School pupils fear costs of higher education

29 May 13
Two-thirds of schoolchildren are worried about the cost of going to university, with concerns most marked among children from poorer families, a survey has revealed.

By Vivienne Russell | 30 May 2013

Two-thirds of schoolchildren are worried about the cost of going to university, with concerns most marked among children from poorer families, a survey has revealed.

The Ipsos-Mori poll of 2,595 pupils aged between 11 and 16 was carried out for the Sutton Trust. It found that 65% had ‘significant concerns’ about university finance. Of these, 28% were worried about tuition fees, 19% about living costs and 18% about a lack of earnings while studying. Only 7% said they had no concerns about the costs of studying.

Almost a quarter (23%) of students from less affluent families cited cost as their biggest consideration in deciding whether or not to go to university, compared with 14% of the wealthiest pupils.

Among schoolchildren who said they were unlikely to go on to higher education, 57% cited financial considerations.

However, aspiration levels remained high. The vast majority of those surveyed  (86%) said going to university was important to help people do well and get on in life. More than a third (38%) said they were ‘very likely’ to go to university, while a further 43% said they were ‘fairly likely’ to do so. These proportions are unchanged from when the survey was carried out last year.

Commenting on the findings, Sutton Trust chair Sir Peter Lampl said: ‘It is clear from this poll that many young people remain worried about the cost of higher education. Graduates face debts of over £40,000 with the higher fees and many will be paying for their university studies into their fifties.

‘While there may have been some uplift in university applications this year, student numbers are not yet back to 2010 levels. We are urging the government to means test university fees, as used to be the case, so that those from low and middle income families pay less for tuition.’

Professor Les Ebdon, director of Fair Access to Higher Education, which monitors universities’ access agreements, said more needed to be done to supply young people with clear information and advice about the costs associated with studying.

‘The fact is that no one needs to be put off going to university by the cost,’ he said. ‘Fees only have to repaid once you’re earning over £21,000, and then at a rate related to what you earn. There is lots of help available with living costs, including bursaries and grants that you don’t have to pay back.

‘But today’s survey suggests this message is still not getting through clearly enough. So I am calling on the higher education sector to do more to reach out to potential students and give them clear information, advice and guidance about higher education and finance, including the non-repayable bursaries and other financial help that universities and colleges themselves provide. I expect to see evidence of this in access agreements for 2014/15.’

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, agreed that there were many ‘misunderstandings’ about student finance.

‘It is vitally important that young people, and their parents, have access to good information about tuition fees and repayments when making their decisions about university,’ she said.

‘Going to university can be a life-changing experience. No one should be put off from applying because of worries about finance, or lack of information.’

Dandridge added that UCAS figures showed university application were rising again, with applications from 18-year-olds at ‘near-record levels’.


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