Ok this is what pisses me off about financial aid

[philw]

this one will piss you off then

PROFESSIONAL university students are racking up massive debts of almost $400,000 for "lifetime" tuition paid for by the taxpayer.

As the total cost of the university loans scheme balloons to more than $20 billion, scores of students avoid repaying their debts by staying out of the workforce.

Australia's most expensive university student has racked up a $384,957 debt - enough to buy an inner-city apartment or fund more than six undergraduate degrees in Medicine or Dentistry.

Do you have a big HECS debt or know someone who does? Tell us below

Confidential documents released under Freedom of Information reveal other students have accrued debts of between $177,332 and $264,677.

According to the Australian Taxation Office, the average debt is $13,288 with male students averaging $14,316 and females $12,597.

Twenty students have racked up loan debts of $161,162 or more and education experts want the Gillard Government to continue a cap on the size of university loans.

Some students are believed to have been at university for 15 years.

Australia's student loans scheme was introduced in 1989, allowing students to defer paying for tuition.

In 2005, former prime minister John Howard tightened the scheme, introducing a seven-year "cap" on how long an student could study through the Higher Education Loan Program, or HELP - which allows students to defer paying for study until they are earning $45,000 a year.

The Gillard Government - which is undertaking an inquiry into the costs of university study - plans to scrap the cap from next year.

Education experts last night called on the Government to continue the cap.

But some blame the high cost of university study for their massive debts.

Law student Danielle Vieria faces a massive debt when she finishes her studies this year. After finishing an arts degree she was offered only an expensive juris doctor program which costs $63,300. She then faces a $8000 bill to qualify as a lawyer.

At the age of 24, she will have a debt of $93,000.

 - with Jenny Dillon

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/students-a-20b-hex-on-taxpayers/story-e6frf7l6-1225989086997