All this talk about student loans and tuition made me realize 2 things:
- We are all paying different amounts of tuition and getting different subsidies (if any)
- Outside of the States and even in Canada, tuition seems to be more affordable (seems being the key word here)
Seeing as I know I have a few international readers, I’d really love it if you could answer a few questions in a very informal, un-structured reader poll:
Assume this is for a regular undergraduate degree just after high/secondary school or even prep school.
What country are you from?
How much do you or in your country does college/university tuition cost per year in today’s dollars? Separate Tuition, Books and Other.
Is it ever subsidized by the government, and if so, in what percentage?
How do you think the cost and/or subsidies have it affected the way students view going to university/college?
If you want to give specifics of your city as well, please feel free to do so!
I’m really just nosy curious and it’d be nice to hear firsthand from other countries.
I’ll start and give you BF’s view too:
What country are you from?
FB: Canada
BF: France
How much do you or in your country does college/university tuition cost per year in today’s dollars?
FB: A regular degree is about $5000/year CAD I think. The number might have risen slightly, but it can’t be by very much because I haven’t been out of university for very long.
I think the cost of books varied as well, but I recall a number of $1000 being thrown out at me on my first day of university. HAH! I only wish it ended up being $1000.
My own tuition was $20,000/year for business school, with books costing $5000/year. I also had to buy a laptop (Excel became my BFF) and pay for other minor school fees, probably around $500/year.
BF: A regular university is cheap, perhaps 1000 EUR a year.Business school may be 20,000 EUR by now and Engineering school is cheap too, like 1000 EUR a year. My numbers might be off, I’ve been out of school a while.
Prep schools are free, and we usually go to them right after secondary school to study and try to get into the schools we want. Books are not that expensive for university, but in prep school the books are expensive.
Is it ever subsidized by the government, and if so, in what percentage?
FB: Yes. Somewhat.
I got a scholarship and some bursaries going to school, and it probably paid for 20% of my overall tuition.
BF: Yes, it can be. I got a full-ride scholarship to business school.
A lot of friends I knew had parents who paid as well, but I never paid attention to that.
How do you think the cost and/or subsidies have it affected the way students view going to university/college?
FB: It’s human nature to take free things for granted if you’ve never known otherwise, but it depends on your perspective as well. Many people either see it as very expensive ($20,000 at the end of college) or very cheap ($5000/year).
I have friends who worked extremely hard, even though they had full ride scholarships or parents who were very wealthy to be able to write a cheque on the first day of school instead of having to pay quarterly, but I also have friends who were very rich but scholastically lazy as well.
A lot of us paid for our own tuition with student loans, and some of us were stellar, some weren’t.
For myself, I admit that I was not a very good example of a stellar student. I worked to get in and to get my honours degree, but quite frankly I was too busy working other jobs to pay for tuition to really care about becoming the best student ever in business school.
I just couldn’t put in the same amount of studying and thinking time my other more amazing peers did and my grades in comparison to others, reflected that.
All I wanted was the degree. I really couldn’t care less what my actual grades were, as long as my paper said: Graduated with honours.
I always knew that no one checks your school marks after your first job.
I also wasn’t interested in competing with my peers for jobs in the very hot industries, and was a bit lost career-wise until my last year of college when I realized what I really wanted to do.
As a result, getting better marks than they did to be able to get that coveted job interview in what they were all fighting to be in was very low on my priority list.
I wasn’t and am still not very interested in working 60 – 100 hours a week, even if it means earning a lot of money.
BF: I studied a lot and worked until I got into business school, which was where I relaxed.
Prep school was tough, but once I was in with my full scholarship, we all took it easy because we were all in the same boat, so we worked hard, but we didn’t have to compete very strongly against each other any more.
This is all from my own personal experience, but schooling in France is more based on aptitude tests. Prep schools are there to help you determine what business or engineering school you can apply to, and if you decide to get a general university degree instead, the competition is much less.
There are tiers in rankings of business and engineering schools as well. For example Polytechnique is the top engineering school, and while quite cheap, is the hardest to get into.
It’s not really a question of money, unless you’re talking about business school.
Once you have the degree, that’s all employers will see for the rest of your working career if you stay in France.
Okay, your turn!
NOTE:
As if they read my mind, Mint.com just posted this cost of college infographic yesterday:
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about 
Oh, I’m disappointed to find no-one had commented, because I’m nosy too!
I’m in Australia.
