A degree can add tens of thousands of pounds to lifetime earnings and still be unaffordable to start. In England, tuition fees of almost £30,000 for three years can usually be borrowed. Maintenance funding is less generous: even the maximum loan can fall thousands short of rent and living costs.
For students normally resident in England, using 2026–27 finance rules. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different arrangements.
The money you need while studying
The standard tuition-fee loan limit is £9,790 in 2026–27. At that fee, three years would cost £29,370 before any increases. The loan can cover the fee; it does not guarantee enough money for rent and food.
Manchester's published student budget is £15,030 for 41 weeks in self-catered accommodation. The standard maximum maintenance loan outside London is £10,830. Even at that maximum, the gap is £4,200, with the remaining eleven weeks still to cover. Manchester includes spending such as socialising and holidays, rather than only essential costs.
Maintenance entitlement depends partly on household income. A smaller loan does not necessarily come with a parent able or willing to make up the difference. The Student Finance calculator gives an estimate of entitlement; compare it with the university's accommodation contract and a full year's spending, then subtract any confirmed bursary or family support. Spreading the £4,200 gap across twelve months means finding £350 a month, plus enough to cover the weeks outside Manchester’s budget.
Studying also means forgoing the take-home pay and pension contributions available from full-time work. Term-time and holiday earnings offset part of that loss. For living costs, count the extra cost of being a student: someone who starts work also needs food and somewhere to live. Moving away to study while the working alternative involves living at home can make that difference substantial.
What repayments take out of your pay
Under Plan 5, repayments are 9% of earnings above £25,000 under current rules. At £30,000 that is £450 a year; at £40,000 it is £1,350; at £50,000 it is £2,250. Tuition and maintenance borrowing share this repayment calculation.
A £5,000 salary advantage leaves considerably less than £5,000 to recover the cost of studying. For example, a graduate earning £35,000 takes home £2,700 a year more after Income Tax, National Insurance and Plan 5 repayments than a worker earning £30,000 without a student loan. These are illustrative salaries; a course’s actual advantage may be larger, smaller or absent.
Repayments can continue for 40 years. The government's current forecast is that 55% of full-time higher-education borrowers starting in 2026–27 will repay in full. Those who do not can still make substantial payments before the remaining balance is cancelled.
A lifetime comparison of income and spending includes loan repayments when they are paid. Subtracting the borrowed tuition fees again would count them twice. Interest adds to the debt and can extend repayment; it does not increase the 9% deduction from earnings.
Estimated lifetime gains
IFS’s 2026 study follows an English school cohort to age 37, projects earnings to 67 and applies modern student-finance rules. It adjusts for prior attainment and background when estimating what entrants would have earned without university.
| Measure | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Mean | £90,000 | £109,000 |
| Median | £67,000 | £60,000 |
| Proportion with a loss | 19% | 31% |
The estimates subtract forgone earnings, tax and loan repayments, and count maintenance loans received as money coming in. They do not deduct differences in living and work expenses. “Discounted to age 18” means a pound received decades later counts for less than a pound available at the start.
Estimated gains vary widely by subject. For women, mean returns range from near zero in creative arts and languages to over £400,000 in medicine. For men, creative and performing arts have negative means; medicine approaches £500,000. These are estimates for actual entrants, including non-completers, not the gain from switching any particular person's subject.
Large gains for some entrants also pull up the average. Among men, the £109,000 mean is almost twice the £60,000 median—the middle estimated outcome.
Graduate salaries and paid alternatives
A course’s graduate salary does not tell you how much the course adds to earnings. A student with strong qualifications may have good paid alternatives. Equally, a course leading to a modestly paid profession can make a large difference to someone whose alternatives are poorly paid or insecure.
Discover Uni publishes earnings after 15 months, three years and five years, alongside employment information. Look at the range as well as the middle figure, and check the occupations graduates enter. Some figures combine several courses within a university's subject area. Geography and working hours also affect earnings, so a higher salary does not automatically mean better pay for comparable work.
A degree apprenticeship combines paid employment with a degree and funded tuition. Earning throughout the course and avoiding tuition borrowing can substantially improve the finances. Applications are for an employer’s vacancy, with a specified location and job as well as academic requirements. There may be no suitable vacancy for the subject or area you want.
Sources and calculations
Tuition illustration: £9,790 × 3 = £29,370, holding the annual fee constant for illustration rather than quoting future fees. Manchester funding gap: £15,030 − £10,830 = £4,200. Its budget is for 41 weeks; maintenance figures are standard maxima and some students qualify for additional support.
Salary calculation uses 2026–27 standard Income Tax and employee NI rates for England. £5,000 extra salary gives £3,600 after 20% tax and 8% NI, less £900 Plan 5 repayment on £35,000 = £2,700. The alternative worker has no student loan. Pension contributions, benefits and differing work expenses are not included. The two salaries are a deduction example, not observed course outcomes.
IFS: Sections 5.1–5.2 and footnote 21. Discount rates are 3.5%, then 3%; estimates are observational and partly projected.
Checked 14 October 2026.