2012 FRESHERS WILL BE SADDLED WITH ‘A SMALL MORTGAGE’
The NUS President has blasted the government after it was revealed that those starting university in England in 2012 can expect to graduate with debts of nearly £60,000.
A new survey by the independent student guide Push asked over 2,000 students how much they owed the bank and their parents – and how much they’d borrowed in student loans.
They found that those who started studying in 2008 (many of whom graduated this summer) will have left with £22,000 of debt. For those who started courses in 2010, that figure will rise to £24,100. Students enrolling this autumn will owe an average of £26,100 when they graduate.
Think that sounds like a lot? The projected figures for students starting university in 2012 dwarf those numbers. For them, the average debt is £53,400. Just looking at England – where fees are steepest, at an average of £8,630 – the average debt will be £59,100.
On average about a quarter of students’ debts are owed to sources other than the Student Loans Company, with 13% owed to parents and family and just under 7% borrowed from banks or on credit cards.
Johnny Rich, editor of Push, said the government had failed to explain how students should manage debts of more than £50,000 – and suggested that students may not always be getting value for money:
“For students this year and in the future it has never been more important to understand the differences between universities. It’s not just the debts that vary widely, — the whole experience students have at different institutions and what they stand to gain from them vary too.”
And Liam Burns, the president of the National Union of Students, said ministers seemed to “think it is OK to hang an amount of debt equivalent to a small mortgage over someone’s head while they study.” He said:
“Leaving young people reliant on commercial credit just to stay in education is scandalous. The case for full reversal of the government’s fee regime remains.
“Ministers must stop student support going to insubstantial fee waivers and instead invest in putting money back in the poorest students’ pockets.”
Sally Hunt, the general secretary of the University and College Union, which represents lecturers, said average student debt was “already staggeringly high and is now set to get much worse”. She added:
“The government’s university funding plans are a recipe for disaster and will lead to people making important life choices on the basis of their ability to pay rather than their ability to learn.”
*Was your degree worth £60,000?
Are you shocked by the money young people are shelling out for university? Will students enrolling in 2012 struggle to make their education ‘pay back’ when they graduate? If you could give them advice about going to university, what would you say? Is a degree still worth it?
It’s quite right to ask if a degree is worth £60k.. but the question stands regardless of how it’s funded. If it’s not value for the individual student, then nor is it value for ‘the taxpayer’.
The numbers are almost certainly wrong. Those starting this year (when fees are £3,290) will leave with debts of £26,100. Assuming a normal three year course, fees make up £9,870 of that, leaving £16,230 in non-fees related debt.
Those starting next year (when fees go up to £8,630) leave with £53,400? The fees for a three year course would be £25,890. That leaves £27,510 of non-fees related debt. What methodology did Push use to get a 70% increase in non-fees related debt?
I put this point to Push and they responded unsatisfactorily. More details can be found here: http://anthonycooper.blogspot.com/2011/08/average-uk-student-debt-dodgy-numbers.html
My degree wasn’t worth the £21,000 I paid. 2 years of bad accommodation, 1 year with nasty stealing flatmates and a law degree which I can’t get a job with. Instead I am working at McDonalds. I have worked since 15 and have worked non stop. Only McDonalds got back to me after 50 job applications. I would like to pay back my university fees, no where will give me the chance.
Was your degree worth £60,000?
Dunno, never went to uni – does it matter? Never stopped me.
Worth £60,000? Maybe not
Worth the £21,000 I paid for it? Yes.
My 2.1 from a mid ranked University gave me the academic credentials that got me two very rewarding/enjoyable unpaid internships (sore subject on here I know) which in turn got me an interesting and pretty well paid position in a respected organisation within 4 months of graduating. Which in turn got me a place on the top Master’s course in the field of my long term career aspiration in the country which I start in October.
I think its a difficult question. There are parts of the university experience that its hard to put a price on and none of us can predict what our degrees will get us in the decades to come. However for some courses with little contact time or very short terms its definately going to feel like a rip off at the time.
My degree wasn’t worth anything. I studied Creative Advertising and the tutors had clearly not bothered to update the curriculum in about 10 years, The only tutor who was in the office every day was an illustrator (very useful for an advertising course), each module was the same as the last, albeit with a different name, the 2nd year was so badly structured that we had completed all modules before easter and we had no lectures in the 3rd year but were instead expected to come up with our own briefs and build our portfolio.
It was so bad that I will now name and shame the course and uni; Advertising BA(Hons) University Of Gloucestershire. Avoid like the plague.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/8707684/You-dont-need-a-degree-to-get-ahead-says-entrepreneur.html
What do you think of this article? I regret studying for a degree. Many of my friends who have no degree have got better paid jobs then me and don’t have a student loan to pay back.
I also don’t think my degree was worth anything.
I loved my History and Culture degree at Warwick – I do think it was worth it, partly for all the extra-curricular facilities that were available, in addition to a varied and stimulating course. Education is generally GOOD to pursue.
But if you’re just looking at earnings when you come out, there are other routes to getting a graduate entry-level position now that don’t involve studying for a degree from a Russell Group.
I am in a starter position in journalism, earning the same as my friend who didn’t go to University and is working in admin.
I undertook additional industry training following my degree… A lot of people will fork out for a Masters in journalism now. I did an NCTJ course at Highbury College, Portsmouth, for a fraction of the cost. It was practical, varied and hands-on – at least as enriching as my degree. It taught me everything I needed to get started in journalism – that’s not to say I got paid for it for a long time though. That took me a year…
I know people who work for the NUJ Cashback for Interns Campaign, who complain that the scene in competitive industries like journalism (which is currently shrinking) is insane. It’s like a game of musical chairs. The universities are churning out graduates into industries that simply don’t have the capacity to absorb them.
Heather it sucks that you are working as a law graduate in mcdonalds! YOU SHOULD TRY TO SELL YOUR STORY. SERIOUSLY. Are there many other graduates there? 🙂
Gosh that smiley face looked callous… it was meant to be friendly!
I think the question now is whether a degree is worth the amount of debt that comes with it.
Recent surveys suggest that 33% of students do not feel that their degree is worth the money, due to the woeful contact time that they receieve from their lecturers and Uni representatives.
Obviously the number varies between institutions and subjects, but I struggle to see how 7 hours of contact time per week is equivalent to paying £9000 in tuition fees per annum.
It is vital for everyone thinking of going to University, to make sure they find the right course at the right uni for them. Seek as much advice and ask as many questions as you can to as many different people you can, so that you can get a clear idea on what the course will be like. After all, you will more than likely be paying up £9000 per year for it.
In terms of seeking the advice to help you make the right decision, I cannot reccommend this site enough. http://www.whatuni.com the reviews are written by the students themselves, so the views are much more representative of the reality than if you were to ask the University what studying with them is really like.