I studied humanities and teaching about 10 years ago, and it cost about $1200 per semester. Books were probably around $300 a semester. The same degrees (I have two) at my uni are currently $5442 a year. My sister has just started a Business degree and it will cost $9080 a year, plus she is anticipating about $400 a semester in books. There are 4 tiers of costs: the cheapest degrees are ‘essential services’ (currently maths and sciences, but have been nursing and education in the past), and the next three tiers are based on how ‘valuable’ the degree is based on earning power. I think. A degree in medicine costs the same as a degree in business. A degree in teaching costs the same as a degree in psychology. Individual unis are allowed to charge what they want above a minimum, but they need to be competitive because more students means more Government funding. My uni was (and still is) well equipped with computers, and has a pretty good library, with most text books held on closed reserve, so if money was tight you wouldn’t be TOO disadvantaged.
Australian universities are heavily Government subsidised for Australian and New Zealand citizens. More than that, the Government provides loans for university costs that automatically come out of your salary as part of your tax when you earn over a certain amount per year. The loan amount increases with inflation, but doesn’t attract interest. If you pay your HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) upfront (at the start of the semester you are studying) you get a 20% discount. You get the discount for paying at least $500 of the amount. I just had a quick look at what it costs for full-fee paying students: my degrees would be somewhere between $11000 and $14000 a year, upfront. It’s a point of contention with personal finance writers here: pay upfront or defer HECS. I paid mine upfront, and got a 25% discount, but only worked for two years before I quit work to raise children. Some would argue that I would have been better off deferring the payment, but I feel quite happy that if ever I return to work I know that I won’t have HECS payments coming out of my salary. They didn’t have the $500 option when I was studying. My sister has paid just $500 of her HECS, and will pay the rest when she is working full time. I like that option. There were a few years in the 1970s (?) where Australian universities were completely Government subsidised.
The Government also pays “unemployment benefits” for eligible students, so I guess you could call that a subsidy. But, it’s pretty strict. It’s based on your parents’ income and assets until you are 25 or deemed ‘independent’, and it’s reduced 20c for every dollar you earn, and isn’t a whole lot to start with.
How does all this affect the view of Uni? Apparently, Australia has a ‘skills shortage’. We don’t have enough tradies (builders and plumbers and that) because there was a very big emphasis on going to uni for a long time. I think that is starting to balance out a bit, but, at least in Queensland where I live, the school system is very skewed towards uni entrance. 30 years ago only the students who were planning to move onto Higher Education would complete Year 12, but now something like 90% of kids finish Year 12 and it is really hard to get a job without your Senior Certificate. More schools are including ‘vocational training’ as part of the Senior Certificate, so kids have the option of doing ‘trades and business maths’ and begin work towards an apprenticeship as part of their school work.
I think that because uni is fairly inexpensive, a lot of people don’t take it seriously enough, and because “Ps make degrees” (P as in Pass), a lot of students are happy enough to get Passes, unless they want to do Postgraduate study. My sister studied IT with honours (honours is a little bit extra study), but I don’t think it made any difference to her employability. She did it because she could. Also, because of the Government funding, less popular universities like mine (in a regional city) have much much lower entry requirements to get ‘more bums on seats’ to get funding per student, but then have the same expectations of every other university and so have a higher attrition rate. About 500 students start out studying Education at JCU each year, but only about 100 finish at the end of four years. I think Education is one of the worst for it, because it has such a low entry requirement, people use it as a way to get into other courses or unis that they wouldn’t have been able to get into straight from school. A lot of people just drop out. Two of my sisters just dropped out. (I have a lot of sisters!)
Does that satisfy your curiousity?
(oh wow, I really need to catch up on my Google Reader, I don't know if you still care, but I'll share my response)
I am from the USA (and specifically California) and I went to a 4-year public college and my tuition a year was about $10,000. I did grants from the government to pay for the cost of tuition, and the rest I paid with financial aids. I went to school in an area that was expensive, so my rent was pretty hefty and my textbooks. OH BOY. It's highway robbery. They update their books with the SAME content and charge $200 every dang quarter. I spent a lot on books and when I would find an used copy, I would be so happy.
I always care 🙂 Thanks for the response!!
I think cost of living plays a huge role.
What country are you from?
Canada
How much do you or in your country does college/university tuition cost per year in today’s dollars? Separate Tuition, Books and Other.
