IFS Says 25% of UK Graduates End Up Worse Off, as Graduate Premium Shrinks 30%

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 24

A quarter of UK graduates are likely to be financially worse off after university once earnings, student loans and taxes are counted, with creative and performing arts students facing the weakest returns, the IFS said.
Most graduates still gain about £100,000 in lifetime pay, but the report found outcomes vary sharply by subject and background; 40% of low-attaining men are projected to lose out, while economics and medicine graduates fare better.
The estimates, based on students who graduated around the 2008 financial crisis, show the graduate premium for the latest cohort has shrunk 30% since 2020, partly because higher student loan repayments have eroded returns.
That finding lands as England debates university funding and loan rules, with the government weighing caps on courses with poor outcomes and possible minimum entry requirements for student-loan access.
Universities and social-mobility advocates said the report still shows higher education pays off for most students, while warning that non-university alternatives such as apprenticeships remain too limited.