Lianna Brinded
It's that time of year when we're full of festive cheer but have empty wallets.
For those at university, the thought of heading back to student poverty is a little daunting over Christmas, especially in Britain and the US, where tuition fees eat into parents' budgets.
Britain and the US are known for high university tuition fees, but they actually don't top the list of places where parents spend most of their income on higher education for their children.
The online B2B supplier site Expert Market analysed tuition-fee data from the Quacquarelli Symonds Top Universities for the academic year 2014-2015 and the Gallup Median Self-Reported Income report data in 2013.
It found that the UK and the US were actually somewhere in the middle of the top 11.
The list, which is based on tuition fees for a standard bachelor's degree as a percentage of household incomes around the world, shows that some parents are willing to spend over 90% of their income on a standard bachelor’s degree at public institutions for their kids.
Business Insider took a look and added updated info about country income.
11. Japan
Total tuition fee cost: $24,000 (£15,821)
% of salary spent on tuition fees: 18%
Japan has 500 colleges and universities across the country, which keeps tuition fees lower than in other countries. Higher education in Japan concentrates on science, maths, and engineering, however, meaning many humanities students go abroad to study.
10. Singapore
US President George W. Bush in Singapore in 2006.
Total tuition fee cost: $35,400 (£23,336)
% of salary spent on tuition fees: 36%
The island nation of Singapore has only five public universities, and fees for medical- and science-based subjects are naturally very high. Singapore, however, is the third-richest country in the world, and high income levels mean parents spend just over a third of their salaries on making sure their children get at least a bachelor's degree.
9. Britain
Total tuition fee cost: $40,290 (£26,560)
% of salary spent on tuition fees: 42%
Britain's university fees are so high that they account for nearly half the average household’s earnings. The country is still only ninth on the list, however, because of the country's higher wages. Tuition fees in Britain can cost up to £9,000 ($13,654) a year depending on the subject and university.
8. Lithuania
Total tuition fee cost: $23,904 (£15,759)
% of salary spent on tuition fees: 48%
Back in 2009, students protested across the capital of Vilnius against educational reforms because the students thought they would increase the cost of going to university. It ended up being true, as students' parents hive off nearly half of their salaries to pay for higher education.
7. Ukraine
Total tuition fee cost: $23,200 (£15,292)
% of salary spent on tuition fees: 52%
At one point, Ukraine had more universities than Italy, France, Germany, Poland, and Belgium combined. But the country pared down its 900 universities to just under 200 over the past three years. A number of these have specialised military institutes within the university so graduates can immediately enter the army.
6. The United States
Total tuition fee cost: $91,832 (£60,510)
% of salary spent on tuition fees: 53%
The US is known for its eye-wateringly high tuition fees. Tuition fees from the country's (and the world's) most prestigious universities can be around $45,278 (£29,834).
"Many of the most expensive places are in the top 10 because their wages are low so even a small amount of fees takes a lot from the average income," Jared Keleher of Expert Market said.
"However, what you see with the UK and the US is fairly generous wages when compared with other nations, but whopping fees which reach tens of thousands per year. To compound this, what seems to be happening now is that fees continue to rise each year but wages do not, so higher education is becoming something which only the elite can afford.”
5. Malaysia
Total tuition fee cost: $18,000 (£11,863)
% of salary spent on tuition fees: 55%
The country has about 20 universities, and fees are competitive compared with those in other countries. However, domestically, the average monthly wage is still only 2,052 ringgits (£310, $470). This means without scholarships or loans, parents on average will lose over half their wages in tuition fees.
4. Chile
Total tuition fee cost: $23,600 (£15,554)
% of salary spent on tuition fees: 73%
A massive wave of student protests from 2011 to 2013 — dubbed the "Chilean Winter" — tried to end the existence of for-profit higher-education institutions as poorer families are unable to afford to send their kids to university.
The OECD shows that the average household income in Chile is only $17,773 (£11,718), meaning that domestically families have to financially cripple themselves for tuition fees.
3. Estonia
Total tuition fee cost: $38,400 (£25,310)
% of salary spent on tuition fees: 76%
The Estonian government made the development of science and technology a national priority as of 2011 after the proportion of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or the STEM subjects, declined in the 1990s. While uptake has risen over the past few years, these degrees carry the highest cost burdens in fees.
2. Romania
Total tuition fee cost: $25,200 (£16,609)
% of salary spent on tuition fees: 86%
Romania has a huge concentration of students in the sciences, especially medicine, within its higher-education system. Because Romanians on average earn only 2,563 Romanian new leu (£429, $651), only the rich are able to afford university for their children.
1. Hungary
Total tuition fee cost: $34,200 (£22,358)
% of salary spent on tuition fees: 92%
Hungarian parents spend the equivalent of nearly a whole average salary on higher education each year, limiting participation to people with higher incomes, who have savings, or who are heavily dependent on loans. The government does allow students to gain a free university education, however — as long as they stay in the country for 10 years after they graduate or face paying back their tuition fees.
1 comment:
I still remember how this post helped in choosing an international university for my Bachelor programme! For now, being a fresh undergraduate, I am looking for Master degree possibilities within Europe and one infographic helped to find my dream university in Austria which is free of tuition fees. If someone might be interested in one of the most cheapest universities in Europe, you might be interested in this: http://www.market-inspector.co.uk/blog/2017/02/most-affordable-countries-for-university-in-europe
Post a Comment