Students from poorer backgrounds more likely to be put off applying for university by fear of debt
TEENAGERS from poorer backgrounds are more likely to be put off applying to university due to concerns about debt, according to a study.
Research suggests that fear of debt can play a key role in whether these youngsters decide to undertake a degree.
The study, by researchers at the Centre for Research on Learning and Life Chances (LLAKES), at the UCL Institute of Education, compared the results of two surveys of would-be university students, aged 17 to 21, in England, conducted in 2002 and 2015.
This covers the period when fees were increased twice, first in 2006 from around £1,000 to around £3,000, and then again in 2012 to a maximum of £9,000.
It found that in general, young people were more willing to take on student loan debt in 2015, and see borrowing money for a degree as a good investment, but that around a third of the students surveyed strongly agreed with the statement “I would worry a lot if I ever got into debt”.
The study goes on to say debt aversion has increased among lower-class and middle-class students.
Overall, the numbers of people attending university, including those from poorer backgrounds, has continued to rise, the research says.
Researchers noted poorer students were less likely to apply to university due to gaining lower results at schools.
Author Claire Callender said: “The lower proportion of university students from disadvantaged backgrounds cannot be adequately explained by pointing to academic achievement at school.
“Student funding and fear of debt play a role. University enrolments may be increasing overall but policymakers must focus on ways to level the playing field for poorer students.”
In March, The Scottish Funding Council found that just eight per cent of Scottish entrants at the universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews came from the 20 per cent most deprived areas in the last academic year.
Newer institutions such as the universities of Dundee and Stirling had a rate of 12 per cent, while post-1992 institutions such as Abertay University and Queen Margaret University had the largest proportion with 15 per cent.