With cost-of-living pressures and rising HECS debt, 2023 school leavers say they are putting off starting university so they can save money. Meanwhile, the number of university enrolments has plateaued for the first time in decades, as potential students question if it is worth it.
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TVTranscript
00:00 Lillipurl Coffee graduated high school last year from a pre-university program, but didn't
00:07 apply for a tertiary offer. The Brisbane 18-year-old would love to study arts, but is worried about
00:15 HECS debt and job prospects.
00:17 Every older person tells you that uni is the time of your life. You meet so many new people,
00:23 you have so many new experiences and you find yourself through uni. But that isn't an option
00:29 for kids these days.
00:31 Some academics say degrees don't buy what they used to.
00:35 Absolutely, you're better off going to university, but maybe not in the same way that you would
00:39 be 30 years ago.
00:42 Adelaide High School graduate Harper Forsyth received an ATAR in the high 90s and got offers
00:47 for early admission, but is working this year, saving money to study humanities interstate
00:53 in 2025.
00:55 The reality is what I want to study is not invested in.
00:58 Oscar Wadsley is applying to the Defence Force to save before studying law. He wants to be
01:03 sure it's the right choice.
01:05 The people are taking gap years and working through those just because they don't want
01:11 to be diving into something which won't work for them and then have to pay that off over
01:16 30, 40, 50 years.
01:19 In 1989, 20% of Australians were university students at age 19. In 2007 it was a third.
01:26 By 2016 it was 40%, which has plateaued all the way through to 2024.
01:32 Some graduates feel they don't have as many options as previous generations.
01:37 And now that we are adults and we are here, you've lied to us.
01:41 (swoosh)
01:43 [BLANK_AUDIO]