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| If it’s cheaper to study in the US, the student finance system really is broken | If it’s cheaper to study in the US, the student finance system really is broken |
| (4 months later) | |
| Going to university felt like it was worthwhile. I enjoyed myself. I found my course interesting, and regularly use the things I learned in my writing. I got involved in various extracurricular activities and balanced studying with paid part-time work, allowing me to develop organisational skills that have helped me as a freelancer. | Going to university felt like it was worthwhile. I enjoyed myself. I found my course interesting, and regularly use the things I learned in my writing. I got involved in various extracurricular activities and balanced studying with paid part-time work, allowing me to develop organisational skills that have helped me as a freelancer. |
| I also paid only a fraction of the tuition fees faced by current students. A recent report by the Sutton Trust showing that students in England graduate with more debt than anywhere else in the English-speaking world – including the US, where the cost of higher education has become a central political issue – has made me wonder whether I would have bothered with uni if tuition had been nine grand a year. | I also paid only a fraction of the tuition fees faced by current students. A recent report by the Sutton Trust showing that students in England graduate with more debt than anywhere else in the English-speaking world – including the US, where the cost of higher education has become a central political issue – has made me wonder whether I would have bothered with uni if tuition had been nine grand a year. |
| I probably would – my mum has a degree, and both of my parents would have encouraged me to study. And my sixth form was at the kind of school where continuing on to university was seen as the norm. Gap years were fairly common, but those who left education altogether at 18 were in the minority. But if I had grown up in a different sort of environment, it seems quite possible I would have made a different decision. | I probably would – my mum has a degree, and both of my parents would have encouraged me to study. And my sixth form was at the kind of school where continuing on to university was seen as the norm. Gap years were fairly common, but those who left education altogether at 18 were in the minority. But if I had grown up in a different sort of environment, it seems quite possible I would have made a different decision. |
| Because £44,500 – the average amount of debt students face after the introduction of £9,000 tuition fees – is a seriously large amount of money. For all but a small, wealthy minority, it’s a genuinely intimidating figure. Even if you’ve been conditioned, as I had, to see attending university as a natural step, taking on that kind of financial obligation gives pause for thought. | Because £44,500 – the average amount of debt students face after the introduction of £9,000 tuition fees – is a seriously large amount of money. For all but a small, wealthy minority, it’s a genuinely intimidating figure. Even if you’ve been conditioned, as I had, to see attending university as a natural step, taking on that kind of financial obligation gives pause for thought. |
| If considering higher education already feels like a big jump for you – and, particularly, if you have first-hand experience of the stress and difficulty debt can cause – it might well be enough to put you off the idea altogether. | If considering higher education already feels like a big jump for you – and, particularly, if you have first-hand experience of the stress and difficulty debt can cause – it might well be enough to put you off the idea altogether. |
| Last year, a ComRes opinion survey found that 68% of young people aged 16-18 were worried by high tuition fees and 58% were concerned about having to repay student loans. When the cost of higher education is as high as it is, there’s every reason to believe it presents a real barrier to equality of opportunity. | Last year, a ComRes opinion survey found that 68% of young people aged 16-18 were worried by high tuition fees and 58% were concerned about having to repay student loans. When the cost of higher education is as high as it is, there’s every reason to believe it presents a real barrier to equality of opportunity. |
| The people most likely to be deterred by the expense of university are those who have the least advantages in their background. It certainly won’t be the Eton alumni, or even the middle-class kids whose parents were able to employ tutors to bump up their grades in subjects they struggled with. But rather the kids who worked part-time jobs throughout their A-levels, not for pocket money but because the government’s decision to scrap the education maintenance allowance in 2010 has left them with no other choice. | The people most likely to be deterred by the expense of university are those who have the least advantages in their background. It certainly won’t be the Eton alumni, or even the middle-class kids whose parents were able to employ tutors to bump up their grades in subjects they struggled with. But rather the kids who worked part-time jobs throughout their A-levels, not for pocket money but because the government’s decision to scrap the education maintenance allowance in 2010 has left them with no other choice. |
| If bright individuals from less affluent backgrounds are being put off, the system is fundamentally broken | If bright individuals from less affluent backgrounds are being put off, the system is fundamentally broken |
| When the average student debt in England is almost double that incurred at US universities – normally a byword for extortionate higher education costs – we risk creating a system that entrenches inequality. True, student loans aren’t quite the same as other forms of debt. For one thing, the repayments kick in only once your income is over a certain threshold. For me, that figure is £17,495 a year. For graduates who started university after £9,000 tuition fees were introduced, it’s £21,000. | When the average student debt in England is almost double that incurred at US universities – normally a byword for extortionate higher education costs – we risk creating a system that entrenches inequality. True, student loans aren’t quite the same as other forms of debt. For one thing, the repayments kick in only once your income is over a certain threshold. For me, that figure is £17,495 a year. For graduates who started university after £9,000 tuition fees were introduced, it’s £21,000. |
| It’s also true that an interest rate of up to 3% above inflation is modest compared with other forms of borrowing. Though the initial figure loaned is large, the amount owed isn’t going to spiral out of control if you’re not going to pay it back quickly. It does seem unfair, however, that the graduates who earn the most money face the least debt because they’re able to pay off the cost before interest accumulates. | It’s also true that an interest rate of up to 3% above inflation is modest compared with other forms of borrowing. Though the initial figure loaned is large, the amount owed isn’t going to spiral out of control if you’re not going to pay it back quickly. It does seem unfair, however, that the graduates who earn the most money face the least debt because they’re able to pay off the cost before interest accumulates. |
| When I was studying, I remember hearing that course mates with parents wealthy enough to support them had still taken a loan in order to invest the money and cream off a profit – something that felt fundamentally unfair to me as I served them pints for £5.50 an hour. | When I was studying, I remember hearing that course mates with parents wealthy enough to support them had still taken a loan in order to invest the money and cream off a profit – something that felt fundamentally unfair to me as I served them pints for £5.50 an hour. |
| The issue of student debt is mainly psychological. Obviously, the money I’d save if I wasn’t paying off my loan would be helpful – I might be able to save for a mortgage, or even just keep myself permanently out of my overdraft. Still, I don’t really mind the cost because I feel like my experience of university makes it reasonable value for money. | The issue of student debt is mainly psychological. Obviously, the money I’d save if I wasn’t paying off my loan would be helpful – I might be able to save for a mortgage, or even just keep myself permanently out of my overdraft. Still, I don’t really mind the cost because I feel like my experience of university makes it reasonable value for money. |
| Understandably, young people facing tuition fees almost three times as high as I paid are less likely to feel the same way. Research has found that most current students don’t feel their undergraduate degree is worth the cost. A leaked memo suggests government ministers are also questioning whether £9,000 a year is justified for the “quality and intensity of teaching” at many top universities. | Understandably, young people facing tuition fees almost three times as high as I paid are less likely to feel the same way. Research has found that most current students don’t feel their undergraduate degree is worth the cost. A leaked memo suggests government ministers are also questioning whether £9,000 a year is justified for the “quality and intensity of teaching” at many top universities. |
| If bright individuals from less affluent backgrounds are being put off higher education because of the cost, the system is fundamentally broken. When even elite, private universities in the US look like good value compared to studying in the UK, it’s a sign that something urgently needs to change. | If bright individuals from less affluent backgrounds are being put off higher education because of the cost, the system is fundamentally broken. When even elite, private universities in the US look like good value compared to studying in the UK, it’s a sign that something urgently needs to change. |
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