A law graduate's perspective on Project Hero/Project Zero.

Attention: Graduates have you taken out a student loan?

Have you been provided with a government funded student loan? If so, you would be forgiven for thinking that the terms of that loan are fixed and settled. You could be wrong. The Guardian newspaper last week exposed the fact that the Government is considering the sale of its student loan book, which is worth an estimated £40 billion. In line with their ideological stance that anything and everything can and should be privatised, the government tasked Rothschild with conducting a secret study into how to ‘monetise’ the student loan book by selling a quarter of those loans to private companies. Under the Sale of Student Loans Act 2008, such a sale can go ahead without a consultation and without a parliamentary debate or vote. 

Well what’s so bad about that, you might ask? The problem the Government has is that the student loan book is not a very attractive purchase for a commercial entity. This is because the interest rate which we pay on our loans is capped, and also because if a borrower does not earn in excess of £21,000, they will not be required to pay the loan back. So how will the Government get round this problem?

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TARGETjobs writes for Compare The Uni: Part-time work at university - the surefire way to impress an employer.

Part-time work at university: the surefire way to impress an employer.

Undertaking extra-curricular activities while at university is a great way of making yourself more employable. However, nothing beats the real world experience a part-time job or work experience can give you.

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University life beyond the library!

University life beyond the library- by a Durham PPE graduate!

This is the story of my voyage into the murky depths of student politics, partying with celebrities and creating my very own speakeasy poker club. My adventure begins in late 2009 when I started reading PPE at the College of St. Hild & St. Bede (the best place in the country if not the universe) at Durham University. It is only now when I look back on those 3 years I realise that the most useful things during university were outside of the classroom – I urge you to be adventurous, open-minded and explore everything university life has to offer.

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University dos and university don'ts!

Student perspective: University dos and don'ts!

When someone tells you they’re a student apart from possibly asking what they study and where, the title ‘Student’ alone speaks for itself. University life is more than just your degree it is YOUR life, your social circle will change and evolve, your eating habits will change and your body clock will encounter more changes than there are time zones on this planet. But you will undoubtedly come out completely different and hopefully with a great degree. 

So having spent 4 years in university and lived on campus, at home, and rented a place with friends, I’ve pretty much experienced university as diversely as it gets, so here’s a few pointers I’ve gathered on the way, to steer you through the journey that is University life.

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TARGETjobs writes for Compare The Uni: University Skills- Socialising at university!

University Skills- Reap the rewards of socialising

Socialising can teach you transferable skills.

When you arrive at uni one of the first things you’ll do is go to your Fresher’s fair. Here you’ll be thrown into the deep end and discover everything that your uni has to offer. You will be flooded with leaflets and vouchers plus will sign up to numerous societies, some of which will be for activities that you may never have dreamed of taking part in.

After a week or so, you will start to receive emails about these societies and will most likely ignore them! STOP! This is your chance to get out of your comfort zone. Instead of ignoring these emails, why not pick two or three societies to actually try out? 

This month we cover how socialising at university can give you transferable employment skills!

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