Almost half (49%) of students and graduates aged 18 to 22 say the prospect of taking out a student loan made them think twice about attending university, according to a new survey by Equifax.
It found that over a third (36%) of those surveyed predicted the situation would worsen and deter future students from attending.
Paula Roche, managing director of consumer solutions at Equifax, said: “While student loan repayments might be a cause for worry for many people, it is important to remember that they don’t appear on your credit score, and that repayments vary by income, so people are usually only paying back what they can afford.
“But prospective students should be aware that if they are using other forms of credit to supplement their student loan while at university this could affect their ability to get credit after they graduate.”
The research polled 3,035 UK adults aged between 18 and 40 and was conducted by business-to-business service Opinium.