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Student debt to soar to £23K
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As sixth formers prepare to receive their A level results, a new survey has revealed that students heading off to university this autumn can expect to graduate with debt in excess of £20,000. But does the amount of money you owe depend on where you study? And where does all that money go?
Undergraduates starting university this autumn are set to finish their studies with £23,500 of debt, according the Push Student Debt Survey released today (18 August 2009).
The survey, compiled by the UK’s leading independent resource for prospective students, is the most detailed annual analysis of student finances, and involved interviewing more than 2,000 students across 130 universities in the UK. It found average student debt now tops £4,000 for each year of study – nearly 25% more than last year.
student essentials
Unsurprisingly, where you study affects the amount of debt you’re likely to accrue. In Scotland, student debts are lowest, with an average of £2,194 a year – this is mainly down to the generous funding system in the region, and despite Scottish university courses taking four years, rather than the usual three to complete – and it’s the only part of the country where students can expect to graduate with debts of less than £10,000.
In the UK, average annual debt is now at £5,271, with students studying in London expecting to owe a whopping £30,000 on graduation, way above the national average. This is compared to £4,324 in Northern Ireland, £4,021 in Wales and £2,194 in Scotland.
A separate study by the NUS and HSBC revealed that for some university courses, students had to pay out significantly more money in hidden costs, with maths and computer science students spending the most: an average of £1,430.40 a year on books and equipment.
Johnny Rich, series editor of Push.co.uk commented on the Push survey results, saying: “These figures beg the questions whether we’ve now passed the point where students can expect to stump up more towards their education.
“It’s easy to become immune to stories about student debt, but this increase is not just another rise. Some students face real financial hardship.”
Updated 19 August 2009