My daughter is in her first year in a university Arts degree program. Her tuition and student fees were about $6200. That includes a public transit pass. She uses the pass ALL the time. She paid $4200 for a private room in the dorm (no meal plan). She buys/cooks her own food in the dorm kitchen. Some university's have mandatory meal plans which can add several thousand dollars to your costs. For books she paid $300 for her first semester. Some programs have more expensive books. I took nursing and books cost closer to $1000 in first year.
Her total for the year: $10700-$3000 scholarship= $7700
Is it ever subsidized by the government, and if so, in what percentage?
The government does give money to the universities. If you are an out-of-country student you pay quite a bit more tuition. Our province has an automatic scholarship program that is based on your marks average in high school. My daughter's average was in the 80's and she gets $3000/year as long as she maintains that average through university. If you have an average in the high 90's you can get enough scholarship to completely cover your tuition.
There is also a government loan program that allows you to borrow interest-free when you are going to school. Interest starts after you graduate. If you do not get a job after school, you can apply for interest-relief.
How do you think the cost and/or subsidies have it affected the way students view going to university/college?
I think the scholarships make going to university more achievable. Years ago the government had a grant program for tuition. Since this money didn't have to be paid back, many students took the money and just goofed off for the year. Now only loans are given. They must be paid back and are not forgiven. Even if you declare bankruptcy they are not included. I think students are taking things more seriously. Many students are trying to save as much money as they can to avoid taking the government loans.
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Went to a state school in Tennessee (US) about 10 years ago and tuition was only $3,000US a year. Yes, a year. For a good school.
That is GREAT. I think I\’ll definitely push my future kids into state schools. I don\’t really think that in North America, the name of your school matters as much as some people might think. It\’s great to get a free ride to Harvard for example, but hard work makes up for near anything.
What country are you from?
USA
How much do you or in your country does college/university tuition cost per year in today’s dollars?
Undergrad:
Private schools are $30,000 and up per year.
State schools start at around $10,000 per year.
When I went to law school, I paid $1000/credit hour and I needed 87 credit hours to graduate. That is tuition only.
Is it ever subsidized by the government, and if so, in what percentage?
Almost everyone has access to government loans for school.. You don't get much for your first couple of years for undergrad, but it increases the further you go. I currently have $120,000 in student loans to repay.
How do you think the cost and/or subsidies have it affected the way students view going to university/college?
Everyone is in debt, honestly. It's incredibly difficult.
18k/year-I live in Nebraska. I go to a state uni. I live off-campus.
What country are you from?
Mexico
How much do you or in your country does college/university tuition cost per year in today’s dollars? Separate Tuition, Books and Other.
Private schools are around $5000 USD per semester. I don’t know about public school but they are way cheaper. I rarely bought any books, most of them I could find at my school’s library. However, I did spend a lot on gas, tolls and parking lot. Most of us still live with our parents so for the most part we don’t pay for dorms and things like that (there are exceptions of course).
Is it ever subsidized by the government, and if so, in what percentage?
For private schools they are rarely funded by the government. I estimate that public universities are funded about 70%. Public schools favor students that come from the public education system, if you ever went to a private school, chances are that your only option would be to get a scholarship for a private university (again, there are exceptions). Private colleges (like mine) have a lot of students with scholarship, 33% of my college’s student population is on scholarship right now and they range from 10% to 100%. There are scholarships that cover tuition, other cover expenses and so on.
How do you think the cost and/or subsidies have it affected the way students view going to university/college?
I think that the ones that don’t get to go to college are those who do not have the means to even get to go to the exams to get the subsides or scholarships and that’s why they can’t go. One of my cousins just got a government scholarship to get a full ride to study in England once she’s done with High School. There are opportunities but they are not very known or the paperwork gets really messy.
Oh paperwork. Yes, that seems to be a big deterrent. I found when I applied to scholarships it was so tricky to read the rules carefully.
US – North Carolina
I went to a four year private liberal arts college. At the time, the school wasn't very well known and tuition was less than $20,000/year. My first two years I received A LOT of financial aid in the form of grants because my family had practically no money. Then my mom remarried, and his business factored in our income. I lost most of my financial aid and had to take out loans. I graduated with less than $20,000 in loans just as tuition was starting to skyrocket. I think the same college charges about $35,000/year now that they've received accolades from various sources and other people have noticed it's a good school. 😉 So I look at it as I'm only paying for one year of college, though it's taking me forever to pay off my college loans.
Grad school, as I mentioned in a previous post, was through a public/state university and I paid per credit hour. Again, tuition hikes are a factor. Though I was able to make it through without taking out loans, whereas my first two classes in Winter 2008 were $1400 (~$700 per class), my last two were $2000 (~$1000 per class). Yikes!
