Foreword from Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert
“It’s been a couple of years since we saw the biggest changes to how students pay for university in a generation. But this is still new territory and there remain widespread myths and misunderstandings out there, often focused on political argument. Yet what really counts for those considering university is the actual practical everyday impact on your pocket, and that isn’t nearly as harsh as many fear.
The loudest shouts have been from those saying “you’ll leave university with a monstrous £50,000 of debt”. I wish I could say that wasn’t true, but if you take the maximum loans over three years it is. However, that figure is mostly meaningless, since student loans are one of the very few areas where the price tag bears little resemblance to the real cost. This is because your repayments depend solely on how much you earn once you graduate.
Regardless of what you borrow, if you choose a career that isn’t highly paid, you won’t need to repay much at all – some won’t pay a penny. Whereas earn big bucks and you may pay back more than you borrowed, but obviously will have more cash to pay it with. Some call it ‘no win, no fee’. The aim of this booklet is to give you enough information to understand how much YOU will repay. After all, if you don’t know how much it costs – how can you work out if it’s worth it?“It certainly remains the case that you should not let yourself be dissuaded from going to university because you’re worried about money, and the new reforms offer a more generous package to those from the lowest income families.
The crucial point about the student finance system is that you won’t have to pay it back unless and until you have enough money to be able to. So dispel all thoughts of bankruptcy and living off baked beans for the rest of your life, because you won’t have to pay anything back until you are employed and on a rather decent salary of £21,000.
