University fees to increase from September 2025

Off you all go then.

Fees are going up by a very small amount per year <£300 and it hasn't risen for 8 years.
The extortionate interest rate charged is more of an issue.
I say that as DC1 graduated 5 years ago and her debt is £80k+. She did Pharmacy so it had to be a 4 years integrated masters. We paid her rent each year so it could have been nearer £100k. Her salary isn't great considering (NHS).

The Junior Docs strike cost the UK 3x what it did eventually cost to settle.

Money down the drain.

If we don't pay people competitive salaries, they will leave the NHS, costing the economy far more than if we paid.

Parents & Students are already looking at the EU, many of the very best the UK has will stay in Europe, making us less economically attractive.

The Black Hole was caused by the Tories, NOT Rachel Reeves but it falls on her to put it right.

& that means hard choices.

I would rather the junior doctors got 11% instead of 22, and allowed uni fees to remain as they were.
This doesn't make any sense. Raising tuition fees isn't raising any finances for the government. Quite the opposite - it's basically the government giving more funds to the universities. The government aren't paying for public sector workers pay increases by increasing tuition fees.

There are many routes to success, university is only one of them.

Well obviously if you don’t have an EU passport you can’t but the poster I was replying to did mention having a legacy passport. Plenty of people will have them.

Can you tell us about these industries where you can work your way up to a great career and not just get boxed into a dead end job? I’m asking genuinely as I’m in a profession where a post graduate degree is bare minimum requirement. I do worry for my daughter as the route I and DH took (work hard at school and go to uni) doesn’t make as much financial sense even for us let alone her.

They had sight of the finances before they came to power. They were freely available for Labour to look at in the lead up to the GE. All this crsp from Reeves that she only became aware of the black hole in finances once she took office is a red herring to justify her going hard line. I would rather the junior doctors got 11% instead of 22, and allowed uni fees to remain as they were. She's promised public sector workers a salary boost so has to fund that I guess.

Why would an 18 year old want to get into tens of thousands worth of debt when they can work their way up in industry and make money from the get go?

I guess it will depend on the state of their economy, but fingers crossed...
Both my DC learn German and French specifically to be able to study abroad. It has been obvious for a long time where the country is going education wise...

https://www.studying-in-germany.org/is-college-free-in-germany/

Care to share a link?

“That was only possible for us financially because a family member has a spare room but DC entirely self sufficient,
lol. Living rent free in a family members spare room is not what most people would consider self suffices - the opposite in fact! Entirely dependant!”

no @titchy - DS was offered an obscene amount by a tech company and could have worked a year full time and entirely self-funded. They are still trying to get him to not do a masters. And by obscene, I mean really obscene by UK standards.

Where do the Germans get the money from to make unis free for all?

“I can only hope EU unis won't charge us much more in a few years time... Germany is still being nice with us, but their problems are mounting too so probably won't be that generous...”

I think the Germans are smarter than that. They will be more than happy to poach the very young and very talented people from the UK and invest in them via uni fees. It is a no brainer really.

German uni fees are the same for all passports. At least they were last time I checked.

I have never repaid my student loan from 24 years ago. Life got in the way, children with disabilities etc....

It's not about young adults not wanting to move abroad, it's the country wanting them to get out.

I can only hope EU unis won't charge us much more in a few years time... Germany is still being nice with us, but their problems are mounting too so probably won't be that generous...

They were meant to be better for not-so-affluent people but in reality it doesn't seem to be the case. They are thrashing pretty much everyone around 🤯 I haven't seen such a firework of absolutely bullshit policies for a long time, and I used to be a Labour supporter 🙈

It could be worse…this article from the United States from a few years ago may give food for thought. A guy lived in his car for two years to pay off his student loans.
https://www.bkmag.com/2015/08/26/how-to-pay-off-student-debt-live-in-your-car-for-two-years/

About 12 years ago, I paid off 68K in US dollars of student loan debt…the amount was high as I earned two graduate degrees. If I defaulted/didn’t pay, bailiffs could have been sent in and repossessed my car and belongings.
There is also no income threshold in the USA for repayment of student loans…I had to pay immediately after graduation.

Whilst IMHO, university fees should not exist whatsoever, at the least if your DC don’t make a high income, they won’t have to pay their loans. It might be small comfort, but it is more humane than the American system.

I also might offer that the slight increase in fees in no way will make up for NI increases as well as the foundation year drop in tuitions, and the drop of international students. And of course we have inflation. I think it may be more of a ploy by the government to keep the universities quiet or for them to look like the government is doing something. Most university lecturers are making about 25% less money per year in real terms than they did in 2014; this latest increase in tuition will not reach them. I am thankful every day I retired from higher education.

My children will never be able to get on the ladder anyway, even without the extra 9% tax. The salary/mortgage/house prices ratio has not been working for a long time, in London for sure. A studio in our area is 215K, banks will never fund that.

Some money could be saved by the Government / tax payer not paying for 18plus degree based apprenticeships.
Students doing them should get a student loan like Uni students.

( The Govn pays up to 95% of fees when employers don’t pay the full amount )

That was only possible for us financially because a family member has a spare room but DC entirely self sufficient,

lol. Living rent free in a family members spare room is not what most people would consider self suffices - the opposite in fact! Entirely dependant!

Because the emphasis is on the word economically, not on inactive.