Tuition Fees Petition for Graduates

**Bexx** · 26-04-2007, 01:50 AM

Hi Everyone,

I know I am not coming to this uni but I want to get this out to everyone as I'm sure this issue effects many others. I didn't start this petition but I think that it is important to get this point across to number 10.

As many of you are aware as a Graduate you are not entitled to a tuition fees loan. This prevents many graduates applying to do Medicine as they simply cannot afford to do the course and also causes major financial strain for those who do go on to do Medicine. I am not saying that we shoud be entiltled to more but just a tuition fees loan!

If you agree please sign the petition it only takes two seconds, and dont forget to go to your e-mail after and click on the link to confirm that you have signed it. There have been similar petitions in the past but this is the latest one. Thanks in advance. x

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/graduatemedicine

**Purrr** · 26-04-2007, 02:28 AM

Done :-)

I completely agree with you - we don't want to pay less, we just want to have the chance to borrow money at decent interest rates to pay the fees. I think £3000/year is a fair price to train as a doctor, so don't mind paying the fees as such. However, as a grad, having to find £3000 upfront every year is annoying - I'd rather pay it back as a loan after I graduate together with my other student loans.

Good luck with the petition. May be too late for us but those after us may benefit

**scooby22** · 27-04-2007, 02:13 PM

Hiya,

I agree with both your posts, but there is one thing about graduate entry to medicine that really annoys me and I think it should also be given some thought.
Basically, if you are accepted into one of the GEP programmmes in England, you only have to pay fee's in first year - fab, but only if you're English - if you're Scottish or Irish you have to pay for 3 years.
On the other hand if you are a Scottish Graduate at a Scottish med school you only have to pay £1200/year - not bad, but if you're English or Irish its the £3000.
For me, I'm a Scottish grad goin to Queens Belfast - and I have to pay the full £3000 - I dont mind having to pay the fee's - it's worth it to become a doctor, but it would be great to be able to get a fee loan!
My issue is that - the amount of fee's paid, if any at all - is dependant on what course you are doing, be it GEP or 5 year, where you do it, and where you're from, and its not like we can afford to be choosy about where we study medicine - basically if you get an offer - TAKE IT!
I think something should be done to normalise fee's/ loans everything for ALL graduates, even if it means everyone paying £3000 (but getting a government loan for them of course) just so it fair, at the end of the day, when we graduate - we'll be working for the government anyway - so why not give us a hand and make it fair for everyone!!!

**rant over**

**Purrr** · 27-04-2007, 03:23 PM

You raise a very good point! I'd never really considered that side of things because I never really considered studying outside of England, but what you say makes sense - of course it would. It's strange that different UK countries charge different fees according to the student's country of origin.

Normalising fees and providing a fee loan for them would be fair. I don't get anyway why grads have to pay their own fees. I presume whoever actually funds the loans (the government as such or SLC) must get *something* out of it financially, otherwise they'd have a charity number

And doctors are arguably one of the safest kind of students to lend money to because they WILL be able to repay the loans after graduating. So lending even more money would be a win-win all round, for both the lender and the grads?

**Miss M.** · 27-04-2007, 05:21 PM

Good point.

**Edeldee** · 29-08-2008, 03:09 AM

The above mentioned petition was only signed by 85 people, and therefore was not answered by anyone at Number 10.

I was part of the group that sought funding for Nurses in England studying at Degree level, as we lost our right to a bursary, whilst those studying at Diploma, with less of a workload still had access to over £600 pcm. That petition generated 100's of signatures and was replied to by the PMs office.

Is anyone else interested in re-stirring this debate for Grad Medics?

Theres another thread first started in 2005 that is still ongoing about this lovely topic on the Grad Entrants Board, but hey, the more the merrier eh!