets,16 yrs old, has just completed her GCSE exams , she has applied for the Welbeck Defense Sixth Form College as an engineering entrant.
To get this she has just completed Officer and Aircrew Selection at RAF Cranwell. If ,and I have no doubt she will, gets this the Royal Air Force pays for her two years at Welbeck followed by paying for her engineering degree at Southampton University or if her A-level scores are high enough Oxbridge. After completing her degree she will be straight to Cranwell passing out as a Flying Officer straight to an Engineering Officer course and JENgO post at an RAF squadron. Basically her next ten years are totally mapped out for her with a fantastic career.

BondJasonBond006

In Switzerland you have to pay a fee for a semester at the University. But that's really small change that anyone can afford.

Foreigners though have to pay quite a bit to study in Switzerland, several thousand CHF per semester, usually around 3000 USD, that'll be 2000 GBP.

Ornithologist

Higgins wrote:

Here in Germany University is free - with the exception that some have to pay around EUR 500 fees per semester.
Of course your marks have to pass certain requirements together with some additional tests ( if you want to study medicine).

You'll get also affordable loans for the living expenses, which you pay back later and a large portion of these debts will be waived later often.

Absolutely_Cart wrote:

This is probably why people in Europe are, on the whole, educated, and people in the United States, on the whole, aren't.

Captalism's a great system for making t-shirts and refridgerators but a horrible one for education.

Neither system is perfect. I think it's way too expensive in the U.S., but it shouldn't be entirely free either (which means that somebody else pays for it through taxes), because that creates wrong incentives. Plenty of people enroll for almost a lifetime or just to get other benefits like almost free train tickets etc.

I think the sensible middle ground would be to have people pay for their education, but after they finish it and then based on their income.

Also, a university degree doesn't automatically make you smarter. Plenty of people who know their subject reasonably well, but not much else about the world...