Are universities worth it, student finance and a university with an undeserved reputation
😊 Welcome
First up, a huge welcome to a whole bunch of new readers, who have (as far as I can tell!) mainly signed up after seeing Better Uni Choices mentioned on a certain social media group.
And so to all of you, if you enjoy the newsletter, please do mention it to friends and colleagues who might also find it helpful, and share it far and wide on social media! It’s not a commercial venture for me, so I have no marketing budget - just word of mouth (and my LinkedIn posts!)
Anyway, this week we have something a little different as our lead story, taking a look at a couple of reports that were released last week. I know, reports… yawn! But in this case, they are pretty important, as they look at two things that are super-critical about going to university. Namely: Should you go at all? and What are the biggest financial challenges you will face when you get there?
And don’t worry, I’ve summarised the important bits and have some clear actionable advice for you at the end, whether you are a student, a parent, a teacher or an adviser.
Secondly, our Did You Know? is also all about student finance. And the reality is that if you didn’t know, then it's high time you did.
And we finish with a snapshot of a university with a reputation that isn’t quite what it should be…
✍️ We need to talk about money: Are universities actually worth it?
This week, two significant and interesting reports hit the world of higher education.
The first is Are universities worth it? A review of the evidence and policy options by Lord David Willetts. The second is the 2025 Student Money and Wellbeing Report by Blackbullion.
One is an intelligent, articulate and well-researched piece, which provides a compelling analysis of the current state of higher education. It concludes that all is fine; media and political hype around the problems with degrees and university funding have got it all wrong, and university and the way it is currently funded is undeniably a good thing.
The other is a report that is barely more sophisticated than a master's dissertation, but manages to press exactly the right buttons, needling its way into finding precisely the financial problems that students face in their daily lives, and how it impacts their studies.
I wonder if you can guess which is which?
💡 Did you know?
Applications for student finance (for tuition fees and living costs) normally open sometime in March. And they will generally suggest you apply by the end of May in order to guarantee your funding arrives by the time you start your course in autumn.
None of the funding bodies in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland have updated their information giving exact figures yet, but what we do know is:
England and Wales are allowing universities to put fees up from £9,250 to £9,535 (and will provide the loan to cover it).
Student loans for living costs in England are being increased by 3.1%, while in Wales they will go up by just 1.6%. It is not known if the income thresholds will change for the means testing.
Last year each of the different funding agencies left it very late before finalising their details, and updated their web-pages in mid-March.
Once they do this for this year, I’ll update my information. For now, to get an overview of fees, funding and budgeting with last year figures, please have a look at:
📸 Snapshot: University of Essex
Became a university in: 1964
Student population: 18,780
Location: Campus university, just a couple of miles outside Colchester
Subject areas: A wide range of traditional subjects in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Science and Health
Admissions: Grades BBB to BCC for most disciplines, and happy to accept BTECs or a mix.
When we think of highly reputable campus universities in the UK, I guess Warwick, Bath, Loughborough and Lancaster would be the first to come to mind for many students and many advisers. But there are, of course, many, many more, and one such place is the University of Essex.
Like Warwick and Lancaster, Essex was set up as a brand new university in the 1960s under the proposals of the Robbins Committee. And like each of those (which also include East Anglia, York, Kent and Sussex), it is based on its own rural campus, not far from a regionally important town or city (in this case Colchester).
That's all for this week, so thanks for reading. Now, how about hitting ‘forward’ and sending this to someone else who might find it helpful? 😀
Jonathan
