That lecture you missed cost you £50

When doing a degree leaves you with £27,000 of debt, is it still worth it?

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Now that a degree no longer guarantees a job, it’s hard to justify forking out for the huge fees.

English students at Aberdeen are paying £9,000 a year- a vast difference from the £1,820 expected from Scottish/EU students, who have it paid by the government anyway.

Lois Gooding, an Aberdeen graduate who paid the £1,800 annual fees and is now in £7,200 of debt said: “They were worth it when we paid, if not for the education but for the experience.

An experience like no other

“But I wouldn’t go now as I don’t think I can justify the costs with present and past graduates still working in labour or low paid jobs, and others still unemployed.”

And she is also struggling to find a job, with employers finding apprentices more employable.

The Geography graduate hoped to crack into the lucrative oil and gas sector but “people from apprenticeships seem to be climbing the ranks far more quickly.

“The biggest lesson I’ve learnt from university is that it’s all about who you know, not what you know.

“Whether that’s worth nearly 25 grand’s worth of debt or not is something I’m still asking myself.”

Believe it or not, before 1998 university across the UK was completely free.

Now English students pay triple what they did in 2012.

While the University of Aberdeen claims this cost will be capped at £27,000, the University of Edinburgh is happily charging the full £36,000 and the worry is Aberdeen will follow in its footsteps.

But it’s the international students who have really taken the hit. They’re now paying £12,600 a year.

International student Jaffar Djabbarov said: “It seems theory will not get you far in employment, it’s how you actually perform given all the variables of real life issues, that’s what apprenticeships would do for the students.”

Jaffar, who paid the staggering £11,000 a year echoed Lois’ opinion: “Applying yourself is well and good, but these days I use personal contacts, family and friends to help out me through all my work experience.”

“Do we get jobs now?”

These views are shared by many, but the statistics don’t match the opinions.

While 58.4 per cent admitted their first year wasn’t worth the cost, 86.2 per cent of these said that they would still enroll into university if they had the choice again.

Even if they don’t think all their lectures are worth the £50 per hour rate.