Comment by WA | Hacker News Reader

Comment by WA | Hacker News Reader

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The university system in the US is shocking. I studied CS in Germany. Paid no tuition (except for 150€ per semester for some fees and a free bus ticket for 6 months), received 550€ every month for 5 years from the state via a program that’s called BAföG, only had to pay back half of it and was like 9000€ total, because I paid everything back at once.

For the US, something like Lambda school seems to be a great alternative. For Europeans, it’s way too expensive at $30k max.

Maybe consider studying in Europe. Good universities, no mandatory meal plans or dorms, no tuition, comparatively low cost of living, great education. Language could be a barrier, but there are international universities afaik.

Edit: This isn’t to downplay Lambda School. I think it’s great to have alternatives to US universities. It’s just to give some perspective what education looks like in other countries and that the US university system is kind of insane.

> For the US, something like Lambda school seems to be a great alternative. For Europeans, it’s way too expensive at $30k max.

You should tell that to our rapidly growing number of German and European students :)

How long does this "pay 17% of your salary" apply? What if my first job pays less and then I switch jobs, or I get a raise that goes over the $50K but only after a couple years?

Maybe an explanation is: CS students usually don't get entry-level jobs that pay more than 50K EUR, often probably less. So maybe they hope that they never have to pay back. Or they don't care and are happy to have a good education after all.

I'm happy for you and the growth and maybe I missed something :)

The EU has a lower salary threshold - €27,500 I think, though it isn't explicitly listed on the site (https://lambdaschool.com/eu/)

EDIT: Not sure if you were referring to US or EU, since you mixed around the $ and € sign a little!

https://lambdaschool.com/eu/

TUITION OPTIONS - 0 up-front + 10% of salary for four years (£25k GBP / €27.5k EUR maximum total payment)

- £16k GBP or €18k EUR up-front + no income-based repayment

PAYMENT CAP £25k GBP / €27.5k EUR maximum

Thanks, but this doesn't answer the question on whether or not the four years start right after "graduation" or when I start my first job. So can I reduce my tuition by slacking around for a couple years?

The payback period begins when you get paid at a qualifying job, and pauses if your work does. (ie. Lose your job, or decide to move and takes a month or two to land new gig, etc)

The five year payment window clock starts on graduation. So if you don’t get a qualifying job within 5 years of finishing class, you pay nothing.

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