SHOULD OXBRIDGE FEES DETER STATE SCHOOL STUDENTS?

A report in THE CHERWELL  just revealed that after Oxford (and Cambridge) announced a rise in tuition fees to £9,000pa for undergraduates starting in 2012, Oxford received 240 fewer applications from state school students than the year before. While some of these may have decided not to go to university at all, conversations with students and teachers suggest that others decided to aim elsewhere on financial grounds. They either just applied to cheaper universities or to equally expensive but local Russell Group ones. Going away to study, once a hugely popular choice, can now seem wasteful.

But is it? Well, you certainly should get value for money. Teaching at Oxford (and Cambridge) is exceptionally intensive and personalised. This can lead to more highly rated degrees and, in turn, to higher pay and better job opportunities, almost irrespective of your course (the Home Secretary, Theresa May, has an Oxford degree in Geography). For the full picture see chapter 1 of  OXBRIDGE ENTRANCE: THE REAL RULES.

Also remember that you won’t necessarily pay the full fees. Oxbridge students with a family income below £16,000 starting in 2013 may only be charged around £16,000 for three years at Oxford (rather than £27,000) and £21,000 at Cambridge. Students from middle income families still qualify for fee reductions. More details will be published in May. To find out about the substantial living grants offered by the two universities in addition, check their funding pages. You may find that all this makes Oxbridge your cheapest choice.