Student Loans: What every graduate needs to know

Student Loans: What every graduate needs to know

From Investors' Chronicle by Investors' Chronicle

March 24, 2026 · 22 min

About this episode

Val Cipriani and Holly McKechnie discuss the UK’s student loan system and its impact on graduates, particularly women.

Val Cipriani and Holly McKechnie are back with a new episode of Women & Wealth , and unpack the UK’s student loan system and growing debt burden facing graduates. The funds editor and personal finance editor for Investors’ Chronicle explore why women often end up paying more, how repayment rules really work, and what the system means for your finances. Student loans have undergone several reinventions over recent years, but the current focus is largely on Plan 2 loans, taken out by undergraduates between 2012 and 2022. These have become particularly onerous following changes made by the Conservative government in 2022. Val and Holly look at the three key repayment terms to be aware of, and the other factors that affect how much you pay back. Maternity, salary gap and employment opportunities in fields studied more by women mean that the student loans issue disproportionately affects them. Val and Holly discuss this, as well as how to minimise your exposure and pay less over the long term . Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:58 The state of student loans 01:50 Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 5 student loans 04:40 Why Plan 2 is so bad 08:20 Loan or tax 10:15 Why it impacts women more 13:45 Is…

People in this episode

Hosts: Val Cipriani, Holly McKechnie

Topics covered

  • student loans
  • graduate debt
  • financial advice
  • women's finance
  • repayment rules

Keywords

  • student loans
  • Plan 2
  • debt burden
  • repayment terms
  • women's finance

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Investors’ Chronicle

Places: UK

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