I decided not to go to uni - I know the debt isnt much afterwards and when you get to the threshold you hardly notice it but after seeing what borrowing money has done to my brother - I decided not to put myself in that situation.

I certainly could not even think about borrowing £30k - how long would you be paying that back?

I'm in Scotland so this won't affect us (for now, anyway!) and I just graduated this year (only about £9000 debt through my loan).

I'm personally disgusted by the actions of the few students who don't understand the meaning of a peaceful protest! But can understand their anger - they probably voted for the Lib Dems and have been totally let down!

If I had had to pay my fee's up here - and if they had been as high as those in England are about to get - I wouldn't have been able to go to uni. I simply wouldn't have been able to afford it! I really feel for those currently making their life choices though... This is going to have a huge impact on what they choose to do - which isn't fair at all! Money shouldn't really come into it where education is concerned...

In terms of the £30k (for example).

Not every uni will charge the £9k per year - only the absolute best will charge that (Oxford, Cambridge etc).

You won't pay any money up front for tuition fees. Instead, the debt will be held against your name until you are earning £21,000 per annum (or whatever the threshold is). You'll then start to pay this back at a rate determined by whatever you earn. So, if you have a job earning £22k, you'll pay back less than if you were earning £40k. It's along the same principles as the Student Loan system (which has been running for years now, and no-one has complained).

I suppose it's like having a second (small) mortgage, or a credit card loan, in reality.

If you never get a job earning over £21k (or the threshold), then you don't pay it back.

Parents won't have to front up any more money than they are doing now. Some families don't pay anything towards accomodation etc, as they can't afford it, and the student lives on a Student Loan. That's what I did.

I certainly couldn't afford it!! This is the one time I'm glad to have a child with special needs who won't be going to uni!

I think it is about time the British stopped thinking the government and others should pay for the free ride most of them have enjoyed and come to expect for decades.

I have lived all over the world and it is the NORM in most countries to have to PAY for schooling from infant up; as it is for healthcare etc.

So please tell me if they can afford it why cannot UK citizens?

My daughter went to public school, granted she got a bursary but we still had to pay a substantial sum.

Because of this she did not have, as many of the children who went to free schools did, own tv, own video player, computer, or designer clothes etc.

I find it incredible when you see people on the tv who are prepared to go into serious DEBT at Christmas and throughout the year to ensure their kids "keep up with the Jones" but will not pay for education, braces or other things that will have a far higher and lasting value than the transient one offered by the latest Nikes etc.

I strongly believe that you should pay for what you want, and funnily enough, that tends to involve a bit of sacrifice eg forgoing the latest plasma tvs, changing cars, foreign holidays etc .............

I have no idea what people are griping about, university is FREE at the point of entry.

You start paying back the fees IF and WHEN you start earning £21k and above, so if you NEVER earn this money, you do not have to pay anything at all.

I also feel that far too many people go to university when it is not the right choice for them and why should I as a taxpayer pay for other people's children to get an education especially when so many drop out!

Furthermore, I am even LESS likely to think kindly of people who a) cannot spell b) deface, urinate on and otherwise disrespect monuments such as the Cenotaph and the statue of Winston Churchill as, without the sacrifice of these (that the Cenotaph represents) they would not be ABLE to peacefully demonstrate let alone cause criminal damage and mindless vandalism.

They then go and vandalise retail outlets which then results in increased insurance premia for the owners having the consequence of higher prices for the students!

Go figure the logic of those apparently "worthy" of a university education.

I came from a very poor background in the East End and nobody handed me anything on a plate nor did I feel particularly disadvantaged, I was just motivated to work more!

I would expect any mythical children I had to part fund it them selves by working their way through it and I would be happy to get extra work to pay for some of it too, I would I believe have forseen by now this was coming and had some sort of savings scheme or insurance in place to pay a large portion too.
I would also expect mythical child to not leave home to go to uni as the added cost of accomodation is not something I would be willing to help fund.

Couldn't agree with you more. I work at a university that is affected by the cuts and some of the students have joined in the protests over the last few weeks, but when it comes to handing in work, will they want extensions of time because they were planning the protests. Not fair on the students that have real reasons for needing extensions. Some students are still sitting in a lecture theatre from the protest 2 -3 weeks ago, will they want extensions too?

my 2 eldest didnt want to go one is an aprentaship hairdresser the other is in 6th form doing childcare as she wanst to work with kids with disabilites, but she will do another nvq and get work experince which to me will be nmore important than goiing to uni at least she will have the experince, my other son is 14 and wants to join the army but as an officer so hes worked out army will put him thru uni, that just leaves my youngest and cant see him wanting to go either!!

If you are lucky, your son could get a scholarship or bursary for uni, my daughter got one, post her "audition" for Sandhurst.

Surely that is a good thing - the 'University of Life' that's what young people need to attend.

Personaly Azz I can tell you that out of all the 'graduates' that worked alongside me in the last 20 odd years very few of them were 'intelligent' and none of them knew how to do their job as well as I knew mine.

Why, because I didn't have a bit of paper that told me I was clever, I had to learn from others and by working things out, oh I also had to study at home and in the evenings, pay for all the text books I needed, and work a normal 40 hour or more hours per week, and work in a lot of foreign countries where no tourist ever go.

I could tell you loads of stories of recent uni graduates that didn't know one end of a spanner from the other