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Dateline: 15th August, 2008
Dramatic Debt Following the publication of A-level results, a new survey by leading student advice website Push.co.uk reveals that students studying at specialist art, music and drama colleges face significantly higher debts than other students.
Students at universities that specialise in arts and drama owe an average of £7,376 for each year of study, which is 39% higher than the national average of £4,530. The Push Student Debt Survey is the largest and most detailed annual analysis of students’ financial position, involving face-to-face interviews with over 2,000 students at 136 university campuses throughout the UK. The Central School of Speech and Drama came out as the most expensive place in the UK to study, with students having an average debt of £14,000 debt for each year of study. Coming in at third place is the University of Arts, London, where students should expect to owe £26,000 on graduation.
Among the reasons for the high debt is that some arts courses – particularly for postgrads – do not attract funding and students need to borrow to pay for their fees and living costs.
Scottish funding arrangements are more generous to students and, consequently, average debt at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama is among the lowest fifteen universities in the UK.
It is not all bad news for arts students however. Despite assumptions that arts courses may not offer as good job prospects, students from specialist institutions often fare better. The unemployment rate six months after graduating from six of the UK’s smaller specialist colleges is just 3% – less than half the national average among graduates.
Overall student debt has risen by almost 10% since last year, meaning for the first time this year’s freshers are likely to face debts in excess of £20,000 by the time they graduate.
Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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