COMPREHENSION

Use the information above to answer the questions.

1. What choices do pupils have at the age of sixteen?

2. If you wanted practical basic training, where would you expect to study in Britain?

3. Which examinations do you need to go to a British university?

4. What have been the major changes in higher education in Britain over the last 25 years?

Text 6. Double economics: the cost of a university education

Wednesday January 10, 2007 The Guardian

"When I made my course choices I didn't think about the cost," says Jim Hunkin, a 22-year-old geography graduate. "I chose my courses on merit."

Jim did a three-year degree at London University and is now working at his university's students' union while looking for a graduate job. He wants something that pays him more than his current salary of £16,000 so he can start to pay off his loans. He owes £15,000 in student debt and admits he has "no idea" how long it will take to pay off.

Calculating repayments is an inexact science dependent on salaries, time off and one-off payments, but the National Union of Students (NUS) takes a good stab at it. The rule is you pay 9% of what you earn over £15,000. Given a "typical graduate salary profile", they say a £20,000 student loan will take 22 years to pay off. So Jim's £15,000 will take him just over 16 years to clear.

His case is normal. "Most people would have £15,000 debt," Jim says of his fellow students. It is, he admits, "quite scary if you think about it as an amount." But he adds: "When I got them, I didn't think about it. It's just something you did."

Graduates starting a three-year course this year can expect to have debts of £20,000 by the time they graduate, according to Barclays. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) says the figure will be lower, around £15,000.

However, the stark news for sixth-formers now applying to university is that the actual cost is even higher. The DfES puts it at £10,273 a year, the NUS says it is £10,980. Either way, it's at least £30,000 over three years.

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Text 5. Higher Education	\|	Living costs

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