We spoke to St. Andrews students to see if the 9k is really worth it

It's no great secret that the price of further education is increasing in the UK. People were shocked when the government increased the maximum price of university education to per year to £9,000, but now with the price cap being highered, what does this mean for us students?

According to a BBC article, "[t]he government…said higher fees will be linked to teaching quality…" and that "[t]he forecast for inflation for 2018-19 from the Office for Budget Responsibility is 3.2% – which would push the cost of fees above £9,500."

After having a few bad experiences with teaching myself, I wondered if anyone else was in the same boat so I asked around and, surprise surprise, I wasn't alone…

Georgina: "My English tutor when I asked if he would talk about my essays in his office hour said: ‘I don’t really want to’"

Tom, Third Year: "…£9,000 to watch someone copy a pdf onto a blackboard and weekly "tutorials" with over 30 people has made me want to look into part-time study. I'm pretty sure the university wouldn't allow it since it's for-profit, but I'd love to save about £7,000/year to just do the exams and teach myself everything."

Jamie: "I had a tutor who digressed from the point 78 times ( I counted) over the course of the semester"

Bethany: "I had a tutor that didn't mention the topic subject of the overall module (novels of adultery) once in his week of lectures. Someone asked him how it was relevant at the end of the week and he was like 'oh yeah I forgot about that topic'"

Anonymous: "Just ask psych students about our stats class…the tutor's teaching method is "creative struggle". He doesn't tell you how to do science method stuff (the point of the module), you just have to … figure it out… Also, even when you directly ask for help, he does not give it to you".

Georgia: "I'm a history student and the only lecture I've ever had here was delivered by a man, and he spent 15 minutes of this lecture on women talking about men! Is it really too much to ask that, in a lecture on the History of Women, we could actually talk about the history of women?

As a stuent body, we rely on the university as a foundation for our future, for support, for education. For most of us, we spend 4 (or more) years here so our payments aren't a short-term investment. Obviously, us Brits pay relatively little compared to our American friends from across the pond, but still, if prices are continuing to rise, surely a little better quality isn't too much to ask?

Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.