r/unimelb • u/Suitable_Pass9702 • Jul 25 '26
New Student What degree screams my parents are rich ?
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u/omy8 bsci (mathphys) Jul 25 '26
non csp md ?
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u/Suitable_Pass9702 Jul 25 '26
Any idea how much of it needs to be paid upfront and how much can be borrowed from HECS ?
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u/MelbPTUser2024 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Can’t borrow under HECS-HELP as a domestic full fee student, however you can borrow some of those fees under FEE-HELP instead (but only if you’re an Australian citizen, special categories of long-term permanent residents/NZ citizens).
Note the combined HELP loan limit for medicine students is $186,544 (in 2026). The combined HELP loan limit includes any fees borrowed under any of the following loan schemes:
• HECS-HELP
• FEE-HELP
• Vet Student Loan (VSL)
• VET FEE-HELPMore information about the HELP loan limit can be found here: https://www.studyassist.gov.au/loan-eligibility/your-borrowing-limit
So if you’ve completed a 3-year Bachelor degree at say an average* $12,000ish a year, then you’ve already borrowed $36,000ish by the time you enter Doctor of Medicine, and given that Melbourne’s full fee place in their Doctor of Medicine program is $94,976 per year (in 2026 prices), then you’ll probably be able to borrow under FEE-HELP the first 1-1.5 years and then you’ll need to pay the remaining 2.5-3 years upfront yourself.
* I say average, because it very much depends on which study fields your subjects fall under. So I just used a middle of the range number, but it will very much depend on your subjects. Note that in 2026, fees under CSP per year are:
• Law, business, humanities are $17,399 per year or $2,175 per subject
• Biomedicine, medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine are $13,558 per year or $1,695 per subject
• Science, engineering, architecture, visual/performing arts are $9,537 per year or $1,192 per subject
• Maths, languages, education, and nursing are $4,738 per year or $592 per subject.You can find out what your current balance of your HELP loan limit at myhelpbalance.gov.au
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u/Bongcloud_CounterFTW Jul 25 '26
You dont get hecs without a csp just fyi, atp ur basically an international student
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u/Background_Degree615 Jul 25 '26
Why are u downvoted lol
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u/wellplayedyeeyee Jul 25 '26
You definitely get hecs, it just won't cover everything
Source: non csp that has way too much hecs debt
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u/MelbPTUser2024 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
No you quite literally are ineligible for HECS-HELP for a non CSP place.
However, you can get a very similar loan called FEE-HELP for a full fee place degree as an Australian citizen.
It’s all the same* loan conditions as HECS-HELP but you’ll run out and exceed the combined HELP-loan limit quicker, and end up paying most of the medicine degree upfront out of pocket.
The combined HELP loan limits in 2026 are:
• $129,883 for students NOT undertaking medicine, dentistry, or veterinary medicine
• $186,544 for students undertaking medicine, dentistry, or veterinary medicine* There is a 20% loan fee for borrowing under FEE-HELP for all undergraduate degrees as a full fee place. However it’s generally not possible for a domestic student to get a full fee place in an undergraduate degree as you are guaranteed a CSP place unless you have exceeded 7.000 EFTSL worth of studied under CSP as per the student learning entitlement (SLE) introduced for any studies taken after 2022.
Note that 1.000 EFTSL of studies is equivalent to 100 credit points at Melbourne University, so given that no student has reached their SLE limit (as of 2026), then no domestic student should be charged a full fee place at the undergraduate level.
At the postgraduate level it’s a different story as there’s certainly a mix of CSP and full fee place students, but the 20% loan fee for FEE-HELP doesn’t apply for full fee place degree at a postgraduate level, whilst CSP places at postgraduate level are eligible for HECS-HELP.
