I, like many other teenagers across the country, received my A level results on Thursday 17th August of this year. Despite only receiving my AS results, meaning I will not be going to university until AT LEAST next year; many others received their A2 results, resulting in a place at a chosen university if that was the path they chose. This begs the question - Is the high costs of a university education actually worth paying?
This a is a very disputed issue, as some feel that a 'good degree' is priceless; however others have debts rising upwards of £40,000, thus consequently provides another side to the argument. Personally, going to university has been a huge goal of mine, and it will continue to be my goal until I achieve it. With this in mind, I have obviously researched the cost of attending university (particularly in the UK) and I have reached the conclusion that it is 100% cost effective. After reading an article published in 'The Sun', they claim "You shouldn't see it as a debt" which is a stance that I totally agree with. On top of this, experts on the student loan system, ie Bankers and Actuaries, claim that students shouldn't worry about having incurred such huge balances as they will earn enough in the future through their degrees to pay it back.
In terms of statistics, students in England will not have to repay their debt if they earn under £21,000 per annum. In Northern Ireland this figure is smaller at £17,775. Two conclusions can be reached from this. The first being that living costs in England must be higher than in Northern Ireland, and so results in a significant factor when AS students such as myself go to apply to university. The second being that tuition fees are cheaper in Northern Ireland than in the whole of the UK.
Overall, student loans can be a solid foundation to build your education upon. However, the debt itself may take up to 30 years to repay, and it's figures such as this that are putting many young people off going to university and taking out a loan. Despite this, a student loan can make university life a lot easier, and thus is why I feel that it is a good idea for young people such as myself.
