Anyone think EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance) in England is totally unfair?
345217
It is a ludicrous waste of tax-payers' money and the means-testing is far from foolproof.  I know of people who are managing to send their children to independent schools, paying fees of £15,000 per year or more, and are also successfully claiming the EMA!
1149201
I hate to say it but I believe that you are overgeneralizing.  While there may be some students that know very little about supporting themselves, there are others that know a great deal.  Not only that but some students learn a great deal about income by supporting themselves while trying to obtain their education.
814420
There are a couple of issues here and you have hit one of them on the head.\n\nThe knock on effect is that having sourced the workers from overseas there will be no jobs for School leavers at all, so it's onto Uni or the dole. Note the recent policy change announcement to keep Kids in school till 18!\n\nThe other is that the domestic birth rate is still falling, I believe in part due to the requirement for a second income in order to afford a mortgage these days.
939328
I can't really say much for the education and family system, as that is not my subject, but I can tell you to be careful... British people don't seem to like people immigrating into their country... good luck.
274750
The problem with the U.K is that people are not motivated to work that is regardless of their nationality. Instead a labour government is happy to have vast sections of the population reliant on state benefits so that they will vote labour again.  Furthermore, most countries in the nor then European union are very similar.  The problem is education, many British people receive a substandard education compared to the rest of Europe. The media advertise selfishness and sex and a vast section of families are broken or they are the notorious mixed step families where a mom will have kids from 5 different fathers.   Moral and educational decay,  lack of discipline,  over involvement of social services and governments on peoples private liefs.   Lack of social cohesion.    Its the same in the whole of the European union now days.  Britain can be a very dangerous place to live now days.  Most areas are what you would call rough.   The country is decaying .
228240
A part of me does because people who are handed everything do not appreciate it like someone who has to pay for her education would. It sucks that the government won't help someone who is childless and working to make a living for themselves but people who have five kids and surviving on welfare won't have to pay one red cent for their education. This is why I don't even bother filling out the FAFSA...I don't benefit from it so I'm not wasting my time and energy that I need to use on paying for school myself. I know this question was about parents paying for school and let me go there and vent about that one. The people who's parents pay for their education, the ones I've met anyway, are so ungrateful that it's ridiculous. They don't have to work and go to school and I do. They don't go to class and they get drunk every night with not a care in the world. It makes me sooooo made because if I had someone to pay at least half of my tuition, I'd be on the Dean's List. I wouldn't have to worry about paying bills and cramming to study because I have to go to work in a few hours. It just really sucks. So to answer your question. Yes, I do resent people whose parents paid for their higher education.
813875
i feel the same and i'm 23.\n\nI'm living with the in-laws to try a pay off student debts and to scrape the money together so we can afford to rent our own place again.\n\ni saw in the papers the other day a father with 15, yes that's 15 children and two on the way (one with the wife and one with the mistress) and they are all on benefit. last year he received over £26,000 in benefits and he has a council house.\n\nWhy not give to council houses to the people who need a hand on to the property ladder, people who want to support themselves.\n\nIt's a sad fact that children as young as 12 now see having babies and living off benefits as a career choice.
661671
its not fair at all..they should be required to learn our language as we would be required to learn theirs.
971432
This is BS!!! I get 2 or three a week, usually full of poor grammar and all in the UK.   They Know US citizens trust the UK more than Nigeria where most of this BS is thought to come from.  You can see any legit company on the net, although I suspect that is the next level for these mutants.
976845
Yes.  They're already paying.  I pay ungodly school tax and then I have to pay for everything in the class and everything my son does at the school.  I think the entire school system should be privatized.  The bureaucracy is wasting the money anyway.  Then we're left with teachers "teaching for the test".  I just had a meeting with my son's teacher and she said she had to use the "PLORE method" to learn to read, because studies show it makes them score better on the state test.  It also teaches them to hate reading, but who cares?  It's a mess.  I could pay for private with our school tax money.  It's enough.\n\nDid I mention I also have to sell unwanted junk to my friends for their fundraiser?  I might of forgot that.  Do I seem upset?  LOL
577391
I know it doesn't seem fair.  Truthfully, though, the formula that the government uses to calculate your EFC *does* take into account the fact that you are saving for retirement -- it employs what are called an "income protection allowance" and an "asset protection allowance."  The amount of protection (i.e. the amount of income "sheltered" from the EFC calculation) depends on the age of the student's oldest parent -- the older you are, the less your retirement savings are "held against you." So your EFC may decrease for subsequent years. \n\nPhilosophically, the government believes that the student and his/her parents are the primary party responsible for the student's college education, so they expect a family to put their "eggs" in more than one basket (that is, they think that, if you can save, it should be for both college and retirement).  As such, even for the neediest students, federal grants don't come close to covering today's educational costs.  \n\nAs for what you can do, since for now your EFC is what it is...\n\nThere are plenty of scholarship awards based on talent/academic rather than on need -- she should focus on those, registering at any and all scholarship search sites, such as these:\n\nhttp://www.fastweb.com\nhttp://www.srnexpress.com\nhttp://www.scholarships.com\nhttp://www.scholarships101.com\nhttp://www.finaid.org/scholarships\nhttp://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp\nhttp://services.princetonreview.com/default.asp?RUN=%2Fcollege%2Ffinance%2Fscholar%2FscholInterview%2Easp&RCN=auth&RDN=7&ALD=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eprincetonreview%2Ecom\nhttp://www.collegeanswer.com/paying/content/pay_free_money.jsp\n\nMany parents strike a bargain with their studentsto split the student's educational costs.  Perhaps knowing that she will be financing part of her education will help your daughter to make wise decisions about how she wants to spend her money AND her time.\n\nWith educational costs where they are today, you may very well be dealing with choice between (a) depleting *some* of your retirement savings and retiring a few years later than planned or (b) putting your daughter in a situation where she graduates with so much debt that she herself is *never* able to retire.  It happens a lot more than you think -- many parents disagree so strongly with the FAFSA calculation that they choose not to fund their children's education at all.  There are plenty of students who graduate with monthly student loan payments larger than the average mortgage payment.\n\nAnd for future years, before you file the FAFSA, check out this website on "maximizing your eligibility" -- I can't say I condone it when people manipulate the system, but the "strategies" on this site are completely legal and the site itself is very reputable:\n\nhttp://www.finaid.org/fafsa/maximize.phtml
881523
I missed the "Farepak Christmas fiasco."  But why should the MPs be assumed to be sympathetic to that extent?  If they donate a day's pay to this and a day's pay to that, before long they are effectively depriving their own families who, you may be sure, are already over-budgeted for that salary.
