Fun at the debtors’ prison: undergraduates’ university experience

Discusses the results of a survey on aspects of the student experience of university at a semi‐rural faculty of a metropolitan university in England. The research found that students tend to be amassing considerable debts, have little financial parental support and some are dependent on wages from part‐time work as a source of funds. It would appear that there is some financial hardship among the students surveyed, with a significant minority paying their own tuition fees. It is a possibility that these students would not be able to afford the higher top‐up tuition fees proposed for 2006. However, it is suggested that, for most students, there is a good social life, and university remains an enjoyable experience.