UK students skip meals due to cost of living crisis | Students

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Students are skipping meals and relying on hardship funds and family support due to the cost of living crisis, with one in four saying they are at risk of dropping out of college, a survey has found.

Research this month for the Sutton Trust found nearly a quarter of the 1,000 UK students surveyed said they were less likely to be able to complete their studies due to cost pressures, while a in three said they cut down on food intake to save money. .

While almost half of students approached their families for additional help, many of those from disadvantaged or poorer backgrounds said they were less likely or unable to do so.

A student, currently studying in England, said in an interview that he only ate two meals a day, spent less on groceries and worked part-time to pay his bills, despite getting a loan from full interview and a scholarship from his university.

The cost of living crisis is making me worried and stressed as I now have to sacrifice my study time to find a job to support myself financially.

The balance between one-day university clinical rotations and work has an impact on my studies. I come from a low-income household, so I don’t have the ability to ask for financial support from my family, the student said.

Another student, from the South West of England, said that he had approached his university to obtain funds in case of difficulty: I found the process of applying for funds quite long, the application required several months of bank statements, as well as letters from the student finance department. , as proof of my right.

From there, I had to wait almost a month for a response. I was lucky to receive some money, but it was not a system I could trust if I needed help in an emergency.

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Now more than ever, I feel the government expects parents and families to help support students and young people. It’s not an option for me.

Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust, which campaigns to improve social mobility through education, said it was outrageous that students were skipping meals and cutting back on essentials.

To ensure students can afford to participate fully in their coursework and wider university life, the Sutton Trust is calling on the government to urgently review the amount of funding and support available to students, said lamp.

Students in England will receive an increase of just 2.8% in their maintenance loans if they continue their studies in September, increasing the average loan by around 200. The Welsh government has said it will increase loans by maintenance and scholarships for its students over 9%.

A spokesman for England’s Department for Education said: We recognize that students continue to face financial challenges, which is why we are increasing loans and grants for living and other costs for a additional year.

To help universities supplement their own hardship funds, we are also making an additional $15 million available. This will bring the total available for universities to draw on to support their struggling students to 276 million this academic year.

But the Sutton Trust noted that 41 million of the 276 million was earmarked for the Disabled Student Premium, with the rest going to support student achievement such as widening participation and outreach activities, making little likely its use for hardship funds.

The extra 15 million comes to just 67 for every undergraduate student from the most deprived parts of England, according to the trusts analysis.

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