In early March, students from across the country went on a March to protest student rents, directed at universities inflation-busting rent rises in university-provided halls. Organisers said rent increases were tantamount to increasing tuition fees through the back door. Now, four months later, little has changed. Calls have increased once again to reinstate the maintenance grant.

The Debt Problem

Most students graduate with around £57k of debt, higher than any previous generation. While most students may never pay back the full amount, government restructuring of debt has re-raised concerns about the cost of education. Despite that tuition fees are now frozen the cost of studying has gone up. There is just one explanation: accommodation.

In the academic year that just ended, university halls rent was £147 per week. That is 5% up from the previous academic year and an astounding 31% increase since 2012. If that isn’t shocking enough, financial support has been cut in real terms and relative terms. In 2012, rent covered 58% of the financial assistance. For the academic year that just finished, it was 73%. That is unsustainable.

Drop-Outs Due to Accommodation Cost

In a survey from this week, it was revealed that a quarter of students struggle to manage their funds and find it stressful. It distracts from their studies and risks grades. 43%, that’s nearly half, said their maintenance grants ran out before the end of the term. 32% said they had used a bank overdraft to make ends meet. 20% of students drop out in the first year of study. That number dwindles into the second year.

Students drop out for many reasons such as realising that university is not for them or academic struggle. These cannot be avoided but the decisions are made consciously. What campaigners want the government to do is to reduce the number of students who drop out for financial reasons. Money should be no barrier to education. Despite loans being frozen or rising slowly since 2012, rent has increased by £20 per month.

Accommodation Contracts

But there is a caveat. Students who stay in university halls may look at the short-term cost and not realise that most contracts require them to pay the full duration of the rental term. That could be the semester, or it could be the whole year. A student who drops out may be thousands of pounds out of pocket. Some studies suggest around £20k on average, based also on the repayment terms of tuition fee loans. Most grants and bursaries do not have to be repaid.

You will need to check the contracts on everything, even on bursaries in the rare case that they must be repaid. If you are struggling financially, dropping out is a big and expensive decision. It is always best to seek advice first.