By Kyia Small, Fourth Year, English and Spanish
University is a place where students engage in a wide range of learning experiences, from learning within the context of their chosen course to living independently among peers. However, for many current students, an unexpected learning curve involves grappling with the current rising cost of living. With numerous English-resident students relying on Student Finance England (SFE) to cover their living expenses, issues surrounding how SFE determines eligibility and allocates financial support have become a growing concern.
Every summer, SFE releases a report detailing how it plans to distribute its funding for the upcoming academic year. The report explains that a Bristol student who depends on their parents and starts a full-time university course after 2016 will be eligible for £10,227 if their household income is less than £25,000 per year. However, that figure drops to £7,304 once the household income reaches the threshold of £45,000 and continues on that downward trajectory if the combined total of ‘parental income’ is any higher. Despite regular review, the maintenance loan qualification system appears to be failing in today’s shifting socio-economic landscape.
It only takes a quick glance at the figures to see why there might be a shortfall in maintenance loans. According to the Office for National Statistics, there has been an almost 7 per cent annual increase in the cost of private monthly rents in Bristol, rising from an average of £1,657 in 2023 to £1,772 in 2024. Further statistics from last year’s National Money Survey by Save the Student highlight the bleak reality of university life on a budget. As it stands, 64 per cent of students are skipping meals to cut costs, with a further 64 per cent reporting that their maintenance loan falls short by an average of £582.
What appears to be troubling both students and Dr Tim Bradshaw, CEO of The Russell Group, is that ‘rent now takes up most of the average student maintenance loan’, leaving very little left over for food, bills and miscellaneous expenses. Although SFE and universities are separate institutions, one third-year Philosophy and Politics student believes that there is a correlation between the University of Bristol taking on too many students and the amount of resources loan companies can provide to meet this demand. ‘These institutions are spreading themselves too thin’, they note, ‘the monetisation of education is not okay’.
In favour of a complete overhaul of the loan distribution system, one fourth-year German and Spanish student explained to Epigram that the system ‘needs adjusting […] because my costs are increasing and were never even fully covered in the first place’. Data gathered by Save the Student points out that more and more students are needing to work alongside their full-time studies, with some occasionally resorting to less conventional forms, such as social media (4 per cent) and sex work (3 per cent). Students are going to great lengths to cover their costs, and whilst the university touts the importance of well-being; the data and firsthand accounts from students at Bristol indicate that many are still struggling.
In an interview with Epigram, one third-year student divulged that the experience of having adequate financial support denied is mostly an emotional one. As they discussed the burden of having to choose between meals and bills, the student noted that the high cost of living ‘will deter people from choosing to study in an expensive city like Bristol’. Once again, the sufficiency of the SFE maintenance loan is called into question; with some students unable to cover basic necessities alongside living expenses with what they receive from the government alone, the strain on mental and physical well-being becomes inevitable.
In a statement to Epigram, a spokesperson for the UK Government’s Department for Education emphasised that ‘the current system of loans targets the highest levels of support for students from the lowest income families who need it most’. Whilst this promise marks a positive step forward for disadvantaged students, it is undeniably insufficient for those whose families fall somewhere between wealthy and low income. On this, the same Philosophy and Politics student noted that SFE is failing the middle classes: ‘With so many other financial commitments, households like mine can no longer support my learning, but they should be able to according to SFE’.
This student’s experiences underscore how the rigid, one-size-fits-all approach to assessing maintenance loans overlooks the complex family dynamics. Such a formulaic system seems to be failing to account for separated or blended households, as well as strained family relationships where financial support from parents is neither guaranteed nor straightforward. As the fourth-year student expressed, the loan calculation process ‘has no nuance,’ highlighting how the lack of flexibility leaves students in challenging situations with little recourse.
Those who feel that their maintenance loan amount is insufficient do have the option of contesting it through an appeals process where SFE will reassess their financial situation. However, both students interviewed by Epigram described the process as ‘unclear’ and ‘uncertain’. The problem with measuring loans based on the household income model seems to be that it lacks personalisation and makes assumptions about the roles that residents of a single household are expected to fulfil.
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Under the current guidelines, students like those interviewed are questioning the university system as a whole and calling upon the government to have more compassion for those at university. ‘The way that University is funded as a business is not working,’ asserts the same third-year student, ‘SFE is yet another strand of that bid for more money – that needs to change’.
With students claiming that their SFE maintenance loan is not sufficient – and seemingly not having such claims heard, let alone acted upon – it is no wonder that personal finances are taking a toll on mental health and physical wellbeing. What rings clear from both the data and students’ subjective experiences is that SFE is struggling to keep up with the demands of students in the UK’s current economic climate, with an assessment of its own inner workings being long overdue.
Featured Image courtesy of Student Finance England
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