Why only doctors and lawyers will ever be able to pay off their student loans as universities prepare to charge £9,000-a-year fees

Graduates from middle-income families can only fully repay student loans if they pursue high-paying medicine or law careers, a study suggests.

The ‘majority’ will be unable to pay them off entirely before they are written off after 30 years, experts warn.

It comes as more universities are set to announce they will charge record-breaking tuition fees of £9,250 a year from next autumn. Durham, Kent and Royal Holloway have already declared plans to hike them above £9,000.

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Researchers have found that the majority of those that went to university will not be able to pay off their loans unless they are lawyers or medics

The Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates the average cost of degree study is already £20,000 a year, with undergraduates needing to supplement loans by working or with parental support.

Middle-income students eligible for £7,023-a-year maintenance loans accrue around £52,000 worth of tuition fee and living costs debt after three years. Richer students eligible for smaller loans – the minimum is £3,821 – end up with around £41,000. And those studying longer courses such as medicine, veterinary science or architecture are likely to owe around £94,000 for a five-year course.

The report, commissioned by private client investment house Killik & Co, claims that if students are unable to repay their loans immediately upon graduating, this becomes ‘the most expensive way of funding university’. Outstanding balances start incurring interest at a 3 per cent rate above inflation while students are still at university.

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