Nearly three in five young graduates wrongly believe they must start repaying their student loans as soon as they get any job, a report has suggested.
A study, by the Policy Institute at King’s College London (KCL), and the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) think tank, reveals a number of misunderstandings about universities – including tuition fees and student debt.
The survey, of more than 2,000 adults in the UK in June, suggests that the public believes around 40% of graduates would not go to university if they could choose again.
But the actual proportion who say this is only 8% – as measured in a survey last year, the report said.
Many also misunderstand how student debt works, particularly young graduates themselves, it found.
More than a third (35%) of the public wrongly think university graduates must start paying back their student loan as soon as they get any paid job, which rises to 58% among graduates aged 18 to 34.
The report also suggests that the public underestimates higher education’s contribution to the economy.
Only 6% correctly ranked the University of Oxford as having the highest revenue out of a list of seven organisations – even though its income was more than £1 billion higher than Greggs (the second on the list).
The study also found that 13% of the public believe that remaining in the UK to seek asylum is the most common outcome among overseas students who entered the country three years prior.
But only 0.5% of international students do this, the report suggested.
Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the policy institute at KCL, said the standout finding for him was the “overestimation” of the sense of regret about going to university.
“This will be driven by vivid, individual stories of graduate regret and the generally negative background noise about the declining value of a degree,” he said.
Prof Duffy: “It’s extremely difficult to first get public attention, and then cut through the noise of individual negative stories that are much more likely to stick in our minds.”
Nick Hillman, director of the Hepi, said: “Universities are bigger in terms of income and employment and more successful in terms of student outcomes than the public often recognise.
“However, it would be absurd to blame the voters for this major misunderstanding.
“Those of us who work in the higher education sector have not done a good enough job of telling people the true role of universities in modern Britain today.
“We should start correcting that record by inviting more people onto more campuses more often.”
A spokesperson for Universities UK (UUK) said: “Universities create new opportunities for millions, underpin the government’s industrial strategy and supercharge the whole UK economy.
“They deserve to be celebrated as one of the UK’s greatest success stories. In 2021-22, the sector contributed more than £265 billion to the economy.
“However, the results of the survey demonstrate that the sector and the Government must work better together to ensure that the public have the information they need to make informed choices about their future, including how student finance works, so more people see going to university as a realistic option.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “This report shows that we have a world class higher education sector that can deliver great outcomes for students, and university remains a fantastic option for people looking to get in-demand skills and get into a rewarding career.
“We have been clear that universities must deliver a high-quality experience and we are determined to support the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university – regardless of their background.
“We will soon publish our plans for reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy White Paper as we fix the foundations of higher education through our plan for change.”
