MERSEYSIDE students toasting record GCSE results today face debts of up to £18,000 if they go on to graduate from the region’s universities, new figures reveal.
Experts are predicting another bumper crop of GCSE results today, with almost seven in 10 exams set to be awarded at least a C grade.
But last night city university and school officials predicted that faced with the yearly increases in the cost of post-18 study a rising number of students would opt to study within their home cities.
It comes as a survey of student finances by Push.co.uk shows that those currently on a university course in the region can expect to graduate with debts between just under £14,000 to almost £18,000.
The survey questioned students at 139 university campuses throughout the UK and the national average projected annual debt for anyone in higher education right now has gone up around 0.4% to £5,293.
The average debt on graduation now stands at £16,614
A student at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk is expected to be £16,023 in debt on graduation, the University of Liverpool figure is £14,585; £17,893 at Liverpool Hope University and £13,890 at Liverpool John Moores. But the figures do show that the region compares favourably with other universities.
Middlesex university (£35,830) and the University of London (£47,945) are among nine universities which have projected graduate debt of more than £30,000.
Last night Anne Pontifex, headteacher at St John Bosco Arts College in Croxteth, which is set for record GCSE pass rates, said the rising graduate debts would “make students decide to study closer to home” so they could cut rent costs and stick with part time jobs.
Mike McGarry, vice principal of the Belvedere Academy in Princes Park said like St John Bosco, his school now used the curriculum to focus on the financial side of university. This included the monetary benefits of studying locally.
But Mr McGarry said university was still something the school encouraged. He added: “You only have to look at the earning potential of a non-graduate with a graduate and the difference can often be 50 to 60% more.”
Liverpool Hope University pro-vice chancellor, Professor Bill Chambers said nationally there was a “rising trend” of students studying locally – but Hope had invested heavily in student accommodation to “offer a communal environment” for students.
