As an individual currently in her 20’s, I far too frequently hear or rather am subjected to the rhetoric, either in person or online, that young people these days are just ‘insert something we are doing wrong’. A comment I recently saw on Instagram, under an article about the University, particularly struck a nerve.The comment was made by what seemed, based solely on his profile picture, a man in his 50’s, who commented ‘another thing for some middle class southerners’. The implication was clear: that the students benefiting from university are primarily middle class and southern. While it is true that a large proportion of students at the University fit that description, the resentment behind that comment is displaced. As someone who is neither middle class nor southern, I have a few things to say about the rhetoric that comment reflects.
It is very sad that it is rare to find fellow working class students at University, but there are so many reasons for this that students of any other background aren’t ultimately to blame for. The rising cost of higher education is one of the clearest barriers for working-class students. Keir Starmer’s recent announcement that tuition fees will increase from the already extortionate £9,250 to £9,535 makes an already difficult situation even worse. Higher education is becoming a privilege only the financially secure can afford. For students from working-class backgrounds, this increase is yet another deterrent to attending university.
But tuition fees are only part of the problem. The cost of living crisis alongside the rise of rent and subsequent lack of increased maintenance loans does not make it easier to pursue higher education. I spoke to several students at the University of Sheffield about how they manage financially. A first year student told me that she
‘Feels lucky because she was able to use some of her savings from before University and currently works part time during the term which means her loan is manageable.’ However, she admitted that without her job, ‘she would feel a lot more worried’. She also pointed out that the loan does not account for year-long rental contracts, meaning that “during summer it’s always a bit of a stretch.” Since many students leave Sheffield over the summer and are unable to work their term-time jobs, covering rent during those months can be particularly difficult.
Another student, now in her third year, reflected on the rise of accommodation costs. She said that ‘If I was faced with the prices of accommodation that first years are currently paying, I think my decision to go to university could have been quite different’. When she started at Sheffield, Endcliffe accommodation cost around £150 a week; now it’s £196 a week for the exact same service. Sheffield is one of the more affordable university cities—so what does this mean for students at less affordable institutions?
The financial pressure on students today is undeniable. It’s no longer enough to take out a loan and hope to get by. Students are increasingly forced to work long hours alongside their studies or borrow from family (if that’s even an option). For working-class students, this creates an impossible choice: sacrifice their education to work more hours or sacrifice their financial security to focus on their degree.
The frustration reflected in that Instagram comment is understandable but misguided. It’s not middle-class southerners driving the inaccessibility of higher education—it’s a system that continues to raise costs, disregarding the lives of the working class. The result is that working-class students are being squeezed out of opportunities that should be available to them. Higher education should be a path to social mobility and doing something you love, not a luxury for the few who can afford it. Until meaningful action is taken to ease the financial burden on students, this growing divide will only widen.
Image Credits: Unsplash
