Parents ‘unprepared’ for university costs
Parents and students are not preparing for the rising costs of a university education, two separate financial reports released today have found.
The average student will leave university with about £13,500 of debt but a report by the Association of Investment Trust Companies (AITC) finds 40 per cent of parents save nothing at all for their children’s future.
AITC communications director Annabel Brodie-Smith said it was “alarming” that people did not realise the true cost of going to university.
However, a report by investment company Fidelity International suggests parents do have concerns over future student debt but do not act on their concerns.
Fidelity’s David Cowdell said: “The cost of university education is on the up and it’s no surprise that parents are concerned about the debt their children could face so early in life.”
But Fidelity reveals less than half of UK parents with children under 18 are saving for their child’s future.
The situation is not helped by the lack of understanding many have about the scale of the debt university life entails.
The AITC report finds parents predict a debt of just £9,700 and potential students estimate an even lower figure of £7,200, despite current debt predictions standing at £13,500.
“It’s alarming that so few of tomorrow’s graduates or indeed their families fully comprehend the financial implications of going to university. Many young people go to university to enjoy some of the best years of their life but at the end of their degree they find themselves deeply in debt,” said Ms Brodie-Smith
But, despite the debts, most still consider a university education worthwhile. When told of the predicted debts, nine out of ten parents said they would not advise their children against going to university, the AITC report finds.
