£9k pa covers fees
if you need a place to live - say £60+ a week outside London & living expenses, probably similar amount for 30 weeks per year*3 years, plus course materials (varies with course, obviously). Doing foreign language? (add on year abroad) Longer course (eg medicine, law) or PhD? All extra. Could easily be £50k and up assuming you're a teetotal, charity shopper who likes noodles...
Yes, you may go on to earn far more over your life than if you hadn't studied. But if you come from a background where half your total debt is an average yearly wage, I can imagine the prospect would be terrifying.
Also, if you do spend several years, perhaps most of your career earning slightly over the payback threshold (nursing, social work, education etc), accumulated interest will be far greater than if yout paid it off with your first few years £80k salaries, so it's regressive in nature.
BTW, I'm of an age where I paid no fees, got a grant, some of which I drank!
(sarcastic fringehead feet of clay, buns of steel, head of lettuce, Mon 15 Nov 2010, 12:18, Reply)