Going to University becoming more and more expensive, not only in inflation making it harder to live away from home but the increase in tuition fees from the last 10 years have tripled student tuition loans. This makes it so every University student becomes massively in debt from there years on their course. Many rethink going to further education because they know they will end it in debt.

1.8 million people are now in debt of over £50,000 due to student finances.

In 2023/24 2.8m people made repayments on their student loan however it is common knowledge that many people will never have the chance to repay. Repayments begin when you start earning above the threshold of either £25,000 on plan 1 or £27,295 for plan 2 and others. You pay back 9% of your income each month with a 7.5% interest rate on the debt. The debt immediately is void after 30-40 years after graduating.

Students receive a maximum of £9,250 for undergrad tuition as well as a maximum of £9,978 for maintenance loan, this is a maximum of £13,022 for those studying in London to account for higher rent and living prices.

If you are or will soon be a student living away from home, there are lots of ways to save as a student  to make sure your maintenance loan goes as far as it can.

 

What the Political parties plan for students

As a student, you will be affected by the election results this week so it is important to know which party is giving attention to student needs.

The Conservatives and proposed shutting down university course they deem as a ‘rip-off’ limiting students’ choices. They plan to replace them with more high-quality apprenticeships where students could learn on the job whilst getting paid an apprenticeship salary costing the government less.

Labour have repeatedly mentioned their plans for schools however, higher education plans have been vague or non-existent. They have pledged to revamp the higher education funding system but what this means is unclear.

The Green Party aims to abolish tuition fees completely taking us back to 1998 which is when tuition fees were first introduced. This would open University up to more people and offer further opportunities for higher education.

The Reform party plan to cut interest rates on student debt meaning graduates would only be paying back exactly what they borrowed, decreasing debt and paying less back into the government pot.

The Liberal Democrats pledge to reinstate maintenance grants for disadvantaged students as well as review the finance behind high education. This could give those from lower income households or other situations a better chance of gaining an education ultimately increasing the number of higher educated people in the UK.