One in five students lose money by going to university, IFS finds | Higher education - The Guardian

Men benefit more than women and creative arts provide worst returns, according to tax data, observes Richard Adams, Guardian's education editor.

Students graduating in Cambridge. Researchers found that women reached a glass ceiling on earnings growth in their 30s and 40s, even among Oxbridge graduates.
Photo: Hazy Pics/Alamy

One in five students would be financially better off if they skipped higher education, according to groundbreaking research that compares the lifetime earnings of graduates and non-graduates.

Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found while 80% of former students gained financially from attending university, about 20% earned less than those with similar school results who did not attend, highlighting how some subjects, such as creative arts, offer negative financial returns.

The IFS research – which uses tax data to measure the earnings of those who went to university from the mid-90s onwards – found that after accounting for taxes and student loans, men gained on average £130,000 and women £100,000 over their careers, compared with their peers who didn’t enter higher education...

The Department for Education said the earnings data would define the benefits of higher education and “help students of all ages make smart choices about their future”.
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Source: The Guardian