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Cost of education

Sitting here staring at my bank statement, and the 5 digits that I owe for my student loans....I started to wonder what the costs for an education in a Colombian university are. Is it expensive? Are there government sponsored student loans? What about trade schools?
Just feeling a little disenfranchised with the costs of education in the States. I assume that it is cheaper in Colombia, but is the quality less?

By Azul on Mar 4, 2008, 09:13 in Friendly Talkzone.

Bill Turley (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Mar 4, 2008, 09:21:

Don't forget there are Community Service options for your student loans

Mr. Bill Somondoco

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JGD (☼Travelguide writer) says on Mar 4, 2008, 09:38:

Col has cheaper education. In a public uni I payed about $20.0000 pesos/semester.
I have an undergrad from Col and a graduate degree from the states. I had to study way way way way way more for my undergrad.
US school have cuting edge technolgy and are plentiful of resources.

You are worried the US is going to invade and take the Venezuelan oil?... you are selling everything to them !!Peruvian Pres. Alan Garcia to Chavez

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Mar 4, 2008, 09:46:

It depends on the university. Some universities base their tuition on the student's family income or some use estrato. Others just have a flat rate regardless of income. Some universities are as low as a few hundred thousand pesos a semester, while others can charge a few million.

Yo me como los mocos debajo de la ruana pa que no me pidan.

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vicshere says on Mar 4, 2008, 09:49:

a BA depending on what strato you live in can be from 40,000 to 700,000 per semester at a public university.....so if you come from a starto 2 and have good grades to enter a public university you could get away with a BA for about 500,000....plus they will feed you 3 times a day for like 20,000 per month
keep in mind a private university will charge 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 per semester depending on the career path

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vicshere says on Mar 4, 2008, 10:02:

actually some of the best universities in colombia are actually public

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vicshere says on Mar 4, 2008, 10:06:

I am sure they don't as this system costs the government an arm and a leg

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vicshere says on Mar 4, 2008, 10:07:

and some students are getting pissed off and tired of seeing a student in the same calculus class who is paying next to nothing compared to their 1000 % cost

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Mar 4, 2008, 10:09:

Do you mean that rich students are pissed because the poor ones don't pay as much?

BTW, Is Los Andes public or private? My uncle went there years ago and I remember him saying that they charged based on your "declaracion de renta" (tax return).

Yo me como los mocos debajo de la ruana pa que no me pidan.

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vicshere says on Mar 4, 2008, 10:10:

yes CG some students....I hear there grips sometimes....Loss Andes is private I believe

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vicshere says on Mar 4, 2008, 10:15:

most expensive in Colombia ...i didnt know but believe your right

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Mar 4, 2008, 10:22:

What do you teach Vic?

Yo me como los mocos debajo de la ruana pa que no me pidan.

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vicshere says on Mar 4, 2008, 10:34:

English of course....and I only teach the paying students....although the low starato students do receive curriculum English which is part of their tuition for some courses

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JGD (☼Travelguide writer) says on Mar 4, 2008, 10:53:

I teach in a private Uni. I asked students (3rd and 6th semester) how much they pay. Average of 3.5 million /semester...
Los Andes is more expensive

You are worried the US is going to invade and take the Venezuelan oil?... you are selling everything to them !!Peruvian Pres. Alan Garcia to Chavez

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vicshere says on Mar 4, 2008, 10:55:

in a private i would say thats about right.....i think in a public average would be around 500,000 guessing

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jaramillo says on Mar 4, 2008, 12:15:

I teach at a private U.S college and the comprehensive fee is about u.s.$ 45,000 a year. From that perspective even the most expensive Colombian university sounds dirt cheap.

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Mononoke28 says on Mar 4, 2008, 13:04:

My cousins are currently going to Universidad de Antioquia (public) for some kind of engineering, another one for Nutrition and I can't remember the last one but it's some health related major. They're paying about $1500USD per semester, each.

Diana

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CristalM says on Mar 4, 2008, 14:42:

It is hard to compare to US because every state in US is different. My daughter, who is studying engineering, is going to school for free in Florida on a Bright Futures 75% scholarship plus another small scholarship. She had to have about B grades, a 19 on ACT (that is a very average score) and had to take a few required courses in HS. Oklahoma has very few state scholarships and the state schools are about 15,000$ per year. It really depends on the state.

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SiV says on Mar 4, 2008, 16:48:

Buggy, in many European (and Scandanavian) countries higher education is free, or nearly-so. France, Germany, Spain, Greece. . .Unfortunately in the UK they introduced tuition fees a while ago, it was free when I read. I they're charging between 1,200 and 3,000 pounds ($2300 to $6000) per academic year.

Stultórum númere infinitum est.

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Buongone says on Mar 4, 2008, 19:35:

My novia attended Uni de Libre in Cali. Surguria, $2700-3100 US a semester.

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la campiña (☼Travelguide writer) says on Mar 4, 2008, 21:22:

the truth is the more money you have the better education you get, but thats not peculiar to colombia, its how you use it, it keeps the rich in power and the poor wanting

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SiV says on Mar 5, 2008, 11:34:

Campiña, that's maybe how it is in the Americas, but if you read my post, you'd see there's a different vision in Europe.

Stultórum númere infinitum est.

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tw1st1 says on Mar 5, 2008, 16:15:

The standard of the average undergraduate degrees in all but the best schools in the US is below the standard in Europe. The cost v quality issue definately does not pan out

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jaramillo says on Mar 6, 2008, 06:15:

Education is not free anywhere. Someone is paying for it. Taxation rates in Europe are high and France and Italy are struggling to maintain their welfare systems. I'm not saying the U.S. is a panacea. I simply think Europe has its problems. I'm not convinced that the average undergraduate there is better either. They instruct more, but educate less. If I had to choose a research assistant between a knowledgeable European student and a bright American undergrad that doesn't give a shit about intellectual authority, I'd choose the latter.

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