Forget the 26-letter alphabet: university education is being reduced to only three letters, and it seems to be led by the economics department.

I am waiting in great anticipation and fear for  when the rest of Scotland's universities will follow Aberdeen in announcing the price tag for students wishing to study in Scotland who come from the rest of the UK (RUK).

Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been lumped together in a three-letter description which now creates pound signs in the eyes of university principals whenever the tag is mentioned.

RUK students have traditionally paid £1,800 per academic year for a Scottish degree in any discipline (apart from medicine, which charges £2,800).

But after Aberdeen announced that it will charge RUK students up to £27,000 for a degree of any discipline, representatives from student associations across the country must have put their head in their hands in dismay and disbelief.

What is sad about this RUK débâcle is that those in charge of university budgets seem to have forgotten, or chosen not to think about how these changes will impact on the overall experience that comes with being at university.

I don't deny that there is a huge funding gap that affects universities, but I can't quite understand why the powers that be who meet behind the traditional doors of our ancient universities have thought it a good idea to charge the full whack of £9,000 year.

That's a five-fold increase in fees. Oh, but wait, they've thrown the last year in for free so students only pay for three and not four years of education.

At the end of the day, like any 4-for-3 supermarket deal, this isn't quite as good as it seems. It is quite obvious that a Scottish degree from Aberdeen will still be more expensive than an English university because that so-called "free" year will require money to pay for accommodation and living expenses.

Let's not forget that a fourth year at university is also a year lost to finding a job and earning a salary.

The long term cost of paying for four and not three years of the student lifestyle is perhaps a reason for the 8.3% slump in applications to Scottish universities from young people south of the border.

Now, with the increase in fees to go alongside living costs, I would expect that there will be another decrease in applications from potential RUK undergraduates this time next year.

Away from number crunching and back to the lecture hall, there is another argument against putting up barriers to RUK students.

A tutorial filled with students from different countries and backgrounds helps to create more diverse arguments on a particular topic and thus a more interesting tutorial.

After all, if everyone in one English tutorial went through the Scottish education system, we would all have read the same books for our English Higher and would have nothing to start with when we enter, for example, 20th century American drama. It does pay to have international students, especially during exam revision period.

And aside from the academic side of university, I am proud to boast of friends who come from all over the UK. I have had a Northern Irish flatmate, shared French conversation classes with a Liverpudlian, and have a very good friend who has returned to America while another has moved permanently to Glasgow after growing up in Hong Kong.

From all of these people I have learnt a great deal and I have been guaranteed a couch to sleep on whenever I might get the chance to visit London or New York. The only moment when my being Scottish becomes an issue is when I have complained about a university-related problem and have been met with the reply: "But you don't pay anything Rachel, so you can't complain."

This comment has been muttered on more than one occasion and I have never come up with a suitable response. I think fee-paying students perhaps do have a right to say this because for me it could be a lot worse.

RUK and international students are putting thousands up front and are more entitled to ask for something in return for their money. In raising fees for RUK students, Scottish universities will have to prove that extra money is going into something of benefit for students so that they -- and their parents -- can see where there money is going.

My worry is that the more you ask everyone else to pay, the more animosity there will be towards Scottish students who get away with paying nothing.

I would definitely not rule out the situation when the key question during freshers' week when making new friends is not  "Are you ok?" but rather "RUK?"

If you divide the student body along financial lines you are dividing a group that needs to stand together in solidarity, especially during this period of economic downturn which sees my generation having bleaker prospects than our parents.

We shouldn't be put into categories of haves and have nots because we need to stay together and fight for better facilities within our universites, better teaching standards, better career advice and the eradication of unpaid internships. We should be able to argue for this together, no matter what our postcode at home is.

Three-letter acronyms carry a bad smell in our everyday language. NED is one that immediately springs to mind. I just hope that those who fall under the RUK category aren't similarly segregated from the community.