Like many parents, when our older daughter Daisy decided to go to university to study nursing last year we were concerned the payments she would make on student loans would blight her finances for life.
We knew she’d be paying 9 per cent of her income above £25,000 for 40 years until the loan was wiped or she paid it off, as she would be on a ‘Plan 5’ loan, which is for those who started their course on or after August 1, 2023.
The Government could change the terms at any time, as they have recently for those with older loans by freezing the earnings threshold above which graduates start making repayments.
We wouldn’t be off the hook, either. The biggest maintenance loan she could receive, worth £4,917 a year, meant we would need to make £5,360 in parental top-ups each year because the amount you can borrow is means-tested.
We calculated she would need almost £7,000 a year for accommodation and a further £100 per week to live on to get by – equivalent to £11,000 a year.
So we were delighted to discover that, for her, there was a little-known way to attend university for free.
Rosie Murray-West and her daughter Daisy, who is now studying at Swansea University
It was at a university fair in London hosted by Ucas, the charity and portal through which all UK-based university applications are made, that Daisy discovered she could secure free tuition.
She learned that the Welsh government offers more generous packages to incentivise students to work in the NHS. Daisy says: ‘I didn’t know that Wales would pay for healthcare degrees until I visited the fair and one of the universities mentioned it there.
‘Swansea is a great place, so it was an easy decision.’
Daisy, who is 18, applied and secured a place to study adult nursing at Swansea University, where the Welsh government pays her fees and gives her a £1,000-a-year bursary on top.
The Welsh government also covers the tuition for midwifery, paramedic science and other healthcare courses such as radiography and physiotherapy.
She started the course last year, and it’s the same as the one she’d have taken at the English universities she applied to, except there she’d have paid £9,535 of fees this year, rising to over £10,000 a year by the time she graduates.
She would have received a £5,000 NHS bursary in England, but this would still leave her in debt.
The Government could change the terms of Daisy’s student loan at any time, as they have recently for those with older loans by freezing the earnings threshold above which graduates start making repayments
The average nursing graduate in England leaves university with between £35,000 and £50,000 of debt – a combination of tuition fees and maintenance loans, according to website Student Loans Calculator.
On a starting salary of £30,000, my daughter would have repaid £450 a year on £50,000 of debt.
This would have increased over her career, and an eye-watering amount of interest was added to her balance each year.
It is a huge relief to know that this nasty ‘graduate tax’ will not weigh her down.
To help Daisy we still pay the parental contribution that would have been expected of us in England.
Together with the proceeds from her Junior Isa it’s enough to cover the cost and leave her enough to save for a deposit on a house too, in her Lifetime ISA.
Daisy will have to spend two years in the Welsh NHS after graduating, but she says this seems like a small price to pay, especially since if there’s no job available for her in nursing, she won’t have to pay the fees back.
The Welsh government offers entry-level jobs to nurses and other healthcare professionals, but if none are found after three months the students can be released from the commitment.
Depending on where her career takes her, Daisy may never have earned enough to fully repay any student loans she had taken. This way she begins with a clean slate.
If you’re keen to avoid student loans for your child, working for the Welsh NHS isn’t the only way to go to university for free…
Here are six other ways you can secure free tuition
- Aim for a scholarship to a music conservatoire
Musical teens can avoid fees completely if they opt for a performance-based degree. These are offered by Britain’s conservatoire system and usually confer a degree called a BMus, or Bachelor of Music. Conservatoires have hefty scholarship funds and these often cover the fees for the best candidates without a means-test on parental income.
- Apply for an engineering place in the Royal Navy
STEM degrees (science, technology, engineering and maths) are very marketable, and those hoping to study engineering can get a free place and living costs covered at university if they are willing to work for the Navy.
The force can cover the entire cost of tuition fees and offers a £5,000-a-year bursary as well as paying while you train in your holidays. After leaving, you could start as an engineer on £30,000 and progress quickly, with six years in the Navy required after you graduate. See royalnavy.mod.uk
- Try for a sports place at an American university
Budding sports stars can study in the US fee-free thanks to generous sports scholarships available. Sarah Borwell, sports and education consultant at Keystone Sports, which advises teens, says the package at some universities covers everything from fees to food and sports training, and even domestic travel in America.
US universities offer scholarships in all sports, but the most popular for British students tend to be football, tennis, swimming, golf and track-and-field sports.
- Find full scholarships for the brightest and best
If your child is showing huge academic potential, checking out the scholarships page on university websites could result in a fee-free place if you fit eligibility criteria.
Muslim students at Oxford can apply for the Oxford Centre Islamic Studies Scholarship, which includes full fees paid and a grant to cover living costs.
The Ellison Scholars programme at Oxford also offers fully funded places for those willing to work in the holidays, with skills in health, medical science and AI.
Sign up for free at Black Bullion: blackbullion.com
- Become a qualified apprentice
Degree apprenticeships offer young workers a fully funded degree while learning on the job and earning a salary. Youngsters end up with a degree-level qualification alongside three or four years of on-the-job training.
These degree apprenticeships offer a direct route into graduate-level positions – but as a result can be incredibly competitive.
Find our guide to the top apprenticeships at thisismoney.co.uk
- Choose Armed Forces music or medical scholarships
Opting for some surprising areas of the Armed Forces can result in free degrees.
Budding musicians can apply for the Royal Corps of Army Music and get their degree paid for.
Medical and healthcare students can get Army funding too. Doctors, nurses, pharmacists and even vets can get their degrees paid for in return for a six-year commitment. Visit jobs.army.mod.uk