Genghis the Engineer wrote:I think that dropouts are all about selection and support, and very little to do with money.
I'm a University dropout. There can't be many on here. I dropped out back in the days when there were no charges.
I find this debate interesting, and I've tried to consider what I would have done had I been faced with a large bill for a zero result.
In my case, I was reading Electrical and electronic engineering. I didn't really have a clue to what sort of life that would lead, but I was probably steered in that general direction by parents and teachers as I had shown reasonable ability in maths and science. It didn't take me very long to realise I had virtually no interest whatsoever in the subject matter, and after a year of no motivation or application whatsoever failed many of my first year exams miserably. I was given the option to resit the year, or to move to another degree course.
I decided to leave and get a job, which hurt my parents deeply at the time. However, I subsequently gained a professional accounting qualification and an MBA. I valued further education, and I wasn't a lazy person, but had simply made a bad degree course choice. As it turned out, this change worked out well for me.
I do wonder what I would have done if the current fees had been in place at the time. I think I would have almost certainly worked harder, passed my exams, and carried on to get a degree. I might have then ended up in a career that was totally unsuitable for me.
I might also have been more motivated to take more care over my initial choice of degree, but if I were to be honest I really didn't have a clue what I wanted to do with my life back then. I had wanted to be a pilot in the RAF, but eyesight and hearing deficiencies ruled that out.
I feel sorry for the young these days. They face hard choices at an age where I'm sure many, just like me back then, don't really know what they want out of life.
Anyway, in conclusion, Genghis, my own decision had nothing to do with the money as it wasn't a factor back then, but I think it would have some bearing now.