I knew I would have to repay my student loan.
I don’t resent that. My degrees helped me to get a job I enjoy. I was lucky to go to two good universities, and I have had a positive start to my career.
The repayments of course make life tighter, but if I’m careful I can still save a bit, still go on holiday and still take my girlfriend out to dinner on occasion.
But this is the truth of the system.
By the time I finished university, I owed £54,378.47 across my undergraduate and postgraduate loans.
I have worked full time, paid tax, paid National Insurance and made student loan repayments through my payslip, exactly as I was supposed to do.
My latest statement shows that since 2019 I have repaid £5,304 towards my undergraduate and postgraduate loans.
But over the same period, £13,236.28 of interest was added to my main loan and £4,163.82 to my postgraduate loan. That is £17,400.10 in interest, even as hundreds of pounds have been taken from my salary.
After years of work and thousands of pounds in repayments, my total balance is now £66,474.57.
That is the bit that makes people angry.
It is not just that money comes out of my pay every month. It is that the money comes out, and the debt still goes up.
It makes you think, what is the point?
- What is the point in making repayments every month if they do not even put a dent in the debt?
- What is the point in earning more if the repayment goes up, but the balance still moves in the wrong direction?
- What is the point in calling it a loan if, for many people, it does not behave like one?
- What is the point if even the Government accepts most will never pay it off?
My latest payslip shows £198 taken for my student loan and £169 for my postgraduate loan in a single month. That is £367 gone before I see my pay, on top of income tax and National Insurance.
For every extra pound I earn, I can lose around 57p in deductions once student loan and postgraduate loan repayments are included.
I am doing what we tell young people to do. I studied, worked hard, got a job, built a career and paid my way. But compared with friends who went straight into work or did degree apprenticeships, I am behind. They have had years to earn, save and move forward without carrying a debt that grows faster than they can pay it down.
I do not regret going to university.
I do not expect the taxpayer to write everything off. That would not be right, and it is not what I am asking for. I knew I was taking out a loan, and I knew I would have to contribute towards the cost of my education.
University gave me opportunities, confidence, friendships, networks and access to a career that I may not have had otherwise.
If we want young people to take those opportunities, work hard and invest in their future, the system has to keep its side of the bargain too. It should be possible to repay. It should be clear what people are signing up for. And it should not leave graduates making payments for years while the balance keeps growing.
A normal loan goes down when you make regular repayments. This one can keep rising while hundreds of pounds leave your payslip.
If your loan for a car went up when you were paying it, you would be outraged, wouldn’t you?
The system currently is not fair. It is not transparent. And it is not a serious settlement for a country that says it wants young people to work hard, get on and build a future.
That is why I am backing Prosper UK’s Fair Fees campaign.
We need a student finance system that is honest, fair and possible to repay. One that rewards work rather than punishing people for earning more. One that does not leave graduates financially behind their peers for decades.
Please sign the petition and share it with your friends, family and anyone who should care about this.
This needs to change.
Thank you for reading,
A Plan 2 Graduate