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Canada, but I'm now a grad student in Germany.
My tuition is 1000EUR/year. I also have to pay a mandatory student fee of 400EUR/year, but that includes an *amazing* transit pass that saves me a lot of money since I commute in from a different town. So far I have spent nothing on books! They are readily available in the library and one of my Profs lent us the book for the year. All of my Profs encourage us to use their notes for studying and to ask them questions. The books are supplementary rather than required. I did invest in a laser printer because our note packages tend to be big. 🙂 My 'Other' costs would be health insurance. As an international student I'm required to get German insurance, which costs 70EUR/month.
Not sure of the percentage, but my tuition is *heavily* subsidized by the German government. Even though I'm a non-tax paying international student. (Thank you Germany!)
Well, 1000EUR/year is considered a lot here, since just a few years ago it was free. But, it is still very affordable for the middle class, and is easy for students to earn more than that during their summers. I think it is 'normal' for Germans to be highly educated. But if you didn't want to go to university, you could do an apprenticeship training which can still land you a good job (and you get paid while learning). Germans can also apply for student loans, but they don't have to pay it back depending on financial standing of their parents.
What an interesting topic!
The Netherlands, so for me, it was the same as for Oryx/Corianne. I also lived in anti squat housing for a while, since that would actually give me an extra €100 or so a month (then you would get the €200 Oryx is talking about, and rent was extremely low.
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I went to a public state university in the United States, with in-state tuition-
I paid tuition per credit, not semester/year, and if I remember correctly, I "paid" (including scholarships) about $8,000-$10,000 per year for tuition (it varied from somewhere in the low $300s per credit when you have sophomore status or lower, and closer to $400 once you get junior status). I might not be remembering exactly right, because I paid tuition, fees and housing (when I lived in the dorms) all at once.
Books usually ran a few hundred per semester, though sometimes we got to use the same book for two classes in a row, which usually helped a little. I generally tried to sell them back, but we didn't usually get more than half back, and science books are updated frequently, so I have many "outdated" science books still. I also paid something like $100(?) for various fees each year (school fees and lab fees), and of course living expenses.
As for funding sources, I received several merit based scholarships, and my parents made just enough money that I didn't qualify for "need based" scholarships. I was also paid a stipend by the honors college at my school to do research for two years, which was awesome! I ended up taking out student loans for one semester, but that was mostly because I wouldn't have had any money left to move for grad school, and student loans are easier than getting a moving loan of some sort. I am very thankful that my parents and grandparents had savings of about $30,000 for my college tuition, and I basically just had to work to pay for my living expenses and maybe a little tuition in the end.
How does the cost affect the way people view school? Well, many of the girls I danced with in college had parents that paid all of their expenses. I think a lot of them didn't really think about how much their parents were paying, as long as they kept passing classes and their parents kept paying for stuff. I also had a group of friends that were mostly on full-ride scholarships (some merit based from the school, some fellowships received after we started school), and while they were generally very hard working, they also didn't seem to think about the cost very much, because as long as they kept getting good grades so that they didn't lose their funding. Those of us who paid our own way (or had some help, but not a blank check from mom and dad), I think tended to view college as an expensive, but necessary, step, and I know I found "bad" classes to be extra annoying when I would think about how much money I paid to take the class. I have some friends that went to private schools…and they will be paying off student loans for a long time. I thought about it, but just couldn't handle the increased cost for a similar education.
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U.S. – Louisiana
Frugalscholar's estimates are about right. I go to the flagship university for my state, and normal tuition for in-state residents is about $4000/year. Out-of-state students will always pay considerably more (2 to 4 times the usual amount).
The reason I include my state is because we have a special subsidy program called TOPS. Students must meet a certain criteria (e.g., specific credits in high school, a minimum GPA) in order to receive the subsidy, but anyone who meets the criteria and is accepted into an in-state school within a certain time frame will receive the award. It works as a tier system, so the more requirements you meet, the more money you get. There are two catches, though: 1) You must be enrolled as a full-time student (min. 12 hours), and 2) You cannot take a break from your studies.
So one semester's tuition: $2000 + $1000 fees – TOPS – 1 small scholarship = approx. $70. So $140/year. Pretty sweet, but it seems like most students tend to take it for granted and don't really think about the fact that their college education is costing them less than a plasma tv.
