sootys_dirt_box Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Me too - but then I'm a positive chap who grabs opportunity by the horns. I studied biochemistry at Essex and then spent years in Africa before returning to the UK, and set up a business. Essex put me in a good place and made me wealthy. I can't knock the place. I suppose it is determined by what people consider value for money. Having lectures that are mostly copied and pasted directly from the internet and read of a powerpoint slide isn't my idea of value for money. Admittedly, this may have changed since you went. Oh and my degree is also in the biological sciences department so I hope to be as successful as you have been Quote Link to post Share on other sites
silver surfer Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Essex is an excellent university - They've recently made a massive breakthrough with respect to blood antisera and typing. Is it a secretarial college? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wahoo Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 OK...Fair comments. I was there in the 70's. Had a great experience. Like everything else in this country - I guess it's been degraded. My sincere apologies to everyone for sounding a complete aarse........... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
silver surfer Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 (edited) My sincere apologies to everyone for sounding a complete aarse........... Nobody who apologises sounds like a complete aarse. In fact, stung by your graciousness, I'm going to apologise for my flippant dig at the Essex U secretarial facility Edited March 23, 2011 by silver surfer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wahoo Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 I suppose it is determined by what people consider value for money. Having lectures that are mostly copied and pasted directly from the internet and read of a powerpoint slide isn't my idea of value for money. Admittedly, this may have changed since you went. Oh and my degree is also in the biological sciences department so I hope to be as successful as you have been Excellent...We probably know the same lecturers. Copy and paste sound a complete waste of time. Hint...Get into Medical Diagnostics.....Second most profitable industry after oil. It costs pence making the reagents - Eg just stick antibodies onto latex particles etc - then sell then for loads of dosh....... or. if you really want to make some big money, get into Monoclonal Antibody Technology. Good luck. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sootys_dirt_box Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Excellent...We probably know the same lecturers. Copy and paste sound a complete waste of time. Hint...Get into Medical Diagnostics.....Second most profitable industry after oil. It costs pence making the reagents - Eg just stick antibodies onto latex particles etc - then sell then for loads of dosh....... or. if you really want to make some big money, get into Monoclonal Antibody Technology. Good luck. Thanks for the tip. It's a bit cheeky i know but as my degree is in genetics (predicted 1st) would that field be open to me? I just have one more lecture with J. Lloyd on Friday and i'm done. Not the best lecturer to finish with IMHO . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
U235 Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Ok, Oxford doesn't really bear comparison. Poor teaching facilities, poor library facilities, poor staff-student ratios exist in many unis - it doesn't seem to depend on how far up the pecking order they are. I am familiar with 3 unis from the Russell group, and a couple of 94 group unis. I agree with you on this. I've studied at 3 universities, a low-to-middle-ranked one, a Russel Group, and Oxford. The noise (mostly nonstop pointless phone calls) in the library at the redbrick university I was at two years ago was outrageous. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
winkie Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Thanks for the tip. It's a bit cheeky i know but as my degree is in genetics (predicted 1st) would that field be open to me? I just have one more lecture with J. Lloyd on Friday and i'm done. Not the best lecturer to finish with IMHO . TED is very good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Ayatollah Buggeri Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Isn't it the case that most Unis will charge the 9K not because they would be admitting second-ratedness (students know the respective merits of Institutions whatever the fees), but because their government grants for tuition costs have been slashed. To charge 7-8K would mean staffing or facilities would have to be cut to make up the difference. This impression that Unis are 'choosing' the level to set their fees is therefore surely illusory? Perhaps you have some insight as to what the 'breakeven' figures would be for Essex to be revenue-neutral compared to last year. Interestingly, none of the post-92s or new universities (i.e. institutions created since 1997, of which there are around a dozen) have yet said what they're going to do. This new fees regime is a graduate tax in all but name. Repayments are only going to kick in above a significantly higher salary threshold than is currently the case (£21k), and the monthly payments will also be capped. I'd be very interested to see the figures for average salaries for graduates from the post-92 and new universities over the last ten years (i.e. stripping Oxbridge, Durham and the Russells out). I have a gut feeling that a very significant number of these graduates will never earn above that threshold (especially if it rises with inflation); or at least, not far enough above and for a long enough part of their working lives to make any significant dent in the debt. The question is whether prospective students of these institutions (i.e. teenagers who do not stand a chance of meeting the entrance requirements of an 'old' university) are going to realise this and still keep going through the polyversities; or if they will fall for Labour's scaremongering and applications to these places will fall off a cliff. In any case, I can't see any sense in polyversities setting fees below £9k either. To do so would be to make it official that they are second class institutions; and, relative to the overall cost of living as a student over three years, say, £9k (i.e. the difference between fees at £6k a year and £9k), is probably not going to make much of a difference to their ability to pay back the debt. