IMPORTANT PLS SHARE. It's rumoured the English £9,250 tuition fee cap may be raised this pm for the 1st time in 8yrs, as University's finances are strained. As student finance misunderstandings abound, I've bashed out a few notes to help... 1. Higher tuition fees WON'T change what most pay each year. For most, they're paid for you by the student loans company and you repay afterwards only if you earn over the threshold. The amount you repay each year (9% over the threshold) solely depends on what you earn not on what you borrow. 2. Increasing tuition fees will only see those who clear the loan in full over the 40yrs pay more. That is generally mid-high to higher earning university leavers only, so the cost of increasing them will generally be born by the more affluent. Most lower and middle earning university leavers will simply pay 9% extra tax above the threshold for 40yrs (and higher tuition fees won't change that) 3. The rise is tuition fees is likely to be trivial compared to the changes the last govt made for 2023 starters. 2023 starters had their repayment thresholds dropped to £25,000 (from £27,295/yr) and had the time they had to keep repaying for (unless cleared) extended to 40years from 30years. So these higher annual repayments for longer, increased by over 50% the amount many graduates will eventually have to pay back for going to university. Yet they were almost stealth changes because people can't intuitively feel the seismic impact. Changing tuition fees is a more obvious rise, but in reality has far less of an impact on the amount most will repay (though combined with the 2023 changes it does certainly up the cost). 4. The biggest practical problem for students isnt tution fees (even if raised) its the fact maintenace loans aren't big enough. English maintenance loans have not kept pace with inflation. I'd urge the govt to couple the tuition fee loans with bigger living loans - if not it is a real risk to social mobility, with those from the poorest backgrounds likely to be worse affected. I could write more, but will stop here, hopefully this gives an idea the issues are less straightforward than many feel.

Nov 4, 2024 · 2:03 PM UTC

CONFIRMED IN PARLIAMENT: Max England tuition fees to rise to £9,535/yr from current £9,250 in the next academic year (do read my tweet below explaining it) Plus thankfully, maintenance loans to rise with inflation (3.1%) - it won't catch up the many substantially lower than inflation rises in previous years, but its better than nowt.
Replying to @MartinSLewis
Really not impressed by people who didn't have these tuition fees imposing them on young adults We need to scrap tuition fees and not burden young people with debt before they start out in life What's the point of being the sixth richest country in the world if we can't afford things 🤷‍♂️
Replying to @MartinSLewis
So… folk being punished for wanting to better themselves! Good old, @UKLabour
2
5
30
Replying to @MartinSLewis
Another one bites the dust.
Guido Fawkes
Replying to @MartinSLewis
The problem Martin, is that they promised to abolish tuition fees all together.
2
9
Replying to @MartinSLewis
Martin, 9% extra tax for 40 years is absolutely horrific.
2
Replying to @MartinSLewis
Would help if you underscored that international students help subsidise British students. Without them, the fees would be much, much higher.
11
7
1
133
Replying to @MartinSLewis
Ooooof. I like Martin. He generally does a good job and sometimes even speaks truth to power. But this statement “Higher tuition fees WON'T change what most pay each year. For most, they're paid for you by the student loans company and you repay afterwards only if you earn over the threshold. The amount you repay each year (9% over the threshold) solely depends on what you earn not on what you borrow.” Is that classic mainstream approach to controversial issues - Technically true but completely deceptive bullshit. Proper double glazing salesman stuff. It sounds like a Govt Press Release. “You can still go to Uni kids and it won’t cost you penny more! Here have some more debt! Its free money!” Disappointed.
21
7
132
Replying to @MartinSLewis
It's madness. My son is in his third and final year at uni. He finished his second year in May 2024, and he did not start his 3rd year till the beginning of October this year. A 4 month gap!He gets 6 hours face to face tuition a week, that's it. Not value for money
Replying to @MartinSLewis
Interest rates on the loans is the biggest scam, rather than the fees themselves
2
2
63
Replying to @MartinSLewis
Why are people going to Uni to earn£25k ( minimum wage)?
7
2
52
Replying to @MartinSLewis
"Most lower and middle earning university leavers will simply pay 9% extra tax above the threshold for 40yrs" Oh, so that's alright then. 🙄
3
1
31
Replying to @MartinSLewis
Not really the point. He said vote for me and I won’t put up fees. Raynor said vote for Labour and we will abolish fees. And yet here we are. Was all just lies. But then us more mature voters knew that. Younger voters starting to realise what a Labour government are always like.