I go to school in Louisiana (United States), and we pay ~$4000 a year in tuition; however, that is not including fees which total ~$1000 a semester, along with housing rates and books. I'm not sure about the government subsidy, but I know in the US, state schools (especially for "in-state" students) is considerably cheaper than "out-of-state schools."
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Philippines
I went to the University of the Philippines, got a degree in Pharmacy for about USD$200.00/semester, for a really full load (24 units). You are also charged by how many subjects, just like the commenter from Australia noted. The tuition is socialized, meaning you pay according to your family income. I didn't qualify for any discounts but as it is funded by the government, it was subsidized to a very large extent. The books were more expensive than the tuition but students get creative and get by. 😉 This was however in the early nineties… It is hard to get into this kind of school; my course was a quota course and there were only 3 blocks of 20 students each in my time, and only 20 would graduate per year…
More recently, I know that a private Catholic university, with a similar degree, costs about USD$1,334.00/semester, without books or anything yet, and they required school uniforms. This I found out from a nephew who I helped put through school. This kind of tuition is quite high for our country.
Kids here know that if you get into college, you will get a better-paying job.
UK: When I went to uni, tuition was £3250 per year (sterling), for 3 years. Government backed loans are available at low interest, and students from low income families can get about £1000 per year toward living costs, but EVERYONE has to pay the £3250 per year. None of this needs paying back until you earn over £15,000p/year. Total debt for me for 3 years was £21,000 (about $30,000). The government here does NOT provide post-grad funding apart from if you want to be a doctor or teacher, so the 'good' jobs are primarily for the rich.
Next year that's going up to between £6000 (about $10,000) and £9,000 (about $14,000) depending on the university. This won't need paying back until earning around £22,000. Total debt including living costs for 3 years will be about £40,000 ($55,000).
International fees START at about £10,000
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I'm from Romania.
Tuition depends on university, while I was in school (which was some 3 years ago, last time I checked) it was around 500 EUR per year at Computer Science (department of the faculty of Mathematics) and the same at the Economy uni. I attended a state college, private colleges are more expensive than this, but the teaching standards are lower. Looking at the prices now it's apparently 750 EUR/ year. Yes, this is much cheaper then elsewhere, but keep in mind that most people make less than 250 EUR/month here.
To that, you need to add the price of study guides, text books, other materials the teacher would suddenly realize you need. So per semester there are approximately 6 subjects, and let's say 4 require a textbook. So I think, in a year, you can probably get up to around 800-900 EUR.
The costliest part though is generally housing. There are dorms, but you'd have to have a LOT of relations to manage to secure a place there. So people generally end up renting. A studio apartment with (very ugly furniture) would cost about 179 EUR a month.
So yeah all in all around 2500 eur/year.
My education was paid for by the state, and housing was not an issue, since I didn't have to leave my city to go to university.
If your grades are high enough, or if you won some prizes at national/international level in subjects which are relevant to your field of study, then the state will cover the entire cost of your tuition (not including books and housing). But this is only for your first major. If you keep changing them like socks… you're out of luck. Also, if you fail a subject during a year, the next year you have to pay it, even though the country covered the tuition beforehand.
There are also scholarships, which you can be eligible even if the state covers the tuition.
There is a limited number of places that will be paid for by the state: around 1/3 of the total amount of available ones.
As such, most students generally have to pay for their studies. I've known some who took on a number of part time jobs, while others had it paid by their parents. In my experience, those who had their studies covered by the state generally had higher marks… but not always. The vast majority of students couldn't care less about who paid and how much.
Um… and nothing else comes to mind. 😛
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England
Tuition is the same in most universities – £3290 a year, but it is set to rise to £9000 a year from 2012 (which has been the cause of huge protests!)
The majority of people apply for tuition fee loans, and maintenance loans, which is around £4500 a year. There are also bursaries and grants depending on the university, your course, parents' income etc. Loans don't have to be paid back until you have graduated and are earning over £15k a year – then it automatically gets taken out of your paycheck at around £8 a week!
What shocks me is the amount that international students have to pay for tuition. Students from the EU zone pay the same as home students, whereas other international students pay upwards of £10k a YEAR – for exactly the same teaching!
Oh and contact time is very low, in my opinion. Humanities/arts students are never in more than 3 days a week, around 10-15 hours a week.
Our funding situation here certainly makes it easier to go to university, and most people don't even think about the debt as it is repaid at such a small rate.
Interesting to see how it differs around the world!
