Then you're over-thinking it. The 'fees' are differed on the off-chance you don't earn a reasonable salary. You can call it debt, but it isn't. In the US they

Then you're over-thinking it. The 'fees' are differed on the off-chance you don't earn a reasonable salary. You can call it debt, but it isn't. In the US they have real student debt that is debilitating. In the UK, it doesn't even register on your credit score. Why is it that a school-leaver gets little to no help, and a university student gets a whole tonne of grants and deferred fees? Doesn't that inequality make your blood boil? Details on UK higher education grants and deferred fee payments here: http://www.slc.co.uk/services/higher-education/grants-for-living-costs.aspx# http://www.slc.co.uk/services/higher-education/grants-for-li... And don't be melodramatic. It's not a lifetime of debt because there is a time limit and then the deferred fees are written off.