Graduates detail ‘psychological disturbance’ caused by loan debt

Hepi report finds graduates who paid higher fees are more likely to feel anxiety

Graduates are suffering anxiety and despair as a result of their student loan debts, with those who attended university after fees in England increased to £9,000 more likely to be affected, a report from the Higher Education Policy Institute has found.

In their research for the report—Hidden Voices: Graduates’ Perspectives on the Student Loan System in England—authors Claire Callender and Ariane de Gayardon interviewed 48 graduates who were subject to the 2006 funding regime, when student fees were £3,000, and a further 50 who were subject to the 2012 regime, paying £9,000.