Wales' students leaving uni with average £35k debt

Nel Jones expects to be £60,000 in debt by the time she leaves university

Funding for Welsh students is "broken", according to a student union, after figures showed the average university graduate leaves with more than £35,000 of debt.

That is an increase of more than £14,000 in five years, according to Student Finance Wales (SFW) figures obtained by BBC Cymru Fyw.

The highest outstanding student loan balance in June was nearly £140,000, which the National Union of Students for Wales (NUSW) president called "horrendous".

The Welsh government, which finances SFW, said it provided the "most generous finance system in the United Kingdom".

The figures come as thousands of young people in Wales consider their next steps after receiving their A-level results on Thursday.

More than 200,000 people made a repayment towards their student debt in the past year.

The average total of the debt students who began making payments in 2023 was £35,717, up from £21,700 in 2018.

More than 12,000 people had debts higher than the average, with £138,093 being the highest recorded by SFW.

"After earning money for a year, it was a difficult decision to go to university because I knew how much money it would take off you," says Nel Jones

Nel Jones, from Brynrefail, Gwynedd, said she considered not going to university because of possible debts.

"I took a year out in order to get a break before going to university and to decide what I wanted to do," she said.

"After earning money for a year, it was a difficult decision to go to university because I knew how much money it would take off you."

By the time she finishes her degree at Aberystwyth University she expects to have borrowed more than £60,000, without considering interest.

"Naturally, I think it scares someone that I owe that much money even before going into work."

The modern history and politics student said she had hoped to do a master's degree after graduation but decided against because it was "so expensive".

She said some courses could be shorted to make university cheaper, taking into account the number of breaks for holidays across three years.

Nel, on the right with her university friends, says she has enjoyed university despite her worries about student debt

Nel said money was a common topic among her university friends and "it really affected my experience".

Despite her worries about money, Nel said she enjoyed her time at university and recognised the value of getting a degree, calling it "a great experience".

What support is available in Wales?

A tuition fee loan of up to £9,250 a year is available, depending on how much the course costs. The amount students can get is not dependent on household income.

This loan is paid directly to the university or college and students have to pay it back, including interest, once they have finished or left their course.

As well as the tuition fee loan, students from Wales can apply for a mixture of a loan and a grant to help with living costs.

The amount depends on their household income, and where they live and study.

For instance, a student who lives with their parents where the household income is £18,370 or less could get an estimated £3,065 loan and £6,885 grant.

"Wales cannot say that education is accessible to all, nor sustainable, when students have this much debt," says Deio Owen

"We know that students leave university with horrendous debt, but the fact that someone can have almost £140,000 of debt raises serious questions about the system," said NUSW president Deio Owen

"These figures, without doubt, show that the student finance system is broken, and it needs to be fixed, for the benefit of our national education provision."

The Welsh government said: "We continue to provide the most generous student finance system in the UK and Wales leads the way in terms of our unique and progressive student finance system - which provides a mix of grants and loans for all students .

"Graduate repayments on their loans are determined by their earnings, and those who earn less than the repayment threshold do not make any repayments."