Graduate debt in England soars, with average student in £53k debt after university

Students in England are graduating from university with student loans that are 10% higher on average than last year, as the cost-of-living crisis drives increased borrowing.

New figures from the Student Loans Company (SLC), the government organisation responsible for student loans and grants in the UK, highlight the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on students, and illuminate the current state of student loans.

The figures from the 2024-25 financial year show that individual loan balances for students in England were 10% higher on average, at £53,000, compared to the year before, when they averaged £48,270.

This rise in loan costs has led to increasing numbers of students feeling that they need to work alongside their studies, with 68% of students saying […] that they expect to have to work

Students in England are more affected by this issue than those in Scotland, for example, where local students still have free tuition, and only have an average of £17,990 of debt at the end of their university experience.

This rise in loan costs has led to increasing numbers of students feeling that they need to work alongside their studies, with 68% of students saying in a survey by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) that they expect to have to work – a marked increase from 3 years ago, when this figure was only 50%.

Many UK students are now thinking twice about going to university due to increasing costs, and are instead pursuing alternatives which offer no debt and full-time pay.

The numbers of domestic students going into higher education are ‘flat or declining as a proportion of the population’

Nick Hillman, HEPI Director

Nick Hillman, the current Director of HEPI and former Educational Special Advisor for the Conservative Party, told The Independent that the numbers of domestic students going into higher education are “flat or declining as a proportion of the population”, and that the demand for university from young people is “softening”.

This fact, combined with income from tuition fees remaining similar over the last 12 years despite inflation, has led to more universities relying on international students, who pay far more in tuition fees, in order to stay afloat.

Universities across the UK are facing increasingly dire financial situations, with a report by the Tony Blair Institute finding that 43% of institutions are projected to be running a deficit in the current academic year.

The Institute also found that the proportion of international students in higher education has been growing over the years from 17% in 2011/12 to 24% in 2021/22, perhaps a symptom of an increasing reliance on foreign students.