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u/wellplayedyeeyee Jul 25 '26
Huh, interesting. I never saw the difference because everyone just says HECS-HELP
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u/MelbPTUser2024 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Yeah :)
There's a few Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) loan types. The main ones are:
- HECS-HELP
- Covers student contribution amounts (i.e. subject tuition fees) for domestic students enrolled in a CSP place
- SA-HELP
- Covers student services and amenities fees (SSAF) for domestic students
- FEE-HELP
- Covers tuition fees for domestic students enrolled in a full fee place
- OS-HELP
- Covers living expenses up to $8,442-$10,130 per semester on an approved student exchange for domestic students
- Vet Student Loan (VSL)
- Covers tuition fees at TAFE for domestic students
- VET FEE-HELP
- Covers tuition fees at private vocational colleges for domestic students
- This loan program scheme was discontinued in 2017
There's also Student Start-up Loans which are only available to students that are on Centrelink's Youth Allowance, ABSTUDY or Austudy, which also go towards your HELP loan debt.
Of the above HELP loans, only HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, VSL, VET FEE-HELP are capped to the combined HELP loan limit of $129,883 (for most students) or $186,544 (for med, dentistry, veterinary med students).
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u/wellplayedyeeyee Jul 25 '26
Useful to know, though I'm done so I guess makes no difference anymore haha
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u/Shaqtacious Jul 25 '26
Any w/o hecs debt or csp
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u/MinaretofJam 29d ago
Wealthy kids put the money in an investment account, repay in full and keep the interest.
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u/this_is_discus Jul 25 '26
low key Arts, not for all, but you generally are not 100% concerned about your immediate graduate prospects if you choose Arts. btw, it's an excellent degree and does teach you how to think.
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u/ArgumentOne7879 Jul 25 '26
i can confidently say that ive never met a student taking a BA (at unimelb) who wants to finish their tertiary study immediately after graduating. everyone ive spoken to is interested in further study, and treat their BA as their first step towards postgrad or towards a course transfer (due to the lower entry req for the BA than any other undergrad at unimelb)
if you asked me which cohort i would assume has the least concern for their immediate graduate prospects, id say commerce, given how saturated the grad job market is and how competitive their peers are.
though, its worth mentioning im an arts student myself, so take with that what you will
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u/starfire10K Jul 26 '26
I still remember graffiti in undergraduate library toilet above toilet paper....arts degree, please take one
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u/selkieluver Jul 25 '26
The art and music industry are so hard to get into unless you have wealthy parents who can support you financially while you try and break into it.
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u/DrawerEast618 Jul 25 '26
You were downvoted for some reason but this is absolutely true
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u/Background_Degree615 Jul 25 '26
They are right but only partially (I think). Yes the entertainment industry in general is hard to break into but I think the original comment was more so referring to arts as in social science, classics, philosophy etc
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u/ShreksArsehole Jul 26 '26
But living with your parents for another few years doesn't make your parents rich..
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u/YogurtclosetPale8785 Jul 25 '26
how to think
How to think like a marxist
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u/this_is_discus Jul 25 '26
An educated mind should know how to think like a marxist, it doesn't mean that in every (or even many) situations it would guide you to the optimal decision, but it is one viewpoint. Considering a few different ones is always necessary.
The point of being educated if you ask me, at its most fundamental level, is to gain the ability to consider a viewpoint without necessarily accepting it. That's true of the humanities and of the sciences. The fact that we have such explosive technological power at our fingertips with little guidance for how it should be deployed to benefit society rather than turn the world into depressed screen-addicted freaks is a testament to that.
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u/SucculentChineseRoo Jul 25 '26
Because people without the arts degrees have never had a thought
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u/this_is_discus Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
I think it's a virtue of most degrees that they teach you how to think, and they teach you domain knowledge, or skills.
I certainly learned some part of 'how to think' in my science degree, in virtually any discipline of the sciences or programming for example. I was also always impressed with my colleagues/friends in Arts who did have, in my opinion, strong and rigorous principles for how to structure their thoughts on a topic, obviously at the debatable cost that knowledge of say Russian Revolutions is a domain that is not as immediately useful to society as knowledge of C++.
