To those getting shafted by college fees

TheyKnowMyIP · 07-11-2011 10:44PM #1

Why not get your education abroad? I am a big believer in the free market, so why put up with increasing fees while the quality of third level education goes down? The amount you invest should be proportional to the actual quality of the education you recieve. Unlike most other nations, irish education appears to operate on the basis of an inverse relationship. This is not opinion, the league tables speak for themselves.

Ireland used to deliver a good education at a reasonable cost a few years back, but this is looking like a dwindling proposition. Some European countries don't even charge fees at all. It's a no brainer imo. Stop pissing people off with your aimless protests and put your money where your mouth is. Like most things in life, money is the ultimate bargaining tool. You can protest till you are blue in the face. These increases are not going away. Vote with your euro - It's better than any protest.

Am I talking sense or just deluded? You can give the finger not by wasting your breath on them, but by completely writing them out of the equation. Saddling undergrads who aren't exactly research oriented with massive loans isn't going to benefit society in the long run, even if the quality returns to a decent level.

landsleaving · 07-11-2011 10:45PM

Living in another country costs money, so I'm guessing that would be a big barrier, and no grants there either

allthedoyles · 07-11-2011 10:48PM

somebody's got rich parents

TheyKnowMyIP · 07-11-2011 10:49PM

landsleaving wrote: »

Living in another country costs money, so I'm guessing that would be a big barrier, and no grants there either

True. On campus accom should suffice though. It should still work out cheaper I believe, though I am well open to correction on this one. Grants aren't even required, if you are an EU citizen, the Government will pay. At least this is the case is some nordic countries like Finland. Probably because their tax everything to the hilt.

Cill Dara Abu · 07-11-2011 10:49PM

Amazing to always hear of college students being hard done by, a lot of my friends are students and they go drinking 4-5 nights a week so maybe if they didn't piss all there money up the wall they might be able to pay their own college fees rather than the working tax payer footing the bill!

starbelgrade · 07-11-2011 10:49PM

TheyKnowMyIP wrote: »

Vote with your euro

Haha!!! Students with money.. I've heard it all now!!

Naomi00 · 07-11-2011 10:49PM

Because it costs way more obviously, among a lot of other reasons.

I think protests etc are because money is constantly being cut from education, when it's blatantly obvious that TD's pay and the pay of cushy jobs in the public sector should be cut right down to normal standards. It's ridiculous that they act like such saints for taking a tiny pay cut, which is optional by the way, to make it even more ridiculous.:rolleyes:

TheyKnowMyIP · 07-11-2011 10:51PM

allthedoyles wrote: »

somebody's got rich parents

Nope. Not in a country mile. Any sort of job/income mostly alleviates these concerns though. What happens when the fees come back full whack? 10k per year for undegrad isn't good.

PseudoFamous · 07-11-2011 10:51PM

Cill Dara Abu wrote: »

Amazing to always hear of college students being hard done by, a lot of my friends are students and they go drinking 4-5 nights a week so maybe if they didn't piss all there money up the wall they might be able to pay their own college fees rather than the working tax payer footing the bill!

Arts students.

starbelgrade · 07-11-2011 10:52PM

What do we want?

Subsidies!

When do we want them?

Freshers week!

TheyKnowMyIP · 07-11-2011 10:52PM

tonycascarino wrote: »

Does it not cost money to live abroad? Money doesn't grow on trees you know..or at least you should

Last time I checked, it costs money to live here aswell:cool:

Cill Dara Abu · 07-11-2011 10:52PM

PseudoFamous wrote: »

Arts students.

Nope no Art students I know.

rockmongrel · 07-11-2011 10:53PM

Cill Dara Abu wrote: »

Amazing to always hear of college students being hard done by, a lot of my friends are students and they go drinking 4-5 nights a week so maybe if they didn't piss all there money up the wall they might be able to pay their own college fees rather than the working tax payer footing the bill!

Madness. Most of my friends are in college and they are sh!t broke, lucky to go out once a week. Guess we live in different worlds.

Miss Olenska · 07-11-2011 10:53PM

TheyKnowMyIP wrote: »

I am a big believer in the free market, so why put up with increasing fees while the quality of third level education goes down?

Didn't the quality of third level education decrease once fees were abolished, and degrees became increasingly worthless?

gizmo555 · 07-11-2011 10:54PM

TheyKnowMyIP wrote: »

True. On campus accom should suffice though. It should still work out cheaper I believe, though I am well open to correction on this one. Grants aren't even required, if you are an EU citizen, the Government will pay. At least this is the case is some nordic countries like Finland. Probably because their tax everything to the hilt.

Be a bit awkward to have to learn Finnish before starting your degree though . . .

Cill Dara Abu · 07-11-2011 10:55PM

Miss Olenska wrote: »

Didn't the quality of third level education decrease once fees were abolished and degrees became increasingly worthless?

Correct, some dumb fcuks going around with degrees.

maglite · 07-11-2011 10:55PM

Interested in how I get this free education if i just turn up at their door step, Could you enlighten me as to which countries do this?

thecornflake · 07-11-2011 10:57PM

gizmo555 wrote: »

Be a bit awkward to have to learn Finnish before starting your degree though . . .