662727
yes i agree with you I think the laws should be strict.  but like you said you are a broke, poor college student (I am too) yet we do not qualify for this assistance. The question is why?  I tend to believe some people might get it because of their skin color.....sorry but that what i think.  If they were denied this assistance, they could go an report the government for discrimination.  I go to school and fund my education independently - through loans, scholarships, etc.  I do not qualify for grants, state or federal.  why?  I am broke, poor!  then there are these people that go to school that have kids and get everything payed for.  (I am 23)  I have often thought that maybe my responsibility has not payed off, if i spread my legs and had babies, then i could live in a free apartment, get foodstamps, and get my college education payed for, and wear nicer clothes than everyone else, even people who actually do work. it's sick.  i think a lot of people take advantage of it all
959879
I applaud you.\n\nYou have just said exactly what I feel. We can't do anything about it because the people of this country would rather beleive the endless drivel of lies that comes out of a certain PM's mouth than look around, see with their own two eyes  and vote accordingly. The blatant waste of taxpayers money on perks for MPs alone could go a long way to combating true poverty for the poorest families in the u.k. In this day and age we should not have a single child in the U.K go hungry or without a roof over it's head before money is dished out to 'whereveristan' for whatever project the dictator of that country claims it needs the cash for....... it really makes my blood boil.
377644
No not really.  A few years ago they raised the stamp duty threshold from £30,000 to £60,000 claiming it was to help first time buyers but where can you get a house under £60,000?\n\nI've not heard of them releasing £12 million but with a million first time buyers entering the market each year that's really going to go a long way!  It could provide 2 or 3 bottles of wine for each buyer for them to drown their sorrows when they realise there's no way they can afford a house.\n\nWhat the government are planning on doing is spending billions of pounds of tax-payers money to build houses in areas that don't really need them at the expense of areas that do need them.  For example, where I am in Leeds the city is rapidly expanding due to an economic boom (apparently) with over a 50% population increase between the last two censuses.  At this rate Leeds will be the UK's 2nd city by the time of the next census.  As far as I'm aware there hasn't been a single government incentive anywhere near Leeds but they're insisting on pumping billions into London and the surrounding area which has a declining population.  From my point of view it's been very good as I bought the house I'm now in back in 1997 since when it's increased in value by 600% and my monthly mortgage repayment is equal to two days pay.\n\nRaising interest rates by any significant amount will have a disasteous effect as many people have stretched themselves to the limit in order to buy a house.  A lot of lenders have acted very irresponsibly by knowlingly lending to people that can't really afford the repayments.  A 1% rise in interest rates will add more than £100 a month onto the average mortgage payment.  Many people wouldn't be able to afford this and we'd see huge numbers of repossessions and people forced into nagative equity situations just like we did in the early 90's.\n\nWhat the government is proposing to do is to provide low cost housing for key workers such as teachers, nurses and police officers.  This doesn't do much to help people in other professions and amounts to little more than a bribe to draw people into professions where government policies have created a working environment that's so bad there's a chronic shortage of people to fill vacancies.  We're already having to recruit large numbers of teaching and medical staff from overseas and when you look at the state of schools and the health service is it any wonder?  I dare say it won't be long before we're draining the resources of other countries in order to staff the police force.\n\nUltimately house prices are determined by demand and in many ways a false demand is being created by the government's refusal to renovate the one million or so delapidated and derelict poperties.  These could be renovated at far less cost then building new homes and would provide affordable accommodation in many areas of the country where there is a shortage of decent housing.\n\nAnother problem lies with the banks and financial institutions themsleves.  Their primary concern is to look after their share-holders interests which means making as much money as possible and so they're keen to maintain high house prices and to lend the maximum possible amounts.  As you're undoubtedly aware these institutions have a powerful role in government policies.\n\nAt the end of the day house prices and interest rates are determined by market forces and more than anything, market forces are determined by big business.
527528
sounds like you need to complain to the school board...after all you did pay for that...you should get what you pay for.
363121
I am 51 and I think that, first of all, our educators are not given NEARLY the pay they deserve for what they are expected to do.  and secondly, in many places, instead of expecting the students to work UP to standards, the education system LOWERS itself to the level of the lower grade of student.. I saw this all over California..  with such a huge influx of immigrant children.. legal and otherwise, the school systems stopped expecting the students to strive to higher and higher achievements and simply settled for getting them through the grades.  EVERY child, then, is cheated.  I moved out of the state so that my young daughter would gain a good education.