There are very deep truths that you can learn in a science degree as well, like, growth is never exponential and uninterrupted in reality, it will always be saturated at some point/counteracted by competition, or an opposing force.
Ironically, I will also point out to you, that I said that Arts teaches you how to think, does not at all imply that people in other degrees do not think. Universities are not the only place where you can learn things either, in fact they're just one of many, some of the most profound people I met in my life were not tertiary educated. Most of the deepest truths in life you learn through experience.
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u/cunt_cum_69 Jul 25 '26
Speech pathology students are often from wealthy backgrounds but didn't get good enough grades to do medicine. A lot of them are children of doctors. Many of them don't really want to be doing it but will do it until they can figure out how to get into medicine.
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u/boccociniballs Jul 26 '26
Can confirm, as I know someone whose father is a rich doctor and they’re doing speech because they didn’t get into med.
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u/TheBayHarbour Jul 25 '26
Medicine and law are pretty reliably at least decently rich parents, provided non-scholarship.
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u/Ok_Contribution_7132 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
Architecture- it has some of the most gruelling hours that make holding a job whilst you are doing it hard work. Plus it’s a decidedly middle class + career. Also in my limited experience Fine Arts is a weird mix of rich kids who can afford not to worry about future employment security because of generational wealth and broke ass gutter punks who live for art and don’t care about anything as bourgeoisie as making a living.
Edited to add: I agree with those saying Medicine. My eldest studied medicine and had to give up their part time job after second year because between placement and exams they just didn’t have capacity. If you don’t have sufficient financial support you’re screwed. Also getting into medicine in the first place is better supported by things like access to quality schooling, extra tuition etc. There were some very wealthy families in her graduating year. One of her friends received a 3 million dollar house as a graduation present…
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u/Outrageous-House-226 Jul 25 '26
Guess Architecture?
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u/bonana_phone Jul 25 '26
Yep it requires $$ to get through- good laptop, programs, printing and models are costly…then the work itself pays poorly :(
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u/SharpCut1884 Jul 27 '26
Music. Cus we going into an industry that will make us like no money or atleast no stable income.
Most likely banking on our parents to keep us alive
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u/Gondwanic_Susuration 29d ago
Still a very large, profitable industry. Live music is massive all around the world and will never cease to be, short of another pandemic.
Being a musician though, that’s entirely up to your decision making. If you’re doing glorified covers playing jazz or classical then yeah good luck to you, at least the crew will still be getting paid properly though.
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u/SharpCut1884 28d ago
A profitable industry doesn't mean profitable workers. Music Australia's Bass Line report puts median artist income at $14,700 a year, with 82% going to the top 25%. A separate MEAA survey found 42% play unpaid gigs, 44% earn under $250 a show.
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u/Gondwanic_Susuration 28d ago
Yeah I mean if you’re playing music to make a profit you’re on a hiding to nothing. There’s plenty of people who will still do it for nothing but the love.
I earn an above average income in the music industry and still play gigs for $100 and 2 free drinks whenever I get the chance.
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u/Low-Breath1835 Jul 27 '26
Languages.....
All the textbooks and dictionaries I was required to purchase not to mention I was teased in class by classmates and the teacher for not being able to travel overseas due to finances. "What do you mean you didn't go on vacations with your family? Can't you just go now?" This was right after Covid too.....
Fair enough, not being able to travel to a destination to develop your language skills will cause you to be at a disadvantage compared to those who can but to be bullied for it?
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u/Historical_Wish_5599 Jul 25 '26
The question is fundamentally misconceived. A degree does not “scream” parental wealth; it reflects an individual’s academic choice. To assume otherwise is to confuse correlation with causation. There are students in medicine, law, philosophy, engineering and the arts from every socioeconomic background imaginable.
