'They marketed it completely differently': Sheffield students say loan system feels ‘ridiculous’ after freeze
As student loan interest continues to rise and repayment thresholds are set to be frozen, The Star spoke to Sheffield students about how the changes are affecting them - and whether university still feels worth the cost.
“They marketed these loans completely differently to what they actually are. It just keeps increasing with interest - you might never fully pay it off.”
That is how Maryam, an MA Journalism student in Sheffield, describes her Plan 2 student loan.
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“People say it’s easy to pay back, but it isn’t. Because the threshold is frozen, it just keeps going up with interest,” she said.
Maryam worries about what it means for her future.
“How are we meant to get a mortgage when entry-level wages are still low, but we’re expected to start paying back our loans?
“[The Government] say they want people to go to university or do apprenticeships, but for working-class people it just doesn’t feel affordable.”
Her concerns come after the Government confirmed that the repayment threshold for Plan 2 student loans will be frozen at £29,385 from April 2027 to April 2030.
As the threshold will not rise with wages, more of any pay increase could be taken in repayments - at a time when many are already feeling squeezed by high living costs.
The Government says the system is “fair and reasonable”, but the National Union of Students has criticised measures that increase the financial burden on graduates.
Tayyibah, who completed a three-year undergrad degree at The University of Sheffield, followed by an MA in Broadcast Journalism, called the change “ridiculous”.
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“You’re paying back on a lower real wage because of the freeze,” she said.
“The way the Government went about it is so rude - they don’t consider the students going through it. They want people in education but won’t support us - it’s an unfair system.”
Another student studying a three year sociology course said: “Everyone knows you get a student loan, and they say you won’t ever fully pay it back anyway so you don’t think about it.
“I don’t even properly know how much mine is with interest. Paying it back is something I’ll worry about later, I don’t want to think about it now.”
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When questioned whether her degree was financially worth it, she said she was still glad she went to university.
“My course is known to maybe not be the most worth it money-wise, but I’m happy I did it and I enjoy being at University. But the whole student loan thing and how much it costs isn’t the best.”
A third-year medical student agreed that she has not yet focused on repayment.
“I guess as a student I haven’t really thought about paying it off yet. For me, it is worth it because it will help me get a job.”
Another medical student echoed this, and added that Medicine offered strong value for money because of the high contact hours and clear job prospects.
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“We get so much out of it so I think it is worth it.
“There’s been talk about reducing fees for courses with fewer contact hours, but as medics we do get a lot- and we almost have a guaranteed job as soon as we get out.”
“That doesn’t negate the fact we have to pay back a lot of debt, but it does make it a bit better.”
As thresholds remain frozen and interest builds, many students say student loans feel less like a background deduction - and more like a defining feature of early working life.