Following information taken Directly from Save The Student - Read the full article here: https://www.savethestudent.org/money/student-money-survey-2020.html
You've heard of them by now, but for those of you living under a rock, Save The Student are a website which provide you with the Financial, Life & Jobs lessons that you never got taught in school. As well as this, they offer numerous discounts and even teach students ways to make money while they're studying. The site have grown so big that they now undertake their own studies using data collected directly from their audience. Save The Student's National Student Money Survey 2020 saw a whopping 3,161 survey responses making it the biggest independent study of its kind.
When I first drafted ideas for my own research around students being poorly funded in the UK, I thought perhaps I was being a little unreasonable and financial issues really aren't that common, especially given how lucky we are to live in a developed country like the UK. That being said, when I stumbled across STS' research, it left me speechless. I want to share a few of their results along with my thoughts after. I'd love to hear from you if you have your own opinion about the research carried out by these guys! Please use the contact page to get in touch should you want to discuss!
Here are the key findings from the STS research in 2020. It's clear just from looking at these few points that something needs to change in the support system for students. Of those who said money is a worry at University and that they struggle to make ends meet, they also considered the everyday things that suffer because of this.
Looking at these numbers is staggering. It could even be argued that if we don't do something about this we may have a generational issue later on in life. For nearly 60% of students to say their mental health was suffering as a result of money worries, imagine how much more detrimental this could be once these individuals are out of University, having to make a career for themselves, but without the government loans they have been used to for the last 3 years of their life. If the financial value isn't going to change, then the education around how to manage your finances needs to change.
Given the ongoing global pandemic causing a lot of learning being moved to Zoom or Teams, and also given the increased UCU strikes over the last couple of years, it's no surprise that nearly half of students claim that University isn't good value for money. Of course, the argument could be made that students make that decision and know what they're getting before they even apply and submit their UCAS application. That being said, the expectation versus the reality of going, and living, at University are totally different for a lot of people.
But... don't take my word for it. See what others have had to say.
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