HOW TO AVOID THE STUDENT DEBT DISASTER
Money Mail, July 26, 2017
YOU’RE better off saving for a home and joining the real world. If you want a degree then do one with the Open University. Parents who send their children to university are loading them with a lifetime of debt with no guarantee of a good job at the end of it.
H.T., Northampton
THE whole system is wrong. Not only do students leave with mountains of debt, but it falls to the taxpayer after 30 years if the person doesn’t pay it off by then.
D.E., Edinburgh
IT’S totally different in France. My brother went to Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. It’s not only free; the university pays students €1,600 (£1,430) a month.
D.L., Paris
ONE couple I met in the U.S., both of whom were doctors, finished their studies $325,000 (£246,000) in debt. Unless the degree is essential, I’d think twice.
H.N., London
IT’S easy to criticise the system, but my son wouldn’t be where he is today without a degree. He has a good job and so do his friends. Yes, it can be a waste if you study a subject employers don’t rate, but it is invaluable in areas such as finance or medicine.
T.W., Coventry
PEOPLE say student debt is not like real debt, such as overdrafts or credit cards, but it is still a huge psychological burden. They often get criticised, but I do think young people have it hard.
F.R., Manchester
I WISH I’d been to university. It wasn’t something a lot of people could afford when I was young. Yes, you leave with debt but at least today you have the choice.
D.D., London
EVERYONE says, ‘don’t go to university and earn £21,000 a year, you can get much more if you become a plumber’. But we can’t all be plumbers, can we? There are jobs out there that don’t pay much, but are important and need skilled people to do them.
L.T., London
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