Tag: university

  • Why has Competition for the Top University Places Increased…?

    According to The Guardian, over 10 000 A-level students who are predicted to get three Bs in their A-levels this summer haven’t got a firm offer at any university – they will be relying on clearing. This is because competition for those top places has increased this year, and there are two main reasons for…

  • Lowering the student loan repayment salary threshold….

    The government is proposing to reduce the salary threshold at which students start to repay their tuition and maintenance loans. Presently, graduates only start repaying their loans when the start earning £27 000 a year, but this could be cut to £23 000. Students pay back 9% of their salary above the threshold – so…

  • Huge increase in Chinese students studying at UK universities – a funny kind of ‘globalisation’

    The U.K. now issues more than 100 000 student visas per year to Chinese students studying at British universities, with the numbers of Chinese students studying in the UK increasing at about 5% a year since at least 2013-14 Chinese students are by far the largest non-European student group living temporarily in the UK for…

  • Why do universities make unconditional offers?

    Why do universities make unconditional offers?

    1 in 3 sixth formers now receive at least one unconditional offer from a university. 117 000 students received a university offer with at least one unconditional element last year, compared to just 3000 five years earlier. (Guardian article, Jan 31st 2018). And according to the latest UCAS figures, there are 20 universities which are…

  • Oxford and Cambridge still seem to be biased towards the middle classes

    Oxford and Cambridge still seem to be biased towards the middle classes

    Eight leading private schools send more pupils to Oxford and Cambridge than three-quarters of all state secondary schools. These eight schools include some of the most expensive fee-paying independent schools in the country, including Westminster and Eton. The eight schools sent 1, 310 pupils to Oxbridge fro 2015 to 2017, Compared to 2,894 state schools…

  • What are the most valuable degrees?

    What are the most valuable degrees?

    The most valuable degree you can do is economics, and the least valuable is health and social care.  At least according to the latest research by the IFS on the impact of Higher Education on future earnings.  The table below compares earnings at age 29 of female graduates compared to non graduates for different subject…

  • The effect of private schools on future income

    The effect of private schools on future income

    Men who went to a private school* go on to earn 78% more at age 29 than men who come from the lowest ‘social class’ quintile.  Women who went to a private school* go on to earn 100% more at age 29 than women from the lowest ‘social class’ quintile. By age 29, men who…

  • How much more will I earn if I do a degree?

    At age 29 male graduates earn £13K more per year than those with 5*-Cs without a degree while women earn £10K per annum more. Look at another way, this means that a degree should pay for itself after just four years if you’re a woman, and three years if your a man… I calculated these…

  • Is it worth doing a degree? (2018 update)

    Is it worth doing a degree? (2018 update)

    U.K. universities typically charge £9250 year for most Higher Education degree courses, which means a total cost of £27 750 for a standard, three year degree. But is it worth it? This post summarises the findings of a recent quantitative study conduct by the Department for Education and the Institute for Fiscal studies which examines…

  • What is the significance of the ‘increase’ in student suicides?

    What is the significance of the ‘increase’ in student suicides?

    How doe we explain the recent increase in higher education student suicides? Are there any underlying causes, or is this just a ‘moral panic’?