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bloo Loo Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 A train hits a busload of Essex Uni Female students and they all perish. They are all in heaven trying to enter the pearly gates past St. Peter. St Peter asks the first girl (from Sarfend), "Karen, have you ever had any contact with a mans thing?" She giggles and shyly replies, "Well I once touched the head of one with the tip of my finger" St. Peter says, "OK, dip the tip of your finger in The Holy Water and pass through the gate." St. Peter asks the next girl (from Chemsford) the same question, "Joanne have you ever had any contact with a mans thing?" The girl is a little reluctant but replies "Well once I fondled and stroked one." St. Peter says "OK, dip your whole hand in The Holy Water and pass through the gate." All of a sudden there is a lot of commotion in the line of girls, and the girl from Romford is pushing her way to the front of the line. When she reaches the front of the line St. Peter says "Tracy! What seems to be the rush?" The girl replies. "If I'm going to have to gargle that Holy water...I want to do it before Lorraine sticks her **** in it!!" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AskFrank Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Yep, that well known centre of education excellence the "University" of Essex This is precisely what is wrong with the higher education system. The solution was just so glaringly obvious: Cut number of universities by 100, the remainder can be subsidised and provide high quality courses in things which are useful (not Equine Physiotherapy or Fake Tan Studies with Nail Painting which I expect are on offer at Essex). The rest can then teach 1 or 2 years courses. I'm not being funny, but I'd be pretty peed off paying 9k a year to go here and study say Law and come up against someone who has been to Warwick / LSE / York for a job. Jobs are scarce enough as it is and the first thing they look at is where you studied. I don't know where the UOE is now in the league tables but I know 10 years ago it was just below the top five for quite a few years and I was very proud to get an offer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sledgehead Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 (edited) * Oxford University * Cambridge University * Imperial College * London School of Economics * Edinburgh University * University College London * St Andrews University * Warwick University * York University * Bristol University * Durham University * Nottingham University * Bath University * Loughborough University * SOAS * Royal Holloway * Manchester University * King's College London * Newcastle University * Glasgow University * Sheffield University Don't see it on that list of the top 20... but having watched an (excruciatingly painful) episode of "The Only Way Is Essex", I believe that charging a fortune may well be the most effective way to elevate the 'seat of learning', at least in the eyes of those locals. [in estuary english] : "Five grand? Must be mingin'" Edited March 23, 2011 by Sledgehead Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sledgehead Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 I don't know where the UOE is now in the league tables but I know 10 years ago it was just below the top five for quite a few years and I was very proud to get an offer. Yeah, but that was a a BA (hons) Shiftin Jam Jars Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Timak Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 I don't know where the UOE is now in the league tables but I know 10 years ago it was just below the top five for quite a few years and I was very proud to get an offer. It is a decent University, always has been. The Russell Group suddenly seem to be promoting themselves as the only legitimate universities despite the likes of York/St Andrews/Leicester being ranked higher than 50% of their membership. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sledgehead Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 A train hits a busload of Essex Uni Female students and they all perish. They are all in heaven trying to enter the pearly gates past St. Peter. St Peter asks the first girl (from Sarfend), "Karen, have you ever had any contact with a mans thing?" She giggles and shyly replies, "Well I once touched the head of one with the tip of my finger" St. Peter says, "OK, dip the tip of your finger in The Holy Water and pass through the gate." St. Peter asks the next girl (from Chemsford) the same question, "Joanne have you ever had any contact with a mans thing?" The girl is a little reluctant but replies "Well once I fondled and stroked one." St. Peter says "OK, dip your whole hand in The Holy Water and pass through the gate." All of a sudden there is a lot of commotion in the line of girls, and the girl from Romford is pushing her way to the front of the line. When she reaches the front of the line St. Peter says "Tracy! What seems to be the rush?" The girl replies. "If I'm going to have to gargle that Holy water...I want to do it before Lorraine sticks her **** in it!!" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Unsafe As Houses Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Uni of Manchester plans to charge 9k a year too - announced today. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Generation Game Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 If the previous state of affairs was: Government input per student: £ 7k pa Tuition fees per student: £ 3k pa Total per student: £10k pa And this has now been replaced by: Government input per student: £ 0k pa Tuition fees per student: £ 9k pa (less any money the government deems fit to give to poor students / grandiose schemes) Total per student: £ 9k pa Is there still not going to be a funding shortfall in there somewhere? Surely they're all going to charge £9k just to have a fighting chance. