The highest student loan debt is now more than £230,000, recent research into graduation costs has shown.
While this student is an outlier, it is a sign that going to university is becoming more costly, with the average graduate now needing to pay back £45,000, the BBC has said.
The NUS is worried that the costs will put poorer people off from going to university.
Chloe Field, the union’s vice president, said: “These figures are an indictment of our education system. The UK cannot pretend that university is accessible to everyone when there is the possibility of students incurring over £200,000 worth of debt.
“Student debt discourages people from working class backgrounds from going to university, no matter how much they may thrive there or how much they want to go.
“Education is a human right, it should be equally available to everyone throughout their lives, including for people who want to retrain later in life.”
The different plans for student loan repayment
Plan 1
If you started your course before September 1, 2012
When your Plan 1 loan gets written off depends on when you were paid the first loan for your course.
If you were paid the first loan on or after September 1, 2006, the loans for your course will be written off 25 years after the April you were first due to repay.
If you were paid the first loan before September 1, 2006, the loans for your course will be written off when you’re 65.
Plan 2
If you started your course between September 1, 2012, and July 31, 2023.
You will be on Plan 2 if you’re studying an undergraduate course, you’re studying a Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE), you take out an advanced learner loan, or you take out a higher education short course loan.
Plan 2 loans are written off 30 years after the April you were first due to repay.
Plan 3
You can relax, there is no Plan 3. Consider that debt written off.
Plan 4
You’re on Plan 4 if you applied to the Students Award Agency Scotland, whether you studied an undergraduate course or a postgraduate course.
When your Plan 4 loan gets written off depends on when you were paid the first loan for your course.
If you were paid the first loan on or after August 1, 2007, the loans for your course will be written off 30 years after the April you were first due to repay.
If you were paid the first loan before August 1, 2007, the loans for your course will be written off when you’re 65, or 30 years after the April you were first due to repay – whichever comes first.
Plan 5
If you started your course on or after August 1, 2023, and you’re studying an undergraduate course, a postgraduate certificate of education. or you take out an advanced learner loan.
Plan 5 loans are written off 40 years after the April you were first due to repay.
Postgraduate loans
If you’re a student from England or Wales, your postgraduate loan will be written off 30 years after the April you were first due to repay.
If you’re a postgraduate student from Northern Ireland, you’re on Plan 1.
If you’re a postgraduate student from Scotland, you’re on Plan 4.
What if someone can no longer work or dies?
If someone dies, the Student Loans Company will cancel the person’s student loan.
You need to let SLC know that the person has died and provide evidence (for example an original death certificate), as well as the person’s Customer Reference Number.
SLC may be able to cancel your loan if you claim certain disability benefits. You’ll need to provide evidence (for example a letter from the benefits agency) and your Customer Reference Number.