I'm from Poland. Here, the best students get into public universities, that are free. Some students go to private colleges that cost (honestly I don't really know how much). However, the dorms cost (there isn't room for everyone and the standard is really low) and of course so does life, especially if you move out from your parents (which people usually only do if their parents live too far from college). The best of the best get scholarships, but only very few could live on it – most scholarships are rather symbolic, covering around 20% of the costs of living.
There are some government subsidized student loans that are really cheap, but I don't know anyone who has one (well, most of my friends are form the capital city) besides economy students who invest the money. Loads of people work their way through college – some part time, some have only classes on evening or week-ends (we can study days, evening or week-ends, the day studies being by far the best and most time-consuming). People are expected to have a significant professional experience right after graduating, so they work, especially on the 4th and 5th year, making the pressure to work even bigger.
The legend that if you graduate from college you'll be able to do anything you want is still really popular. Universities alumni find jobs pretty easily, but private schools usually are a waste of time and money, which people are really slowly starting to realize. (BTW, we lack plumbers and other workers of the kind.)
The Netherlands
The yearly college fee was about 1500 euro per year, now it's 1672 euro. This is for every education (as far as I know). Every student also receives a small loan from the government, varying between 80 euro's a month (when you're living at home) or about 200 euro's a month (when you're living on your own, for instance in a dormroom) This loan is for 4 years. If you graduate from college within 10 year, the loan becomes a gift, and you don't have to pay it back. I graduated in time, so I don't have student debt.
On top of this you can also get an extra loan, but you do have to start paying this back after graduation. I did not apply for an extra loan, I took a parttime job an got some funding from my dad.
Students also get free public transportation. You receive a special card and you can travel by bus, train of subway for free, either during weekdays or weekends (you have to choose). The card is valid for the entire country (but remember: Holland is quite small).
The cheapest way to study is of course to keep living at home with mom and dad and graduate within 4 years.
The Netherlands.
I'm paying 1672 EUR in tuition for this school year (last year it was 1620 EUR, it goes up about 50 euros every year or so). Tuition for your first Bachelor or Master's degree is decided by the government. For a second degree universities can charge what they want, varying from 6000 EUR to 15000 EUR.
Books: varies every term… from 100-500 EUR – and two terms a year. I have quite some subjects that don't have any appropriate course books, so I spend a lot of the time copying stuff in the library for those subjects… which works out to one print/copy card each term – cost: 25 EUR.
This first term has been quite cheap: I've only spent about 150 EUR on books so far.
The first four years every student gets support from the government: a basic studying grant (about 250 EUR a month) and a public transport card for either weekdays or weekends, which enables you to travel for free on any bus, tram, metro or train, anywhere in the whole country (exceptions for ferries and international trains) and on the days that you can't travel for free, you get a 40% discount on your bus or train tickets. In addition to the support you can take out extra government loans and students who come from low-income families get an additional grant.
At the moment there is much debate about tuition and student support. Laws are being drawn up to change the system: for example, they want to increase tuition by 3,000 EUR for students who take too long to finish (there are degree programs that have a shockingly low percentage of 25% of students graduating from a three-year BA program after four years of studying) and sobering down of student support (either no more basic grant of 250 EUR, or just for three years).
Canada! 🙂 UBC!
I was lucky when I did my Bachelor's degree, the Tuition in BC just started to climb. The 4 year tuition for my Bachelor of Arts is about $18,000 (excluding books). I also studied 2 more years for a diploma at a college in BC for an extra $10,000. Thus, my post -secondary education tuition cost about $28,000. I guess you can add $3000 – 4000 for my books? We get tax benefits for school & books here in BC!
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Country: México
Tuition: I have an engineering bachelor degree in a state college, and it was about, you wont believe it… 300 dollars per year. In México most of the college students live with their parents so there is no charges for room and board. Books: could be another 200 per year and Others: 500 per year.
Subsidized: Yes, I dont know the exactly percentage but its a lot.
Of course consider that our money does not worth like yours! But anyway in my hometown, due to the affordability,is relatively easy to go to the college.
U.S. Public depends on the state–maybe $3000-$10,000 per year for tuition and fees.
Private is up to around 30,000-almost 40,000 per year. I think the wealthier students subsidize the less wealthy, who receive scholarships.
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Germany. Tuition depends on the University. Tuition does not cover board or room.
I paid around € 250 per Semester but for that tuition you'd get a ticket with which you could use all public transportation in your area (in my case Berlin) for free. € 250 is quite high and most universities wanted a bit less. In some states you had to pay "Studiengebühren" which max at € 500 per Semester. So all in all the maximum in tuition you'd have to pay is € 1500per year. I think that there are circumstances in which you don't have to pay Studiengebühren (parents are very poor, you have a lot of siblings).
