Medical students 'having to borrow almost £16,000 from their parents'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healt ... rents.html

Well if you want to keep the working class down this is just the way to do it.

There are some other ways to do it – a friend signed up with the navy – they pay for it although you have to sign up for a short term commission at the end or pay them back. But it let her do medicine and come out with no debts

However I still think that all students should get a full grant but then have the (old) top rate of tax increased from 40% to 42% - so =2% on top of your tax. Tis way those that go into better paid jobs pay while those that do something more vocational don’t

As a student you would know that was the “deal” when you choose to go to uni

I agree about free higher education. Though the electorate will not want to pay for it they are too selfish even though many benefited from free higher education. Even if student numbers are reduced will they accept it?

Nice idea, but with only a BTEC National, I was still earning more than a lot of graduates of the same age at my last company...

That really only works if: 1. you're interested in navy/army/raf and 2. there are no exclusions preventing you from signing up. Doesn't work for everybody.

I did six years at med school. I had to borrow the maximum amount of loan each year and even then parents had to help out. They're from a working class background and had two other kids to put through school and uni. With tuition fees, costs of living etc six years' of debt is a helluva lot. People with three year degree has have issues so you can imagine what it's like on the longer courses.

What's worse is that although deductions are made from my pay, they don't even cover the interest accrued! Realisically I would not be in a position to pay off the loan for a good 5-6 years. I know colleagues who took out professional loans and have miles more debt than me.

The course is long. You don't get extra money for all of the things required to complete the course. Reimbursement for travel expenses is woefully inadequate. Put simply: if I did medicine now I honestly think I would have to drop out and find employment or delay doing the course and trying to find work to be able to study.

IMO your background should have no influence over whether you can study what you want at university or whether you can go at all.

I think the NHS should provide a scheme of scholarships at the entry point where you can elect to work for the NHS for x years on a tenure basis, especially in areas needing the staff.

Many don't get the grades to do medicine although they want to, the NHS providing something like this for people who want to do this could be useful.

Similar to the teaching system

I'm not sure I'd be happy to be treated by someone who apparently doesn't have the academic nous to make the grade.
I guess it depends on which area, and to what extent they're allowed to work. Even then, proving they have the commitment to the job is a long chalk from proving they have the ability.
The teaching system is frankly [LIFTED]. There are 40,000 qualified teachers in the UK with no jobs to go to. Partly because they aren't there, and partly because schools are using trainees to fill in the gaps because they're cheaper.

Erm, Doesn't every student have to borrow about that much? I owe at least 12k + interest and didn't even have a maintenance loan

rectified : I dont get maintenance loan so i had to borrow money from my family to stay at uni as a part time job doesn't cover anywhere near cost of living, about 12000£ as well :S

I think this figure is a family loan in addition to state fees and loans.

Even those that get straight A's at A Level don't always get in for medicine, I know people on my gf's course (biomedical science) who are doing medicine AFTER their current BSc because it's the only way to get onto some courses.

I'd trust someone with 2 degrees in medical areas, wouldn't you?

Yes, I would, once they've got the appropriate bits of paper that say that 'this person is qualified to practice this area of medicine'.
Remember, simply getting your med qualification is just the start of the process, my sister is a consultant and has been sitting exams most of her career in order to practice at the level she's attained.
It's not quite the same as getting your BTEC in engineering and then sweeping up around a garage and learning to swap exhausts and do bodywork; I think an internship system would work well for the more vocational hands on careers, but where there's serious science and theory I'll take the person who's put in the book and research time over the person who's spent a bit of time helping out in the office.

So they will have two sets of student debts to pay off as well.