Leading the world in graduate debt

Graduates in England have more debt than their peers in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, according to the Sutton Trust. It said that the average English graduate owes £44,000, whereas the average debts in the other countries ranged from £15,000 to £29,000. American graduates, on average, owe between £20,500, for students at public or private non-profit universities, and £23,000, for those at private for-profit universities. Canadian graduates owe on average £15,000, Australian graduates £20,900, and graduates from New Zealand £23,300.

STEM subjects do not guarantee employment

A study by Sir William Wakeham, the former Vice-Chancellor of Southampton University, into the employment rate of various Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) degrees has concluded that Biological Sciences are a ‘particular problem’. His report said, “Something like 40% of graduates were in non-graduate jobs, and many were in low paying occupations, even years after graduation”. Another area of concern was Computer Science, although this was very much linked to the university attended, with Oxford Computer Science graduates actually top of the graduate starting salaries. 

For some STEM areas, the results were nuanced, for example Chemical Engineering graduates had high unemployment rates but also the highest salaries of all engineers, again linked to the institution attended. Bio-engineering employers normally demanded a post-graduate qualification. For Systems Engineering graduates, Sir William said that “Nobody is any longer employing people from these courses, and it would be better if students didn’t start them”. He also said that there were some concerns with Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences and Agriculture Science. 

Sir William also said that a major concern was graduates' “attitude to work”, with many lacking work experience and training in mathematical and statistical skills. He also said that, “Students are not engaged with their own career until after the final year examinations, and that is not good enough”.  [source GTAssociates]

UCAS Personal Statement "don'ts"

UCAS has published a list of Top 10 overused and cliched phrases students use in their Personal Statements.

• From a young age I have (always) been ...
• For as long as I can remember I have ...
• I am applying for this course because ...
• I have always been interested in ...
• Throughout my life, I have always enjoyed ...
• Reflecting on my educational experience ...
• XX is a very challenging and demanding (career/profession/course) ...
• Academically, I have always been ...
• I have always wanted to pursue a career in ...
• I have always been passionate about ...

UCAS said it had released the information to encourage applicants to "convey a connection with the subject" in language that made them stand out. Their chief executive, Mary Curnock Cook, said: "The Personal Statement is supposed to be personal. Learning to write about yourself in a compelling way is a vital skill when applying for jobs; using hackneyed phrases is not the best way to stand out.

What can you expect to earn a decade after graduating?

Recent research has identified significant differences in earnings after 10 years for different university courses, with notable gender gaps too ...

COURSE	WOMEN	MEN
Medicine	£45,400	£55,300
Economics	£38,200	£42,000
Engineering & Technology	£23,200	£31,200
Law	£26,200	£30,100
Physical Sciences	£24,800	£29,800
Education	£24,400	£29,600
Architecture	£22,500	£28,600
Maths & Computer Science	£22,000	£26,800
Business	£22,000	£26,500
History & Philosophy	£23,200	£26,500
Social Sciences	£20,500	£26,200
Biological Sciences	£23,800	£25,200
European Language & Literature	£26,400	£25,000
Linguistics & Classics	£23,200	£24,100
Veterinary Science & Agriculture	£18,900	£21,400
Mass Communication	£18,100	£19,300
Creative Arts	£14,500	£17,900
Social Sciences	£20,500	£26,200

It pays to study Maths - literally!

Academics from Nottingham University examined data from more than 2,000 people born in 1970, looking at what each person should expect to earn, given their sex, family status, educational background and the area in which they lived by the age of 34. They concluded that pupils who take Maths at A level earned an average salary premium of 11%. No other A-level subject attracted a wage premium in the same way. The academics also found that the earnings premium for women with A-level maths was greater than that for men. 

[ source GTAssociates ]

University guidance website

There are many websites which offer impartial advice about which university you could or should apply to - several of them are listed in the links to the left of this page. Two to look out for are:

• BestCourse4Me  -  this is the only website which tells you the 'A' level courses studied by the students on a particular course. You can search by institution or course.

• WhichUniversity  -  this is the best website for finding out the number of applicants for a particular course so you know how much competition you're up against.

Take your time to get informed, before you enter the UCAS process.

What university students value

A survey of 1,000 students by the NUS has found that student life has changed hugely over the last 10 years, with sales of alcohol plummeting, whilst the sale of hot drinks were up 10% last year alone. The survey found that the most valued services were clubs and societies (60%), advice and support (50%) and café facilities (43%); only 37% said the bar services provided were important. Cafes and coffee shops were the most used service (87%), followed by clubs and societies (78%), with 74% saying they used the union bars. Richard Brooks, NUS vice-president for union development, said, “A lot of policymakers think it’s still like when they were at university, but since the introduction of the £9000 fee regime in 2012, students have become much more focused on employment prospects”. 

[ source GTAssociates ]