1
4
21
Replying to @MartinSLewis
"Most lower and middle earning university leavers will simply pay 9% extra tax". So a young person who clears $50K will continue to pay 55% marginal tax rate (inc NI ) ? 40% +9% +6% ? Imagine the outcry if this was proposed for Billionaires 😇
2
3
22
Replying to @MartinSLewis
A graduate tax would be a much fairer system. Student loans simply bake in the unfairness of the richest paying just the fees and everyone else potentially paying fees + massive interest over a prolonged period (via a high marginal tax rate).
9
2
23
Replying to @MartinSLewis
They need to get rid of interest. I pay £50ish a month student loan, but interest is £100+ a month. How am I meant to pay it off when it keeps going up? It's gone up by about 8k since I left 10 years ago.
2
2
22
Replying to @MartinSLewis
You have ignored the burden on Students' mental health of having an even larger debt weighing them down for decades. It's so unfair when the politicians raising the fees-having promised not to do so-benefitted from FREE University education. Still available in Scotland etc
1
1
18
Replying to @MartinSLewis
Tuition should be free as it is in Scotland. Daughter graduated today with an MSc Aeromechanical engineering and starts a job next week in a satellite company that earns millions for the Scottish economy. For every £1 invested £14 is generated is the stat we heard today
1
1
15
Replying to @MartinSLewis
Martin Lewis: "tuition fees rises don't effect students". Hey Martin; why don't you pay an extra 9% tax just for the fun of it then.
1
13
You are, of course, correct, but it's not about reality but the politics and trust. For years, Labour attacked @LibDems for raising tuition fees and ignored how we improved the maintenance grant. For them to do this now, smacks of hypocrisy especially if maintenance is unchanged.
1
2
11
Replying to @MartinSLewis
A reminder most of Europe doesn’t allow young to be indebted to the finance industry for life.Higher wages, less unemployment & quality jobs result in society reaping the benefit’s. Not content with stripping young folks freedoms🇬🇧now wants to rob them of chances in life #brexit
3
1
7
Replying to @MartinSLewis
Simply paying 9% more tax is a lot of additional taxation. Last year my student loan barely decreased because the interest went up to I think something like 8%, and here I am 20 years later paying out an extra 9% of my eligible salary and infinitum. It's a disgrace
1
10
Replying to @MartinSLewis
So much for Starmer scrapping university tuition fees, like he said he would. But then, he says a lot of things he doesn’t mean.
1
1
1
10
Replying to @MartinSLewis
A bigger tax to pay off over their working lives for increasingy worthless degrees.
3
5
Replying to @MartinSLewis
I left in 2013 with £26k loan. It’s now £37k and I’ve been repaying it fully since 2018.
11
Replying to @MartinSLewis
They will be paying a very large chunk of disposable income in the future though. It’s not a trivial amount and can often be the difference between saving for a deposit and not!
1
1
9
Replying to @MartinSLewis
Take away point number 4 and we have ourselves a government press release.
11
Replying to @MartinSLewis
As you say the bigger issue is lack of maintenance loan increases - would be interesting to see how many Uni Hall's charged a term at a higher amount than the full loan instalment for that term - I know my son's did (albeit catered so not just rent). He had minus £100 for term!
2
7
Replying to @MartinSLewis
I can already see a potential 20% rise from the addition of VAT due to a potential legal outcome from private schools suing the government. Be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.
1
10
Replying to @MartinSLewis
Indeed. The repayment threshold and the maintenance loan are both too low, given the UK's cost of living. Student from poorer backgrounds already struggle, unless they work part-time (easy, in theory, but where are the jobs?).
1
8
Replying to @MartinSLewis
Until we reverse brexit we are losing international professors and international students and shredded our international reputation
2
6
Replying to @MartinSLewis
It's just a deferfed tax on the higher educated. AND it is wrong. Education should be free for everyone. That said, universities need to be more selective, not just admitting students to get the fees.
1
8
Replying to @MartinSLewis
Don’t think I’d be taking this lightly if I was a student. My tuition fee was one of the last on ~ £3300. It went up by almost £6k p/y after that and while you don’t pay until you hit threshold, the interest means you end up owing more and more. The system is broken.
1
7