Is the new student loan system having an impact on the first generation of students to be subjected to it? When it comes to students’ living arrangements, it is.
Over 300 students completed EM’s questionnaire about their financial situation. Out of these 300 respondents, a great many (197 students) are currently living with their parents. We asked those living with their parents whether their living arrangements would be different if they received a grant rather than a loan. Approximately 30 percent of respondents living with their parents indicated that they would move out if they received a grant, but could not afford to do so without a grant. The new system is forcing them to be dependent on their parents for a little while longer, as the students really don’t wish to take out a loan to be able to pay rent.
Read our complete survey of first-year students’ financial situation under the new loan system in the upcoming issue of EM, to be released this Thursday.
