Why student loans are a debt few need ever repay

Covering the cost of your child’s university tuition makes little sense. set them up in a home instead.

Record numbers of students are expected to head to university this year. Universities expect a drop in demand from overseas students owing to the pandemic, so they will be desperate to fill the empty places with British school leavers. But with higher education now costing around £55,000, is it worth it? And what’s the best way to pay for it?

Research by the Department of Education has found that the average graduate earns £9,000 a year more than a non-graduate. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) believes that over his working life a man “would be £130,000 better off on average by going to university after taxes, student loan repayments and foregone earnings are taken into account”, says Sam Benstead in The Daily Telegraph. Female graduates are estimated to be £100,000 better off.

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Ruth Jackson-Kirby

Ruth Jackson-Kirby is a freelance personal finance journalist with 17 years’ experience, writing about everything from savings accounts and credit cards to pensions, property and pet insurance.

Ruth started her career at MoneyWeek after graduating with an MA from the University of St Andrews, and she continues to contribute regular articles to our personal finance section. After leaving MoneyWeek she went on to become deputy editor of Moneywise before becoming a freelance journalist.

Ruth writes regularly for national publications including The Sunday Times, The Times, The Mail on Sunday and Good Housekeeping, among many other titles both online and offline.