Students in England leave university with more debt than anywhere else in the English-speaking world, according to a report by the Sutton Trust.
Students paying £9,000 fees owe an average of £44,000 when they finish their degrees. American students who study on four year programmes, rather than three, graduate with between £20,500, for those at public universities, and £29,000 for those at private universities. Students in Canada left with £15,000 of debt on average.
The trust, a group that campaigns for greater social mobility, warns that the abolition of maintenance grants later this year will leave the poorest students with debts in excess of £50,000.
A freeze in graduate pay against a backdrop of rising living costs and skyrocketing house rises has raised questions as to whether university is financially beneficial.
Between 2008 and 2015 young graduates’ – those aged between 21-30 years old – pay stagnated at £24,000 with more money being spent on debt, without any more being earned. Graduates of all ages saw their earnings decline by £500 in 2015 to an average of £31,500, according to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
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