Cost of living: 'Without a job, I'd have to turn down my uni place'

23 August 2023

Jodie Powell is an 18-year-old white woman, she wears her long blonde hair tied back with her pony tail pulled over her left shoulder. She wears a denim jacket over a floral dress with a canvas tote bag over her right shoulder and a charm necklace on a black string. She is smiling at the camera and is photographed outside, with the roofs of houses and chimneys visible behind her as well as a line of trees against a pale blue sky — Image caption,
Jodie will be heading to York St John's University in September to study primary education

By Sam Gruet, cost of living reporter & Riyah Collins

BBC Newsbeat

After A-level results day last week, Jodie Powell got the grades she needed to go to university - but she was concerned about the costs.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the cost of living would stop him going to uni today, but told BBC Newsbeat he had a plan to make fees fairer in England.

Figures show the cost of items like milk, bread and cereals has increased by about 15% over the past year.

Jodie says having a job is "the only reason" she accepted her uni offer.

Students like the 18-year-old from Leeds are calling for more help now, because of worries over "the tuition fee loans and the maintenance".

"I was panicking that it wasn't going to be enough to help me through university."

Sir Keir didn't provide specific details on how his plan would work, saying it was a "work in progress" which would come in if Labour gets elected next year.

Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, takes a selfie on the Worthing sea front with two young women. Sir Keir, a white man in his 60s with greying hair, wears a dark blue shirt and suit jacket. He stands between two young women, one of whom is holding her iPhone aloft to pose for the selfie she is taking. The woman on Sir Keir's right smiles at the phone and wears a white shirt and has her dark curly hair tied back. On Sir Keir's right, the young woman wears a black short and has her blonde hair tied back. Behind them is the sandy beach and sea which looks green on an overcast day.

PA Media

Sir Keir Starmer told Newsbeat the Labour Party was working on a fairer system for student loans in England

When making her decision to go to university, Jodie says she weighed up the costs and felt to achieve her dream of being a teacher, she needed to go.

She's already spoken to her flatmates she'll be moving in with about what they can do to help each other out.

"We've spoken about sharing basic necessities and sharing out the weekly shops and things like that, just to make it a little bit easier on all of us," she says.

She's also been able to apply for grants from the university to support her while she's studying.

Rizwan Baig

Rizwan says members of his family had been to university but it hadn't helped them get better jobs

But not everyone feels like they can justify the cost of higher education. The average cost of university including tuition and accommodation is almost £50,000 in England.

Sir Keir initially pledged to scrap tuition fees when running to be Labour leader, but said in May a "difficult financial situation" meant it would probably have to be dropped.

"Whatever free time I've got, I use that to work," Rizwan Baig from Birmingham tells Newsbeat.

The 21-year-old works two jobs and says he considered going to university like other members of his family.

But when he saw them struggling to find work he decided, for him, it wasn't worth it.

According to the Office for Students, nearly three-in-10 graduates do not progress into highly-skilled jobs or further study 15 months after finishing uni.

"I don't really see the point," Rizwan says, before going on his first shift.

"These days, you can get a degree and then go for a job interview and they ask you for experience.

"If you just start working, you can build up your skills slowly so later you can end up in a better position."

Taylor is a white man in his 20s with fair hair cut short on the sides of his head and longer on top brushed to the right. He has blue eyes and blonde stubble and wears a pale pink shirt and burgundy tie with a yellow and blue striped lanyard around his neck. He is photographed outside on an overcast day facing the camera and is smiling.

Taylor Hackett

Taylor says there needs to be urgent changes to tackle the cost of living crisis

Taylor Hackett from Coventry also decided not to go to university because of the costs.

"I did consider it but then I thought, it's also a lot of debt," the 21-year-old says.

"And there's always the fact that you may not pass your degree and then you've just spent £40K and you've got nothing to come away from it with.

"Or you've got the degree and you still can't get a job because you're overqualified or you haven't got the experience."

Taylor receives Universal Credit payments from the government and says the cost of living crisis means he's only eating one meal a day.

"It's getting more and more expensive every single day," he feels.

The government says there are a number of options for young people to pursue higher education, including apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships where you can earn money while you study.

It adds there is also a multi-million pound hardship fund for students facing hardship which will be distributed by universities.

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Cost of living: 'Without a job, I'd have to turn down my uni place'

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