Top news story on the BBC today was student debt who ran with the headline "Debt 'putting off' medical students, BMA warns" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18128637).
Let me do the maths for you.
Every medical course at a British Universities will cost £9,000 per year for tuition fees by next year (September 2012). A medical course, for an undergraduate who has the correct A-levels and does not need to do a Foundation year, can last either 5 or 6 years depending on whether an intercalated degree is undertaken.
The NHS provide financial support whereby "from year five onwards, tuition fees will be paid by the NHS Student Bursary Scheme" (http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/details/default.aspx?id=557), so year five and year six of the degree will be paid for. Therefore in terms of tuition fees it will be £36,000 for the course. Of course the living costs at different universities varies so you could be looking at vast differences; for example London and Aberystwyth. Lets say a general £500-£600 per month which is £6000-£7200 per year.
Tuition: £36,000
Expenditure (Accommodation and Food):£36,000-£43,200 (6 years) OR £30,000-£36,000 (5 years)
Total Cost (in the region of) £75,600 (6 years) OR £69,000 (5 years)
From these figures (don't quote me on the expenditure figures because they depend entirely on location and the student lifestyle) we can see that it is indeed very expensive to attend medical school; but I wouldn't let it put you off and you will see why.
1. I was informed on a conference I attended that it costs around a £250,000 to put a student through medical school so the cost payed for tuition is not even 15% of the total cost of the degree.
2. If you want to become a doctor then surely there is nothing that will stop you doing what you most want to do in your life and inevitably is what you will spend the rest of your life doing.
3. When you pay back your student loan, even though it is a huge amount of money and you may be paying it back for a lot of your working life, they won't take so much away that you cannot live or sustain yourself. They also don't start taking money out of your pay until you reach a threshold of £21,000 and if you don't end up paying it off it is wiped at the age of 68.
But if your not convinced and you don't think it is right to be paying so much then there are other options. You could study abroad where the fees are less, for example Holland or other European countries but be aware that the British student loan companies do not provide loans for students studying abroad. But if you don't fancy that then you can do a different course such as a Biomedical degree that you can do Medicine afterwards/not at all. But also be aware that student loan companies do not provide loans for your second degree.
Let me do the maths for you.
Every medical course at a British Universities will cost £9,000 per year for tuition fees by next year (September 2012). A medical course, for an undergraduate who has the correct A-levels and does not need to do a Foundation year, can last either 5 or 6 years depending on whether an intercalated degree is undertaken.
The NHS provide financial support whereby "from year five onwards, tuition fees will be paid by the NHS Student Bursary Scheme" (http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/details/default.aspx?id=557), so year five and year six of the degree will be paid for. Therefore in terms of tuition fees it will be £36,000 for the course. Of course the living costs at different universities varies so you could be looking at vast differences; for example London and Aberystwyth. Lets say a general £500-£600 per month which is £6000-£7200 per year.
Tuition: £36,000
Expenditure (Accommodation and Food):£36,000-£43,200 (6 years) OR £30,000-£36,000 (5 years)
Total Cost (in the region of) £75,600 (6 years) OR £69,000 (5 years)
From these figures (don't quote me on the expenditure figures because they depend entirely on location and the student lifestyle) we can see that it is indeed very expensive to attend medical school; but I wouldn't let it put you off and you will see why.
1. I was informed on a conference I attended that it costs around a £250,000 to put a student through medical school so the cost payed for tuition is not even 15% of the total cost of the degree.
2. If you want to become a doctor then surely there is nothing that will stop you doing what you most want to do in your life and inevitably is what you will spend the rest of your life doing.
3. When you pay back your student loan, even though it is a huge amount of money and you may be paying it back for a lot of your working life, they won't take so much away that you cannot live or sustain yourself. They also don't start taking money out of your pay until you reach a threshold of £21,000 and if you don't end up paying it off it is wiped at the age of 68.
But if your not convinced and you don't think it is right to be paying so much then there are other options. You could study abroad where the fees are less, for example Holland or other European countries but be aware that the British student loan companies do not provide loans for students studying abroad. But if you don't fancy that then you can do a different course such as a Biomedical degree that you can do Medicine afterwards/not at all. But also be aware that student loan companies do not provide loans for your second degree.
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