I don’t know about you, but some of these numbers scare the hell out of me.

Most universities saw a price freeze with regards fees in 2016, off the back of the #FeesMustFall movement, but many couldn’t avoid hiking them once more in 2017.

Perhaps I’m a little out of touch, given how long ago I wrapped up my studies, but the latest stats from BusinessTech are food for thought.

Parents – start saving now, it’s about to get messy.

Anyway, BusinessTech looked at the cost of five popular degrees at eight universities around South Africa:

• Bachelor of Commerce (BCom);
• Bachelor of Arts (BA);
• Bachelor of Science (BSc);
• Bachelor of Law (LLB, undergraduate);
• Bachelor of Science/Engineering (BEng).

And offer this explanation before they hit us with the figures:

Fees are typically charged per module needed to make up the credits of a given degree, thus the fees represented below give the broader idea of the cost of a single year of study, rather than a comprehensive overview.

For institutions where no Bachelor of Engineering is offered, a Bachelor of Science in Engineering is featured.

Ready, set, go:

No, that doesn’t include the cost of staying in residence.

You want those figures? Suit yourself – price differences relate to location, room size and gender:

• Rhodes University: R51,900 – R54,500
• University of Cape Town: R42,200 – R52,300
• University of Pretoria – R34,200: R53,100
• University of the Witwatersrand: R33,030 – R72,635
• University of KwaZulu-Natal: R35,686
• Stellenbosch University: R25,020 – R44,960
• University of Johannesburg: R24,024 – R31,668
• North-West University: R17,630 – R23,950

Here’s an example – you go to UCT, you study a BSc, and you stay in residence.

That’s R54 000 for the degree (each year), and another R46 000 (to play the middle ground) in residence fees.

Yep, a round R100 000 for ONE YEAR of studies. Not a single book, not a single travel expense, and you haven’t even cracked a cold one with the crew.

In an ideal world we’d be offering free tertiary education, and there’s no doubt that our government has an obligation to (at the very least) reduce those fees and provide financial support, but I wouldn’t bank on that happening.

Perhaps the best option is to start getting your financial affairs in order sooner rather than later, and we would recommend Consequence. It’s what they do, and they’ve made it their business to stop the process from being so daunting.

After all, the consequences of decisions made today will bear fruit over the years based on the sound principles applied at their inception.

In other words, start now – you’ll need some dosh stored away for when the young’uns decide they’re off to uni.

[source:businesstech]