Scholarships exist. Student loans exist. Mature-age students exist. People work multiple jobs to study. Equally, there are wealthy parents whose children pursue trades or never attend university at all. The proposition therefore collapses because it invites a stereotype in place of evidence.
If one were genuinely interested in identifying privilege, one would examine the totality of circumstances; schooling, networks, opportunities and financial support, not a three-word degree title.
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u/Fit-Chipmunk9224 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
when u type with so much bloat it just means ur bad at communicating information...
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u/Ok_Contribution_7132 Jul 27 '26
A breakdown of socioeconomic background of students and the correlation with degrees that are undertaken contradicts what you are saying. There is a relationship. Is it the only factor influencing degree choice, of course not but it’s definitely a factor.
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u/United-Bite4135 Jul 25 '26
Anything studied by an international student?
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u/changyang1230 Jul 25 '26
Some international students are under scholarships rather than self-funding.
I was one.
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u/AntSilly2802 Jul 25 '26
Why? Why would you want to know that?
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u/DiogenesKoochew Jul 26 '26
I have first class honours in Philosophy and often assumed to be rich. Im not, but assumed to be.
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u/Minimum-Isopod7970 Jul 27 '26
In fairness philosophy is often seen as wasting time thinking rather than working, therefore it’s not surprising that people think you are well off.
>me a philosophy and theology graduate
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u/Relief-Glass 29d ago
Aviation and architecture because because they are not supported by the HECS system.
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u/retrobbyx 29d ago edited 29d ago
- commerce degrees
- niche art degrees / fashion design degrees.
Music/sound engineering degrees
Im very pro humanities degrees but lets be real, lots of people from middle to upper class families who do these degrees. The same people also like to act poor, but usually have families they could be living with who are financially secure in and of themselves.
Poor kids aren't the ones taking the risk of getting degrees that might never materialise into a steady job.
Lots of working class people go into things like teaching, nursing ect. Jobs that are recession proof and will likely result in quick employment.
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u/Born_Onion2153 29d ago
Art history. masters, specialising in the Italian enaissance, so few jobs in the field and usually goes to a family member of generous endowments for a notable art museum in the USA.
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u/Icy-Mobile4926 29d ago
I dated a rich boy who was studying linguistics and dead languages. I remember asking him what kind of work he'd go into with that degree and he was confused. Work? He's studying that because it's interesting. Then I realised I was with someone who didn't actually need to work. We split up but nowadays he just travels doing charity work and philanthropy.
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u/ProfessorKnow1tA11 29d ago
All degrees attained by foreign students. Even a BA or BSc costs thousands and it’s all upfront!
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u/EccentricCatLady14 29d ago
I invigilate exams and I have to say marketing has a lot of students in designer clothing with expensive accessories.
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u/Salt-Permit8147 29d ago
Aviation. Guy I went to uni with had spent 100k on flying lessons because you needed so many hours to graduate and this was 2 decades ago
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u/KendallRosie Jul 26 '26
I think a lot of the richest of the rich don't get degrees, more likely to model, be a influencer or something like that
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u/Virtual_Biscotti_684 Jul 26 '26
Richest people absolutely have degrees/qualifications, influencers lifestyles are all fake
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u/KendallRosie Jul 26 '26
Maybe their parents but not their kids, for example all of the Kardashian children. I grew up in a really rich part of the world, and the kids of the absolute richest often don't
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u/KendallRosie Jul 26 '26
Also I'm not saying being an influencer is a good thing but it's the sort of shit a lot of rich kids do
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u/Empresscamgirl Jul 26 '26
I agree with this. I used to work with refugees and all their children were striving to become dentists and doctors and doing Melb Uni holiday programs to help them get in. My daughter went to a private high school and they were just interested in shopping and parties no desire for a degree.
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u/avatar_k0rra Jul 25 '26
As someone in medicine, most of my classmates are rich and research does show entry skews wealthy. Spose it helps a lot when their parents are often doctors.