Is University Actually Worth It?

England's university funding model is built on a paradox. Students borrow an average of £44,940 to fund their degrees, yet only 23% of Plan 2 borrowers are expected to repay in full before their loans are written off after 30 years.^[1] The total student loan book now exceeds £268 billion — a figure that grows by roughly £20 billion each year — and the government bears the cost of unrepaid debt as a long-term fiscal liability.^[1] Meanwhile, the £9,250 fee cap was frozen for eight years until 2025, eroding its real value by around 17% through inflation.^[2] Universities have become increasingly dependent on international student fees to close the gap.^[5]

The graduate earnings premium remains real: median graduate earnings are £12,500 per year higher than for non-graduates, a gap that has widened over the past decade.^[3] But this average conceals stark variation. Medicine and economics graduates earn more than double those in creative arts five years after graduation.^[3] For some subjects and institutions, the financial return on a degree is genuinely questionable — especially once accumulated interest is factored in. The Office for Students now publishes outcome data by course, forcing a long-overdue reckoning with which degrees deliver value.^[4]