Going to university/college or not

[RobBright 35]

Am still in debt with loans company, but shit happens eh?

[JA2340 16]

Originally Posted By: grungy-gonads

Perhaps different countries experiencing different situations here.

Getting into uni in England has, since I went, been easier in recent years. In a big part because there's tons more "universities" than there used to be.

My comment was in relation to the "high level of intelligence" wording. Intelligence and university entrance have very little bearing on each other.

[Go Native 70]

At least in Aus you don't take out loans as such. You accumulate the debt but have to pay nothing up front and only pay back through extra tax on your income once you have a job earning in excess of $40k per year or something like that. It's a good system in my opinion. There's no time limits to pay it back as far as I know and it's not like you can default on payments like you might with a loan. Don't think there's any interest charges. Might have changed a little though in the 17 years or so since I completed my degree.

[HelperElfMissy 42]

No interest on the HECS debt GN, but it is indexed to follow inflation each year...so it does go up - but relative to inflation.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

with the loans in the UK, you can defer payment. You have to earn a certain percentage of the national average wage before you start paying it back. I think I have to be earning about 3k a month to start paying it back.....such a shame I'm not!!

[big-will 7]

Never heard of that.

Wonder how long that system has been in place.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

I started uni in 1997, dunno how long it went on before that.

[Mintyjulep 0]

I owe NZ$20k 4 years study.

 

I'm thinking about going back to studying part time. I have all these possible futures for me in my head - Freelance journalist, Rape victim therapist, Science communication (working with kids in museums), archivist, librarian, etc etc

 

How can I make real money so I can go to Japan each year with any of those jobs?

 

I'm sure I'll realise one day what I want to do, but in the meantime I have to redevelop good social skills. I'm an INFJ, so the introverted, intuitive, and feeling bits mean that I tend to guess at what people think of me & each other and I can get very negative in social situations.

 

as for super educated nancies who head out to become winemakers - I hate the majority of them. A winery here in NZ used to hire graduate diploma students fresh out of Lincoln as assistant winemakers. They were known as the "graduate winemakers" and they knew nothing that they needed to know, not even how to prime a pump or operate a forklift or how to mix different additions. I work with several and they boss me around no end, even though I actually spent longer studying winemaking than they did, and I've worked at more wineries & more prestigious wineries than they have. At least I can have a good giggle when I see them mix up tannin fining agents with hot water or vigorous mixing - do they not know about proteins denaturing in these environments? If they want me to clean tanks all day when I am capable of doing their jobs very well by myself, then I'll keep my knowledge to myself quite happily.

 

People like to think that the further they have progressed into university, the more important and knowledgeable they are. This isn't necessarily true.

[iiyamadude 6]

Originally Posted By: MintyNZ

I have all these possible futures for me in my head - Freelance journalist, Rape victim therapist, Science communication (working with kids in museums), archivist, librarian, etc etc

A bit strange that selection Minty!

I left with only a relatively small loan.
My parents cleared it for me as a graduation present.

[Go Native 70]

Originally Posted By: MintyNZ

I owe NZ$20k 4 years study.

So that's worth about $200 Aussie?