Costs Ofa Degree

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday December 21, 2006

Owen Thomson

Owen Thomson does the sums for students.

A higher education will be arguably among the most important investments you ever make.

But with the cost of a degree potentially exceeding $100,000, it could also be one of the most expensive. The question of how to pay for those years at university is a key issue all students have to address.

The first thing to consider is whether you qualify as a Commonwealth-supported or domestic fee-paying student. Those qualifying for a Commonwealth-supported place (previously known as a HECS place) will have to make a contribution towards the cost of their education, with the Australian Government contributing the majority of the cost.

Eligible Commonwealth-supported students can receive HECS-HELP through the Higher Education Loan Program. The government pays the loan amount directly to your education provider while your debt is recorded with the Australian Taxation Office. Alternatively, you can pay all or at least $500 of your student contribution upfront and get a 20 per cent discount on the amount paid upfront.

OS-HELP is a loan scheme to assist eligible undergraduate students to undertake some (but not all) of their course overseas.

Crucially, domestic fee-paying students are not subsidised. However, they may be eligible for a FEE-HELP loan - a scheme that assists with the payment of tuition fees. The loan limit is indexed each year (the amount for next year is $80,000 for all courses except medicine, dentistry and veterinary science, which is $100,000). A 20 per cent loan fee for undergraduate courses is added to the loan. Like HECS-HELP loans, FEE-HELP loans are repaid through the taxation system once a recipient's income rises above a compulsory repayment threshold ($38,149 for 2006-07).

All schemes can be applied for through campus admission centers. Commonwealth-supported students pay 75 per cent less for their courses than full-fee payers. For example, while a law degree may cost fee-paying students about $104,000, those with support will be up for about only $26,000.

Adrienne Jerram, director of marketing and student recruitment at Sydney University, says researching all available payment options is paramount. "All universities have to put the costs associated with their degrees on their websites," she says.

© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald

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