University fees to increase from September 2025

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Just announced.

And looks like a complete overhaul coming.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/11/04/raise-university-tuition-fees-2025-starmer/

They haven’t raised it by enough. Only 2.7%. When it’s been frozen for eight years and unis are saying they’re making a 4k loss per student each year on some courses. This rise will increase fees to about 9.5k a year.

9% extra tax plus childcare costs in the future plus mortgage won’t affect that generation? I doubt it.

I understand unis need fees to go up but don’t they also need students in the first place? So if students are not going to go in the first place will that actually help unis?

You’re hysterical, calm down.

And I take you don’t realise the 9% ‘tax’ is 9% ‘tax’ over the threshold not 9% of income?

I have fully understood and don’t feel comfortable with my DCs being in so much debt. So uni in Europe it will be for us. For free. Maintenance they expect us to fund anyway.

4DC here. It’s extortionate for us but free elsewhere. They are all high achievers. Other countries will be happy to have them and the U.K. brings down its net migration figures. You should all be happy.

Ahhh yes. The party that famously promised not to raise tuition fees in the coalition years.

For someone who has posted a lot of this thread and is clearly passionate about the topic you are sadly misinformed.

Do you genuinely think people with student loans are unable to get a mortgage?

And your reference to 49% tax etc is ridiculous. It’s 0% on some earnings, 20% on some, 29% on some, and then 49% on the top bit. It’s not 49% on everything so not a 49% tax in any shape. There’s absolutely no guarantee your children will be such high earners anyway.

Do your children know of your potential future plans to ship them off to another country? Emigration is a big thing and many young adults wouldn’t want to move countries.

Yes I think this is right. Plus the NI changes from the budget will have a huge impact on university finances (will it even be offset by this?). It's a bit worrying that the narriative from ministers on the news is 'now universities are getting more we expect more from them'. The reality is that universities are getting much less than they were in real terms and this probably won't even meet inflation + NI for this year.

Just went and counted quickly and over a third of the posts on this thread are yours @Araminta1003 with various incorrect ramblings about tax and mortgages, and your plans to ship your children off to Europe.

I hope your children don’t pick up on your anxieties for them and genuinely think they have no chance of a good life in the UK - no opportunity to buy a house etc if they stay, and feel forced out because of your own wishes and obsession.

Yes my children know and one has already left. Of his own accord.

Do you even understand the post you were replying too?

The change to 30 to 40 years, the lowering and then freezing of thresholds..... all under a Tory Govt.... yet not a dickybird from you or other Tory supporting posters.

As far as i'm concerned, further education "should" be cheap and available to all, as it is in the EU.

Labour also said v little about Uni education in their manifesto and as no one wants tax rises, even for the v wealthy 'cause they'll leave.... then they had no choice but to increase them.

Maintenance grants are increasing by £414. How does that make sense if fees are increasing by £285? did i not hear it properly?

Honestly this is the worst way they could have gone - any increase is going to impact on the confidence of poorer students (even though logically the amount paid back a year will not change) and its no use to any University. The estimate was they all needed £12500 so this won't stop any cuts or job losses. But hey, the extra £285 does come with a little lecture about how they all need to be efficient and reach out to communities, so that's nice.

There is no promise they won't break and no deeply held belief that won't now be jettisoned for another equal but opposite deeply held belief in the ((patronising)) name of 'grown-up government'.

The maximum grant. Not for everyone.

Yes so Labour have taken what Tories already did to students and made it even worse.

Actually I think it works out of the poorest are slightly “better off” in terms of the max maintenance loan being more than the annual course fee increase.

Its not "worse" its just more of the same.... £285 will not be felt over 40years.

imho Uni fees are very short sighted, for those than can, they'll go abroad as Uni in the UK becomes less attractive, so we get less poorer students going to Uni, less social mobility, more people stuck in lower paid work or no work, lower tax take....

I don't get why other countries have almost no Uni fees, but the UK has some of the highest in the world.

My DDs new band 6 wage is strongly impacted by fees, its not a small amount, almost £1000 per year & Sunak increased it to 40 years..... no one gave a hoot.

...they have to pay that back, it will put those from poorer families off Uni

I complained loads about Plan 5 and also the extortionate interest rates linked to inflation before that.

How? Do you understand that 9% of your salary over a threshold is 9% of your salary over a threshold regardless of the total loan. 9% is 9% is 9%.

@Alexandra2001 Not sure it’s any worse that currently though. They’ll only pay it back if they earn over a threshold and have slightly less short term pain.

They need to increase the maintenance loan. A loan of £4600 for living costs when household parental income is 60k isn’t enough when rent can be £300 a week. 60k may well be a decent income but parents have their own Mortgages and bills, other kids, rising bills, falling wages, inflation…..and then have to find 12k a year or so for one child. God help you if you have two kids at uni!

It can be cheaper to rent in eg Germany in a house share and attend a uni there. If you have a legacy EU passport. Well worth looking into all options now. Especially for tech/STEM/engineering.

How Starmer is behaving since getting into power really shows people should always take politicians manifestos, leading up to elections, with a pinch of salt. They can always go back with ‘but we weren’t aware of what we were left with following the last government’. They really are just liars and manipulators, yet people still take what they say as gospel.