Tuition fees: How much does university cost in the UK?
Getty ImagesTuition fees in England are to rise for the first time in eight years, after universities called for help with their finances.
What are the changes and does getting a degree pay for itself through higher future earnings?
How much are tuition fees going up in England?
The annual cost of an undergraduate degree in England will go up from £9,250 to £9,535, in September 2025.
Undergraduate students will also be able to borrow more for day-to-day living costs.
The maximum maintenance loan for those living away from their parents outside of London, for example, will increase from £10,227 to £10,544 a year.
The government said the increases to tuition fees and maintenance loans are in line with inflation.
Why are tuition fees going up?
Warnings have been mounting about the state of university finances.
Universities UK, which represents 141 universities, suggested they need to be able to charge tuition fees of £12,500 a year to meet their teaching costs.
Students were warned they could see cuts to staffing and courses, as inflation means tuition fees are worth less than they used to be.
There have also been fewer international students to make up the financial shortfall.
The regulator in England, the Office for Students, warned that 40% of universities have predicted a deficit in this academic year.
In July the government said universities should "manage their budgets".
However, announcing the rise, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said there are "severe financial challenges" in higher education.
"With tuition fees frozen universities have suffered real terms-decline in income," she said.
What about the rest of the UK?
Other UK nations set their own fees.
The current maximum annual cost for students outside England varies, depending on where they live and study:
- Wales: £9,250
- Northern Ireland: £4,750 for Northern Irish students or £9,250 for other UK students
- Scotland: Free for the majority of Scottish students and £9,250 for other UK students
What does student accommodation cost?
Student rents have risen sharply in recent years, according to data from 10 university towns and cities.
Average annual rent rose from £6,520 in 2021-22 to £7,475 in 2023-24, according to research by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) and housing charity Unipol. The figures do not include London and Edinburgh.
Student rents were particularly high in some cities like Bristol and Nottingham, where the average cost was £9,200 and £8,427 respectively.
Hepi warned that maintenance loans in England only just cover average rent, and without family support or part-time work, students "will have no money to live off" after paying housing costs.
If you are leaving home to study, it is generally cheaper to live in university-owned accommodation.
In 2021-22 (the latest UK-wide figures available) average rent for university owned rooms ranged from £6,471 in England to £4,565 in Northern Ireland.
Students also need to budget for other big expenses, such as food, transport, course materials and going out.
Research by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas), based on a survey of about 500 respondents, suggests that students spent £219 per week on average in late 2022.
In June 2023, Hepi said that more than half of students had a job.
How do student loans work?
Most UK students are eligible for a tuition fee loan. Maintenance loans are also available for living costs. These are means-tested, so the amount you get depends on your family's income.
The maximum maintenance loan if you live away from home and outside London ranges from £10,227 in England (before next year's increase) to £6,776 in Northern Ireland.
You are charged interest on your total loan from the day you take it out. Eligibility and repayment rules differ across the UK.
Loan repayment rules changed in England in 2023, meaning students are likely to pay back more, over a longer period of time, than those who went to university earlier.
The government says new students "will not repay more than they originally borrowed over the lifetime of their loans, when adjusted for inflation".
But MoneySavingExpert.com's Martin Lewis said extending the repayment period would increase "costs by thousands" for lower and mid-earners.
What extra financial help can students get?
Eligible students in Wales and Northern Ireland can claim maintenance grants which do not have to be repaid.
Full-time undergraduates normally resident in Wales are entitled to at least £1,000. Students from the poorest backgrounds who study in London can get up to £10,124.
In Northern Ireland the maximum grant is £3,475.
The Scottish government offers financial support to certain categories of students, such as those with dependants.
Across the UK, students in financial difficulty can apply for hardship funding and they may also be entitled to financial assistance from charities.
Will I earn more money with a degree?
Most students will leave university owing money.
The Student Loans Company says graduates in England leave university with average debts of £48,470.
In general, most graduates can expect to earn more than non-graduates, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
However, it suggests the amount of extra money earned after a university education has declined.
According to HESA's survey of 2020-21 graduates, the average salary reported 15 months after gaining a degree was £29,699.
Earnings also depend on the subject studied and university attended.
Research by the IFS think tank in England suggests, on average, women who studied creative arts and languages degrees earned the same amount in their lifetime as if they had not gone to university.
Women who studied law, economics or medicine earned over £250,000 more during their career than if they had not got a degree.
Men who studied creative arts on average earned less across their lifetimes than if they had not attended university. Male medicine or economics graduates earned £500,000 more.
Attending university can help students from poorer backgrounds earn more than their parents might have done, according to research by education charity the Sutton Trust in England.
But only a fifth of graduates who were eligible for free school meals went on to be in the top 20% of earners - compared to almost half of graduates who attended private schools.
The Sutton Trust says attending a selective university, like a Russell Group one, gives young people the "best chance of being socially mobile".
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