THE MOUNTING cost of student debt and accommodation means that UK students expect significantly more for their money than those in other countries.
42% of UK students say their university offers value for money – compared to 47% globally – according to a new global report by Sodexo.
This roughly tallies with the Higher Education Policy Institute student satisfaction survey, citing that five years ago 53% of students across the UK thought university was ‘good’ or ’very good’ value, a figure that has now slumped to 35%, its lowest level compared to five years ago.
The report provides a unique insight into the lives and lifestyles of students across the world, polling over 4,000 students in six markets (the US, China, India, Spain and Italy, as well as the UK).
More than half of UK students will have debts of between £30,000 and £59,999 by the time they graduate, compared to £11,345 in 2006 and £19,562 in 2010. In China, almost 70% of students will have no debt on graduation; in the US, 35%will be debt free compared to only 15% in the UK.
With the increasing cost of living and rising university fees, debt at graduation is naturally a concern for around a third of UK students, compared with a quarter globally. Equally, 34% of UK students are worried about their day to day finances to the extent that 31% skip meals and 1 in 4 (25%) admit to having not turned the heating on to save money. UK students are also the world’s likeliest to save money by walking instead of paying for transport (58%).
Compared to other markets, UK students are most likely to pay for their accommodation through a loan (40%) – over triple the global average (13%) – and 69% pay between £300 and £699 per month, an increase of 19% compared to 2016.
Though UK student debt levels are high by global standards, worries may be kept in check because the loan system means repayments only begin once an earnings threshold is reached.
The rising cost of being a student has meant that over a third (36%) of current students and those who graduated in 2016/2017 felt that they were unable to enjoy themselves at Freshers’ Week – compared to just 16% of those who graduated in 2015 or earlier.
Almost one in four (36%) current university students and those who graduated during the last year felt pressured to spend more money than they could afford during Freshers’ Week, compared to only 22% of those who graduated in 2015 or earlier.
Two fifths (44%) of current students and recent graduates named money as one of their biggest concerns before starting university, ranking higher than their concerns about grades (40%) or getting on with their new flat mates and enjoying their course (38%).
With pressure to enjoy themselves, students are spending more money than ever before. One in four (44%) students admitted to spending a large proportion of their student loan during Freshers’ Week compared to only 15% of those who graduated in 2015 or earlier.
Over a fifth (21%) of current students and recent graduates (2016/17) confessed to having spent over £500 during the week-long event, compared to 11% of those who graduated in 2015 or earlier.
Paul Anstey, CEO Schools and Universities for Sodexo UK & Ireland, added: “Against the backdrop of uncertainty in the UK higher education sector – as universities adapt to the introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework scoring system, the uncertainties of Brexit, a more competitive global higher education marketplace and a fall in UCAS applications for the first time in five years – Sodexo’s first International University Lifestyle Survey provides a unique insight into the current lives and lifestyles of students across the world.”
