Tuition Fee Torment

The 2006/2007 troop of freshers are the first to experience the new, increased tuition fee changes. Students who began their studies in 2005 or before only contributed a fifth to the total cost of tuition fees, a maximum of £1,175 per year. Now those who enter higher education are faced with the daunting sum of up to £3,000 per year.

This sizeable increase has created great anxiety amongst future university students, with the 2005 autumn applications for higher education dropping for the first time in six years.

There’s no need to panic though as there is a considerable difference between the two payment methods.

While the previous academics had to ‘pay as they go’, the current and future string of students only have to pay when they are earning. So if you manage to land a job after graduation that pays the neat sum of £20,000, you will only be required to pay back £8.70 a week. And if your circumstances change with you finding yourself out of work, your payments won’t continue until you are earning over £15,000 again.

Although future students will end up forking out over a third more for tuition fees, this “pay as you earn” system will free up much needed funds right now.