Is university worth it in 2026?

According to a BBC article published on 3 June, roughly one in three students felt disillusioned with their choice to pursue higher education.

It's a striking statistic, but perhaps not a surprising one.

For many students and recent graduates, the conversation is no longer about whether university is enjoyable or academically rewarding. Instead, it's about whether the investment still makes sense in today's economic and employment landscape.

From speaking to students and reflecting on my own experience, there are three recurring concerns that seem to come up time and time again.

1. The cost

Simply put, university has become much harder to justify financially.

The cost of attending university has continued to rise, while the opportunity cost of spending three or four years in education has become much greater. Students aren't just paying tuition fees; they're also giving up years of full-time earnings while taking on significant debt to fund their studies.

University before 1998 was a very different proposition.

With no tuition fees, considerably lower living costs and a qualification that often led more directly to graduate employment, attending university was, for many people, an obvious choice. Turning down a university place required a very good reason.

That isn't necessarily the case today.

I studied between 2022 and 2025 and graduated with approximately £63,000 of student debt, around £30,000 in tuition fees and £33,000 in maintenance loans, largely to cover rent and living costs.

Just 12 months after graduating, that figure had risen to approximately £68,000, driven by the current high interest rates applied to student loans.

For many students, it's difficult not to question whether that level of financial commitment is worthwhile.

2. The value of the qualification

Of course, university has never been solely about financial return.

It provides opportunities to develop academically, meet new people, become more independent and experience personal growth. Those benefits are real and shouldn't be overlooked.

However, many students also see university as an investment in their future career.

That's where concerns begin to emerge.

As access to higher education has expanded and more people graduate with degrees, the qualification itself has become less distinctive in the eyes of many employers. At the same time, the number of graduate-level opportunities hasn't increased at the same pace.

The result is that the long-standing expectation that a university degree will naturally lead to secure, well-paid employment no longer holds true for everyone.

A degree still has value.

But for many industries, it's no longer enough on its own.

Employers increasingly expect graduates to combine their academic qualifications with practical experience, internships, placements and evidence of transferable skills.

3. The squeeze between minimum wage and graduate salaries

Another challenge facing today's graduates is the changing relationship between minimum wage and graduate pay.

The National Living Wage has increased from £8.72 per hour in 2020 to £12.71 per hour in 2026.

Graduate starting salaries, however, have remained relatively similar across many sectors.

That creates an unusual situation.

Many students spend years working in retail, hospitality or other part-time roles while studying. When they graduate and move into full-time professional employment, some discover they're effectively taking a reduction in their hourly rate in exchange for a graduate position.

While graduate careers often offer greater long-term progression and earning potential, that short-term financial reality can be difficult to accept, particularly for graduates already managing significant student debt and rising living costs.

The bigger question

None of this means university isn't worth attending.

For many people, it remains the right choice and continues to open doors that would otherwise remain closed.

But it's becoming increasingly clear that the decision is no longer as straightforward as it once was.

Students today are weighing up higher costs, greater competition for graduate jobs and changing employer expectations in ways previous generations didn't have to.

Perhaps the question shouldn't simply be "Is university worth it?"

Instead, it should be "How do we ensure university continues to deliver value for the students investing so much in it?"

That's a conversation worth having.