Unless . . . . . you plan on doing a Finnish language course

TheyKnowMyIP · 07-11-2011 10:59PM

maglite wrote: »

Interested in how I get this free education if i just turn up at their door step, Could you enlighten me as to which countries do this?

Nordic countries, mostly. Provided you are an EU citizen, they will pay the fees. Look it up, I am not talking out of my arse on this one. Not that you get everything else for nothing, obviously. You would need to find a job I think. It's a practical solution in comparison to aimless protests/pussyfooting. At least in the present.

Novella · 07-11-2011 11:03PM

Pretty simple answer from me really - I like living in this country. This is where I am happy at the moment, this is where my family and friends are and I would like to be educated here. It's just preference.

ciara1052 · 07-11-2011 11:03PM

I checked out doing a degree in a nordic country but it was *free* (flights, accomadation, expenses not included) had I done it in the native language . The english language courses have fees of about 12-14k. I know this is also the case in Hungary.

Even if fees go up here and I some how manage to be able to find the money to continue in my degree (not so sure how likey that is...) - I'll still save because I've no living or travel expenses here because I live at home.

thecornflake · 07-11-2011 11:06PM

ciara1052 wrote: »

I checked out doing a degree in a nordic country but it was *free* (flights, accomadation, expenses not included) had I done it in the native language . The english language courses have fees of about 12-14k. I know this is also the case in Hungary.

Even if fees go up here and I some how manage to be able to find the money to continue in my degree (not so sure how likey that is...) - I'll still save because I've no living or travel expenses here because I live at home.

If fees do come in will they actually apply to people in the middle of degrees ?

I would have thought it would be incoming students.

TheyKnowMyIP · 07-11-2011 11:06PM

Don't get me wrong, if Ireland is working out okay, pay no heed to my comments. Not all colleges are shafting people in this country. It's just a solution I thought I might share for those that may not have considered it yet:)

If they keep increasing the fees exponentially, this is what is going to happen. In large numbers.

mikemac · 07-11-2011 11:08PM

Cutting administration in colleges and stop putting the top brass on huge salaries over one hundred thousand might go a long way towards this funding issue

My experience of college staff was bureaucracy and constant infighting between departments. Everyone trying to justify their position
Computer says no, you need to contact the other administrator, that's not my job, you'll have an answer to two weeks

TheyKnowMyIP · 07-11-2011 11:10PM

mikemac wrote: »

My experience of college staff was bureaucracy and constant infighting between departments. Everyone trying to justify their position

Don't get me started:pac:

Herb Powell · 07-11-2011 11:12PM

Cill Dara Abu wrote: »

Amazing to always hear of college students being hard done by, a lot of my friends are students and they go drinking 4-5 nights a week so maybe if they didn't piss all there money up the wall they might be able to pay their own college fees rather than the working tax payer footing the bill!

I'm in college. I can tell you straight away they are a minority. Most are broke.
I ****ing hate this debate anyway. Education is one of the most important things a country can invest in/spend money on.

DB21 · 07-11-2011 11:14PM

Always funny to see someone so disconnected with student life stick their nose in. I'm sorry if that sounds snarky, but it's true.

"Students out on the piss 4-5 times a week" invariably fail first year.

Studying abroad isn't an option for a lot of people due to accommodation and living costs, as well as most countries not giving a grant to non-citizens.

Most students are now on €1 per day. This is the reality of our situation. And registration fees are set to rise again. People throwing out fantastical solutions like this is ridiculous.

elefant · 07-11-2011 11:15PM

ciara1052 wrote: »

I checked out doing a degree in a nordic country but it was *free* (flights, accomadation, expenses not included) had I done it in the native language . The english language courses have fees of about 12-14k. I know this is also the case in Hungary.

Even if fees go up here and I some how manage to be able to find the money to continue in my degree (not so sure how likey that is...) - I'll still save because I've no living or travel expenses here because I live at home.

No fees except registration in Belgium or the Netherlands, even for Masters courses. Registration is around 600 and 1700 respectively I think, but that's a whole lot less than the the 7 or so grand you'd pay for a masters in Ireland.

Also, in the Netherlands, if you're lucky enough to find a job the Dutch government will pay you a grant and give you a free transport card. You're also eligible to get rent allowance from the government, but I'm not sure just how much this covers.

TheyKnowMyIP · 07-11-2011 11:17PM

DB21 wrote: »

People throwing out fantastical solutions like this is ridiculous.

It's not a silver bullet solution to apply to every single student. It's something I thought might be worth considering though. How is the suggestion "fantastical"? Would you still consider it fantastical when you consider the huge number of people leaving the country on a daily basis? If you manage to find work abroad, I can't see how it isn't a solution to consider.

ciara1052 · 07-11-2011 11:20PM

thecornflake wrote: »

If fees do come in will they actually apply to people in the middle of degrees ?

I would have thought it would be incoming students.

I don't know tbh. People I know seem to think so

. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Cill Dara Abu · 07-11-2011 11:22PM

Herb Powell wrote: »

I'm in college. I can tell you straight away they are a minority. Most are broke.
I ****ing hate this debate anyway. Education is one of the most important things a country can invest in/spend money on.

Yeah, look where that has got us :rolleyes:

To those getting shafted by college fees

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