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I only know a single "developed" country in which you have to indebt yourself to go to college, and that's the US. Are there any others?

lordnacho 7y ago
Even in Northern Europe where tuition is free, students often take out loans to support themselves during uni. Source: I grew up in one of those places, plenty of people will borrow from the government on top of what they are given.
- ajuc 7y ago
  Well in Poland university is free as it is in most post-communist EU, Scandinavia, and some other EU countries. Yeah you still have to have the money for food and place to live, but you'd need that anyway, and it's not that expansive. Most people get these money from their parents without loaning any money from banks.
- Henk0 7y ago
  Just want to point out that the nature of these loans (at least in Sweden) differs greatly from student loans in the US. Interest rates and downpayments are low, and if you can’t afford to pay off your loans for a period (due to no or low income), you can get a temporary reduction of the amount you have to pay off every month. I maxed out my loans when I studied, at about $26k, and the maximum I have to pay monthly is ~$55 a month
- deleted 7y ago
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- fluffything 7y ago
  > Even in Northern Europe where tuition is free, students often take out loans to support themselves during uni. FWIW I wasn't suggesting that students in other countries don't take any loans, I was pointing out that they don't necessarily have to. In Germany, for example, there is a government loan system for studying, where you get enough per month, and only have to pay back ~20 months of it (which is a fraction of the time in college), and can pay it back under quite good conditions. In Spain, it is common for students to live with their families, work, or for their families to help them a bit. Many students don't take a loan, and ether work ~15h/week, or get money from parents, or both. Even poor families are able to push 2 children through college without accumulating debt. If tuition here were to cost, e.g, 3000 EUR/year, many families and students wouldn't be able to do that. If tuition were to cost 20k EUR or more / year, most families would need to indebt themselves.
tonyedgecombe 7y ago
The UK, £9000 per year plus living costs is the current floor. However it is more like a graduate tax than loan, if you don't earn much you don't pay it back and it gets written off after 25 years.
- Wildgoose 7y ago
  The £9,250 annual tuition fee is for England only. Tuition fees imposed by the votes of Scottish MPs overriding the votes of English (& Welsh) MPs. But they knew their own kids would unaffected because tuition fees in Scotland are zero if you are Scottish (or an EU resident). There's a special fee applied if you are English though.
- ChrisRR 7y ago
  It's 25 years for the £3k fees, 30 years for £9k
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lordnacho 7y ago

Even in Northern Europe where tuition is free, students often take out loans to support themselves during uni. Source: I grew up in one of those places, plenty of people will borrow from the government on top of what they are given.

ajuc 7y ago
Well in Poland university is free as it is in most post-communist EU, Scandinavia, and some other EU countries. Yeah you still have to have the money for food and place to live, but you'd need that anyway, and it's not that expansive. Most people get these money from their parents without loaning any money from banks.
Henk0 7y ago
Just want to point out that the nature of these loans (at least in Sweden) differs greatly from student loans in the US. Interest rates and downpayments are low, and if you can’t afford to pay off your loans for a period (due to no or low income), you can get a temporary reduction of the amount you have to pay off every month. I maxed out my loans when I studied, at about $26k, and the maximum I have to pay monthly is ~$55 a month
deleted 7y ago
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fluffything 7y ago
> Even in Northern Europe where tuition is free, students often take out loans to support themselves during uni. FWIW I wasn't suggesting that students in other countries don't take any loans, I was pointing out that they don't necessarily have to. In Germany, for example, there is a government loan system for studying, where you get enough per month, and only have to pay back ~20 months of it (which is a fraction of the time in college), and can pay it back under quite good conditions. In Spain, it is common for students to live with their families, work, or for their families to help them a bit. Many students don't take a loan, and ether work ~15h/week, or get money from parents, or both. Even poor families are able to push 2 children through college without accumulating debt. If tuition here were to cost, e.g, 3000 EUR/year, many families and students wouldn't be able to do that. If tuition were to cost 20k EUR or more / year, most families would need to indebt themselves.

tonyedgecombe 7y ago

The UK, £9000 per year plus living costs is the current floor. However it is more like a graduate tax than loan, if you don't earn much you don't pay it back and it gets written off after 25 years.

Wildgoose 7y ago
The £9,250 annual tuition fee is for England only. Tuition fees imposed by the votes of Scottish MPs overriding the votes of English (& Welsh) MPs. But they knew their own kids would unaffected because tuition fees in Scotland are zero if you are Scottish (or an EU resident). There's a special fee applied if you are English though.
ChrisRR 7y ago
It's 25 years for the £3k fees, 30 years for £9k

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