By Justin Bowie
Students across the UK are suffering from a £250 shortfall each month due to the rising cost of living.
The National Student Money Survey found that 70% of those who receive a maintenance loan said it is not enough for them to live on, with students needing to spend up to £790 a month.
Money advice website Save the Student has warned that the maintenance loan could be underfunding students by up to £3,000 every year.
Save the Student’s Editor-in-Chief, Owen Burek, said: “We get contacted by far too many desperate students struggling to live off their maintenance loan, some on the verge of being forced to quit their studies altogether. Unfortunately it’s not always simply of a case of landing a part-time job and many parents aren’t in a position to make up the ongoing shortfall.”
He added: “While maintenance loans have increased, they continue to fall far short of rising living costs: 2016’s new starters are likely to find it even harder to get by. If you’re finding it hard to make ends meet, speak to your university welfare office: most will have Hardship funds you may be eligible for.”
The inability for students to fund their university careers has found 10% taking serious risks to earn more money, participating in sex work, gambling and plagiarism. Meanwhile, over half of students say that money worries have an impact upon their studies.
In addition to this, many students are unprepared for the money worries that they can be faced with at university. 25% do not budget at all, while a third have no back-up funds whatsoever.
This has led to increasing pessimism among students regarding their future prospects. 55% believe that university is not worth the money, while only 48% are confident of finding employment after they graduate.
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