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University is supposed to set up students for financial and social success, however, in today’s world, most students leave university with the burden of large amounts of student loan debt. I am lucky enough to have my parents pay for university, but many of my friends will have to leave with a student loan. On average, students leaving university in 2018 left with a crushing £36.000 of student debt (Bolton, 2019). Coming from Germany, where the average undergraduate degree costs around £1.700, it is difficult to comprehend why further education leaves students unable to chase their goals, only hindering them and taking their financial freedom instead (Chamie, 2017). Not only is the student loan system a liability for students, but for the government as well. Student loans are written off after 30 years, and only 30% of full-time undergraduate students will ever pay back their loan in full. Therefore, the government loses millions of pounds a year due to unpaid loans (Chamie, 2017; Coughlan, 2018). If the government is willing to offer these benefits to students already, why should they not incentivize the student loan system further?
I believe that through further state sponsoring, such as having lower income classes pay little to no tuition fees, and taking away money from military spending, England could pave the way to a better society. It can be argued that this creates too many graduates, however when citizens can change from lower to middle class, contributing to the economy in a bigger part then they were before, it can only be beneficial. Also, free education does not mean that everyone goes to university. This therefore promotes equality, and leaves students able to follow their dreams (instead of taking the highest paying job), meaning a more specialized workforce.
In my opinion, the student loan and the university system should undergo a restructuring.
Credit to:
Bolton, P. (2019) Student Loan Statistics. Available at:
https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN01079
(Accessed: 17 February 2020)
Chamie, J. (2017) Student Debt Rising Worldwide. Available at:
https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/student-debt-rising-worldwide
(Accessed: 17 February 2020)
Coughlan, S. (2018) ‘Student loans heading for trillion pounds’, BBC, 11 June, Available at:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-44433569 (Accessed: 17 February 2020)
Lucas Blog 
Hi Luca,
What a fantastic post. I really enjoyed reading about this topic as it is really interesting and I am able to relate to it. Being a student myself and studying in the U.K., where tuition fees are quite expensive, I have many friends who are struggling with student debts and the feeling of anxiety. This anxiety develops because students who are studying want to be successful in the future. But, the financial situation and the paying back of the student loan create stress and make them anxious about their future life. Therefore, I totally agree with your opinion.Thank you for the lovely blog!
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