Yep, You Really Do Need Rich Parents To Afford University

We're all aware that university is really expensive. Even if you were lucky enough to attend all those years ago before that fee increase to £9000 a year came and hit us all in the face, making ends meet as a student has always been particularly difficult.If you don't happen to have a family who can support you financially, you're destined to struggle.

It's an issue that has been highlighted by a revealing NUS study. In a report called 'Class dismissed: Getting in and getting on in higher education', they found that with accommodation fees often being higher than the amount provided by student maintenance loans and being able to afford things like books, food and transport are beyond the capabilities of students without further financial report. Which leaves working-class students at a huge disadvantage.

WATCH: Here’s What Your Student Loan Actually Means

For the report, the NUS Poverty Commission was established to highlight and investigate the issue of class and poverty in post-16 education in England. It found that while students' ability to keep up with the increasing costs of living and studying in the current economic climate was already fraught, the barriers to accessing further and higher education is only higher for working class students. 'The system creates a poverty premium that means those who don’t have money to begin with end up paying more because they have to get in more debt and they can’t avoid certain costs', it said.

It found that student income is 'inadequate' and the 'sources of money available often fail to keep pace with inflation'. Average student expenditure often exceeds the little income available and as many of us are too aware, student debt is a huge issue for prospective, current and past students: 'under the current arrangements, student debt is regressive and the poorest students graduate with the highest student loan debt'.

The evidence of just how unaffordable it is to pursue higher education has long mounted up and the NUS research into the extent students have little choice but to rely upon parents, take out additional loans or risk being excluded from social groups, activities, or even being able to afford basic essentials like food and heating only further highlights just how dramatically we need some tangible government intervention before the existing class issue at universities further excludes entire social groups.

The report recommends a 'minimum living income' for students, however to avoid simply piling more debt onto the already deterring cost of pursuing education, there needs to be a huge change to reliance on student loans to get by. That means bringing maintenance grants back, reinstating EMA for young students in further education and making big improvements to NHS bursaries. Receiving monthly support payments rather than termly ones would help students budget better, and then, of course, a lower interest rate on student loan repayments are vital. Our shared concerns about the affordability of university and the impact of not being able to keep up with growing finances have just been confirmed, once again it's on the government and education institutions to now collectively make a move that will affect pertinent change. Because as it stands, it's no wonder so many young people without the 'bank of mum and dad' as a safety net are unconvinced that pursing education is worth the price tag.

MORE: How Close Are We To Gender Equality? Here Are Some Facts About Women Across The World

Follow Jazmin on Instagram @JazKopotsha

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.