I studied law and we didn't have mandatory books but if you wanted to buy a book for every course it would cost you probably € 100-150 per Semester. A study book for law is € 15-35.
If your parents don't earn enough money you can loan money from the Government (Bafög http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_loans_in_Ger… which will help you with your cost of living. If you graduate as one of the bests in your class some of the loans can be forgiven.
Finland
Degree itself is free. Material costs depend on degree and school, but I got pretty easily and spend about 2000 Euros in supplies during my studies. Government gives student allowance and addition to that student has a chance to have housing allowance. If I can remember correctly I got about 400 Euros a month. And above all that you can have cheap loan guaranteed by government.
USA. Tuition for my four year public in-state school was less than $5k a year, and it looks like it is now about $5-$6k a year. I find it interesting that they include "room and board" as a cost, because aside from the first year, you generally don't have to (or want to) stay in the dorms, and it is cheaper not to. The meal plans, for me, were not a good value at all! Anyway, yes, you do have to pay room and board in one way or another, but really, that is just living costs.
Yes, government offers grants and low (low-ish) interest loans. Colleges usually offer scholarships to good students. I had all 3, scholarships, loans, and grants!
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Residence: I lived out of town (with no way to get to school by transit), so that cost more money too. The first year was $2800 (for the half year), plus $1000 for food (meal plan for half year). After that I moved into a residence that had 2 person suites with private bathrooms and a kitchen. That was $6800 per year for 3 years. The scary thing is that it was cheaper to live in res than move out and get a bus pass (plus far more convenient). For three years, I got a work-study position with my residence for $2000/year, so remove $6000 from these costs.
Grant total res: 18,200.
Grand Total (excluding food, gym pass costs, library card fees, etc): 43,000 ($49,000 if you don't exclude my work study program).
I graduated with $28,000 in debt – the other $15,000 / $21,000 came from my savings and high school / summer jobs (I returned to my parents for the summers). It's actually quite scary to write these numbers out and acknowledge how much it cost.
My tuition (at York U in Toronto)
It was based on credits, and I did my classes in 3.5 years (taking an extra class each semester, plus distance ed classes in the summer), because I started in January. Because of that my 4 year tuition costs were squeezed into 3 years.
Tuition Grand Total: I paid around $22,000 for my tuition. I checked their fee schedule, and it's currently $6,003 for 5 full-year courses / 10 semestered classes (I was doing 6).
Books: I went used / borrowed from the library, so the most expensive part would be the course kits (between 100 and 200 per class), though english lit classes would have lots of smaller books, making those courses around $400. I will do my books at $800/year (given many were used books, and in my final year I didn't spend as much. This will be for 3.5 years)
Books Grand Total: $2,800
California, USA. Depends entirely on the school in the USA–it is not uniformly expensive to get a four year degree, and there are different state systems in California. Cal State schools charge about $5,000 a year in tuition (not counting housing). UC Berkeley is like $6,000-$7,000 an year. Both the cal State and UC schools are subsidized a lot. Private non-subsidized schools like Stanford and Pepperdine are about $40,000 an year for tuition. Both private nad public schools have financial aid though. So there is a big range in the USA! Books and housing vary a lot. Books can be really cheap or relaly expensive but it doesn't depend on the school, just where the student buys them…if you buy online in the USA, it is really cheap for used books. Housing depends on the area and the cost of living, whether you live in dorms or not. Many students move off-campus after one or two years at US universities, so the cost is essentially the cost of sharing a house or renting a studio in a university town.
Thanks for your answers!
1. Russia.
2. I will only mention state colleges, because private ones are considered less prestigious and are certainly cheaper, plus I don't know anything about them or how popular they really are. The maximum that I managed to find is $9000 a year in a very posh university for a very sought-after major. From there prices only go downhill. In my university (Moscow, quite cool) the tuition range is $3200-8300 depending on major. Price tags at a university in my hometown (average region, big average university) top at $1000.
Books – most of the time they are available in the library. The rare ones I had to buy due to unavailability didn't cost much than $15, and I didn't track my spending on them.
Lodging – it depends. Usually dorms are provided only to subsidized out-of-region students at a small price, maybe $300 a year. People who pay for themselves or are local are expected to go find a place to live somewhere else. Sometimes they are offered on-campus housing, but at a markup. So their range begins from, oh let's say $100 a month and nears regular rent rates common in a given city.
