Record third of public think going to university 'not worth the time and cost' - more than double compared to two decades ago

Published: 00:01, 2 June 2026 | Updated: 00:01, 2 June 2026 A third of the public think going to university is not worth the time and cost - more than double compared to two decades ago. According to a major survey, the number of people in England saying university was no longer worth it hit a record high of 34 per cent last year. This was up from around one in six (15 per cent) in 2005. Reform UK voters were most likely to agree it wasn’t worth it (42 per cent), followed by Conservative (35 per cent) and Labour (34 per cent). Among graduate respondents, more than one in four (27 per cent) said it wasn’t worth the time or money, with this rising to 35 per cent for former students who paid the highest rate of £9,000 a year for their tuition fees. Meanwhile, the belief that graduates are better off in the long run among the public has collapsed from 50% in 2005 to 36% over the same period. Four in ten (42 per cent) also said there were too many graduates, according to the findings of the latest British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey. Among respondents with degrees this rose to 49 per cent when asked about the numbers in relation to the overall size of the jobs market, with just 10% of the public saying there were not enough. Your browser does not support iframes. Among graduates, more than one in four (27 per cent) said university wasn’t worth the time or money, with this rising to 35 per cent for former students who paid the highest rate of fees  Around two-thirds of people in England (67%) also said the government should set limits on the number of foreign students universities can recruit, while under one third (29%) feel universities should be able to recruit as many students from abroad as they want. Universities charge foreign students much more to study and some are financially reliant on them. A majority favour a tuition fee cap lower than the level at which it is currently set, of up to £9,790 for domestic students. They also come amid shrinking job prospects and growing anger over student debt. Opportunities for graduates have reduced, with 700,000 now out of work and receiving benefits – an increase of 200,000 since 2019, according to separate analysis by the Centre for Social Justice think tank. Meanwhile, recent graduates complain that the system for repaying Government-backed loans for covering tuition costs is unfair due to high interest rates and the unlikelihood of paying off the debt in full. Alex Scholes, a BSA co-author, said: ‘Universities are not just education institutions, they are engines of social mobility and economic growth, and play a vital role in defining Britain’s cultural role on the world stage. ‘They are also under immense financial pressure, and it appears recent debates about the fairness of student loan repayment systems and the role of AI on the job market have filtered through to people’s views about the value of a degree. ‘If public confidence continues to fall, we risk seeing the financial situation become even worse.’ The annual BSA survey was carried out by the National Centre for Social Research between August and October 2025, and polled 4,656 people across the UK. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.