Bankrupt and ravaged by student mental illness, Britain’s universities are badly in need of reform
Simon Jenkins
Tough questions need to be asked of these institutions, starting with: are they really the right place for so many young people? asks Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins
University Guide 2025
Earn while you learn: is a degree apprenticeship the right choice for you?
Avoid student debt and gather the skills that most needed by prospective employers as you study on this new style of course
Off to university? Here’s where to find the UK’s best student discounts
University Guide 2025
‘You’ll meet so many people’: how to choose where to live at uni
University Guide 2025
How to afford university: from loans and grants to part-time work
August 2024
Have laptop, can travel: the rise and rise of the commuter student
High rents and living costs mean almost half of students are travelling to campus instead of living on it. But are they missing out on the social side?
£100 cash and interest-free overdrafts: how to pick a student bank account
If you are heading off to university, there are tempting freebies on offer – we examine the best deals
‘I’d be better off if I hadn’t been to uni’: UK graduates tell of lives burdened by student loans
Tactics for dealing with unaffordable student loan repayments include range from taking low-paid work to taking a second job, and even to remortgaging a home
July 2024
Tell us: do you have an outstanding UK university student loan you are struggling to pay off?
We’d like to hear from people who have taken out a loan to cover university tuition fees or student maintenance loans in the UK, and how this is affecting them
June 2024
Council tax: final-year students warned they could get surprise bills
Students are exempt during their course but as soon as they finish their final year they are liable to pay
May 2024
Running our universities for profit was always a bad idea
Letter: The result has been an increase in fixed costs to pay for vast building programmes and administrative overheads, writes Norman Gowar
‘I see little point’: UK university students on why attendance has plummeted
About half the students who got in touch skip lectures, with many ‘disappointed’ with the experience and others forced to prioritise paid work
A generation of students is being ripped off – and our blood should be boiling
Zoe Williams
Politicians talk about tuition fees as if the students were somehow getting a good deal. In reality, they’re being shockingly exploited, writes Zoe Williams
April 2024
London’s Central drama school axes audition fees to end elite grip on the arts
The institution hopes to ‘shift the dial’ and encourage a more diverse range of students to apply
February 2024
Students are racking up huge debts, but how can they tell if it’s value for money?
Sonia Sodha
Universities make it very hard to judge the value of their courses, yet it has never been more vital
January 2024
Funding should be made available for lifelong learning
Letter: Prof Jonathan Michie sayslifelong learning is vital for the economy and society – there will be no levelling up without it
Your problems, with Anna Tims
HMRC is charging me for a student loan that I have never had
It has taken £4,000 from my salary, and has referred me to a debt collection company
Government to lose money on all student loans – even those repaid in full
The increased cost of borrowing has left the government with an £11bn annual shortfall, according to the IFS
December 2023
Up for a 4am supermarket shift, then lectures: the life of a UK student amid cost of living crisis
Exhausted students fear their studies are being compromised as loans and grants fall far behind
October 2023
‘It takes a mental toll’: students in England priced out of university towns
Housing costs forcing undergraduates and master’s students to work long hours or commute
