Students To Graduate With GBP23,000 Debt

Tue, 18 Aug 2009

Students starting a university course this autumn could graduate with record debts of up to £23,500, according to new research.

The Push Student Debt Survey of over 2,000 students in all years at university found most now owe an average £5,000 for every year of study, with the debt figure rising year-on-year.

Undergraduates who have just finished their first year of study will owe around £21,200 by the time they graduate, while those entering higher education this year will owe at least £2,000 more, the survey suggested.

Johnny Rich, editor of website Push.co.uk, said: "Finding part-time work has got harder and many students are facing real financial hardship and are worrying about what lies ahead. Even so, the advantages of having a degree still vastly outweigh the costs."

"These figures will give next year's review of student funding a real headache. They beg the question of whether we've now passed the point where students can be expected to stump up any more towards their education ."

According to the survey, students in England owe a lot more than those studying in other parts of the UK.

Average debt per year of study in England is £5,271, compared to £4,021 in Wales, £4,324 in Northern Ireland and £2,194 in Scotland – the only country where debt levels have fallen over the last twelve months.

The National Union of Students (NUS) warned that the findings suggest many teenagers gaining university places could be condemned to a "lifetime of debt ".

NUS president Wes Streeting said: "With this year's new university students set to graduate with over £23,000 of debt, and graduate employment opportunities at an all-time low, we find it astonishing that universities continue to demand ever higher fees."
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