The number of students choosing to study in England has dropped according to a report by UCAS.

Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert and Head of the Independent Taskforce on Student Finance Information comments on today’s UCAS figures:

“There is no doubt that the new higher fees in England will have put some students off.  More difficult is assessing how big a problem that is.  The worst case scenario is that it is those from non-traditional university backgrounds – wrongly panicked into feeling they can’t afford fees or scared of being saddled with huge unmanageable debt.  The best case scenario is that this is a legitimate call from those who have investigated the cost, the value, and evaluated university is now not for them.”

“I suspect it’s a mix. Recently less sixth formers I’ve met are bothered about the headline debt figure than six months earlier. They now far more sanguine and understand there’s no fees to pay upfront, and that you only need to pay on graduation if you earn enough.”

“Yet we still have a job to do here in communicating the facts about fees. The most important thing I’d say to prospective students is if you want to go, you can still apply, and do your reading about how the finance works before writing off the opportunity. It is unfortunate those involved when this decision was made weren’t able to get a hold of this issue a little earlier, but it is my hope that the Taskforce has made a difference to perceptions about university fees since its albeit late launch.”