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wahoo Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Thanks for the tip. It's a bit cheeky i know but as my degree is in genetics (predicted 1st) would that field be open to me? I just have one more lecture with J. Lloyd on Friday and i'm done. Not the best lecturer to finish with IMHO . I would suggest that you are very well placed. When I studied Biochemistry, it was a quirky subject, but now Biomedical Science is main stream, but there are few of us out there. To be honest, I've all but retired. I managed to go part-time at the age of 40, and thinking of giving it all up this year, at 52. I sometmes do some work for the NHS, but the atmosphere there is pissing me off, so probably gonna leave this year. I don't need the money, and to be frank want to buy a place in the Canaries and enjoy life while still fit and able. You have two choices imho: Work for one of the big boys. You will do well and have a stable job, or, seek out a small Medical Diagnostics company. There are a lot of them around and they are 'cash-cows'. You're clearly smart, so work for a while with one of the smaller companies, then paddle your own canoe and set up your own business. Just copy the manufacturing techniques you learn in the small company, and being small you will have access to all the manufacturing sops etc. The market is global, and you won't have to worry about CE marking for medical devices outside Europe. We had 9 people working for us and had a turn-over of 3 million / pa. The profit margin was 55 -60% which is very high indeed. We manufactured medical diagnostic kits and had agents in just about every country around the world. We sold the company 3 years ago. Good luck. Remember........ You don't need someone's permission to set up your own business. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wahoo Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 A train hits a busload of Essex Uni Female students and they all perish. They are all in heaven trying to enter the pearly gates past St. Peter. St Peter asks the first girl (from Sarfend), "Karen, have you ever had any contact with a mans thing?" She giggles and shyly replies, "Well I once touched the head of one with the tip of my finger" St. Peter says, "OK, dip the tip of your finger in The Holy Water and pass through the gate." St. Peter asks the next girl (from Chemsford) the same question, "Joanne have you ever had any contact with a mans thing?" The girl is a little reluctant but replies "Well once I fondled and stroked one." St. Peter says "OK, dip your whole hand in The Holy Water and pass through the gate." All of a sudden there is a lot of commotion in the line of girls, and the girl from Romford is pushing her way to the front of the line. When she reaches the front of the line St. Peter says "Tracy! What seems to be the rush?" The girl replies. "If I'm going to have to gargle that Holy water...I want to do it before Lorraine sticks her **** in it!!" Wasn't this joke originally about Nuns........... Still funny though... (Although you should be ashamed for bein a sexist pig!) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Conrad Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 If the previous state of affairs was: Government input per student: £ 7k pa Tuition fees per student: £ 3k pa Total per student: £10k pa And this has now been replaced by: Government input per student: £ 0k pa Tuition fees per student: £ 9k pa (less any money the government deems fit to give to poor students / grandiose schemes) Total per student: £ 9k pa Is there still not going to be a funding shortfall in there somewhere? Surely they're all going to charge £9k just to have a fighting chance. sack the overbloated admin and it staff! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
winkie Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 (edited) Talk about being priced out....there comes a point when there is only so much someone is prepared to pay (borrow)...too high, so then have to think of another way to get to the place where you want to be..... Edited March 23, 2011 by winkie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bloo Loo Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Wasn't this joke originally about Nuns........... Still funny though... (Although you should be ashamed for bein a sexist pig!) There is a gay version of course, and one for other efnicities. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Beans Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Will we see the emergence of two year degrees or perhaps the growth of businesses establishing their own degree courses, run internally? Quite possibly... I believe a full degree on the OU, costs something in the region of £5k. Some students may bite the bullet, and do two years at uni (a foundation degree), and then finish it off on the OU - they could do a 3 year degree in four years, rather than 6 by doing it part time on the OU. They could possibly halve their debt this way.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Ayatollah Buggeri Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Another one for the £9k club, with a £16m kitty for discounts for deserving cases. Needs to be approved by Senate, but I imagine that this'll be a formality. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bloo Loo Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 Will we see the emergence of two year degrees or perhaps the growth of businesses establishing their own degree courses, run internally? Quite possibly... I believe a full degree on the OU, costs something in the region of £5k. Some students may bite the bullet, and do two years at uni (a foundation degree), and then finish it off on the OU - they could do a 3 year degree in four years, rather than 6 by doing it part time on the OU. They could possibly halve their debt this way.. I reckon without padding each year of a 3 year degree would take about 6 weeks full time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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