3. Students in private colleges usually pay the bill in full, but these institutions may offer their own scholarships and discounts if they feel like it.
The state-funded education used to be free for everyone. Now colleges have quotas for students who bring in good exam results and get a free ride and then they accept some more students who will pay the full price. I don't have a clue about the percentage, though, as it highly varies across regions, colleges and majors. Sometimes after a year students with good grades get a possibility to get state funding instead of drop-outs.
4. I guess those of us who enjoyed being on the government's tab and even getting some stipends didn't really understand their blessing. I have come to fully appreciate it only after learning about higher education in the US. For me and my circle of friends getting a college degree always was a cultural and social thing that 'you just do'. One only had to concentrate on studies and forget about money issues. The thing that worried me though was the seemingly ubiquity of college-related corruption. Major country-specific thing: Sadly, a lot of people pay bribes to get kids in a state college into the subsidized quota. I guess bribes are worth one year's worth of tuition or more and are considered cheaper in the long run. And a sure proof way to get in, of course. Thankfully, I have never experienced or witnessed any corruption at my uni, but certainly lots of shady business in some colleges.
don't forget the student allowances in NZ! students are eligible for a cost of living stipend when they are in school if they qualify (low income parents, etc.)…and they don't have to pay it back! they can make up to ~$200 a week working and still qualify for the stipend.
and student loans are interest-free in most cases. Lucky to live NZ!! seems extremely fair to me. it benefits everyone to have a more educated population.
although, the education levels seem slightly easier compared to the US–just my opinion. the things they do in grad school are things i did in undergrad. although I kind of want to get a phd here–the lifestyle is better, takes less time, no comps. most of the phd students i know here have weekends off–very rare where i went to grad school. and master's degrees, for example, are only one year long and require no classes, as opposed to my master's which was 4 years long and required 9 credits each semester in the US. in NZ, master's degrees are NOT paid like they are in the US in sciences, though. PhD's are fully funded with a stipend of $25K/year (UNTAXED)! you are also able to work up to 20 hours a week if you want while getting your phd.
in undergrad in the US, my tuition each year including room and board, total, was ~$9000, plus ~$150 for books each semester (i sold them back and paid for the next semester's books usually, recycling the money) for an in-state public school in the top 25. residents of the state that the college is in usually get a special rate. in my university's case, tuition for out of state students was 3 times as expensive!! It was paid through a combo of working, scholarships, student loans (both subsidized by the gov't), and my parent's and grandparent's money. tuition now has doubled in ten years:
tuition $11K
room and board: $8500
books: $1000
oh and in the US, my sister gets a huge stipend to take classes, she qualifies for the Pell? grant for adults because she's on disability. she gets a few thousand a year to basically do whatever she wants with as long as she takes classes–buy a laptop, repay debts, etc. i don't know exactly how that works, though, or why she's allowed to pay debts with federal grant money. seems odd to me.
In Australia, most school-leaving students are eligible for government loans that cover up to 7 years of full-time undergrad study, with exceptions for those entering from what is considered a high-income background or returning to study (i.e. mature-age). These loans do not accrue interest, but are indexed to the CPI yearly. Also, payment only becomes mandatory after finishing study and earning a certain amount (currently just over 40K taxable), in which case the payment is added on to the yearly tax payment. Many of these students are also eligible for student-class social security payments while they are studying.
Further, many subjects are subsidised outright by the government in 'national priority' areas (currently maths, sci, education, and so on), which lessens the cost regardless of whether the student is under a loan scheme or not. This means that the majority of degrees fall around or just over $5000 (AUD) each year, with the Law/MBBS/etc. usually around double that.
The only other costs assosciated are textbooks/equipment which generally start at about $200/year upwards, depending on the degree. Also, these costs do not include accommodation, which is not usually offered on campus (though most institations have a limited number of places available). There are other factors and schemes available as well, but I've only looked into the ones that apply to me, and naturally the course costs may vary between universities.
The other part of the question – whether this has affected the public view on tertiary education – is trickier, because I don't have anything to compare it with. That said, the vast majority of school-leavers enrol for university or further education, and there is something of an entitlement mentality among those people.
NZ.
Cheapest tuition (ie, a basic general Arts degree) about $5000. Some are more expensive – almost every faculty is slightly different. Medicine is about $13000 a year.
Government subsidised; not exactly sure how much, but quite a bit I think, maybe up to 2/3 of tuition? I'm pretty sure international fees are at least $10,000.
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