Tuition fees led the poll
Forty-five per cent selected scrapping tuition fees, making it the largest single response.
Indicative student poll
If you could change one thing about the student loan system, what would it be?
Scrapping tuition fees was the most selected change at 45%. Bringing back grants followed at 27%, while increased maintenance support and different repayment terms were tied at 14% each.
How did students answer?
Respondents selected one option from four. Percentages are calculated from 22 responses and rounded to whole numbers.
Scrap tuition fees10 responses
45%More grants, fewer loans6 responses
27%Higher maintenance loan3 responses
14%Better repayment terms3 responses
14%What does this result suggest?
The most selected answers in this poll focused on the amount students pay or the support available while studying, rather than repayment terms alone.
Grants were second
Six respondents, or 27%, selected bringing back grants.
Two options were tied
Increasing maintenance support and changing repayment terms each received three responses, equivalent to 14%.
Why this result matters
Within this sample, respondents were more likely to prioritise the cost of studying or support while at university than the mechanics of repayment.
Scrapping tuition fees being the leading answer may reflect concern about the headline cost attached to higher education. However, the poll asked respondents to choose only one change, so it cannot show whether people who selected another option also wanted tuition fees changed.
Bringing back grants and increasing maintenance support together received nine responses. That suggests living-cost support also mattered within the sample, which is distinct from the question of tuition fees themselves.
Only three respondents selected changing repayment terms. It would be too strong to conclude that repayment is unimportant. Respondents may simply have placed a different issue first when forced to choose a single priority from four options.
This was a small indicative poll, not a nationally representative survey of students or graduates. A larger study could test preferences separately for tuition fees, maintenance, grants, repayment thresholds and interest, allowing respondents to rank several changes instead of choosing only one.
How to report this finding
“45% of respondents to an indicative Unifresher Instagram poll said they would scrap tuition fees if they could change one thing about the student loan system.”
How was this poll collected?
This was a quick audience poll designed to provide an indicative snapshot from people reached through the Unifresher Instagram audience.
- Exact question
- If you could change one thing about the student loan system, what would it be?
- Answer options
- Higher maintenance loan; Scrap tuition fees; Better repayment terms; More grants, fewer loans
- Responses
- 22 total responses. Raw counts are shown alongside every percentage.
- Audience
- People who viewed and responded to the poll through the Unifresher Instagram audience.
- Collection method
- Unifresher Instagram Stories. Respondents selected one of four fixed answer options.
- Calculation
- Percentages were calculated directly from the raw response totals and rounded to whole numbers. No weighting or adjustment was applied.
- Verification
- The four response counts were checked against the stated total of 22 responses before publication.
- Representation
- Indicative audience poll. The result reflects respondents to this Unifresher poll and is not statistically representative of all UK university students.
- Editorial independence
- No commercial partner directed or influenced the question, answer options, analysis or interpretation shown on this page.
- Reuse and licensing
- Published aggregate findings may be quoted with attribution. Contact the Unifresher press team before republishing a full chart, graphic or substantial extract. See Data Hub reuse and citation guidance.
Cite this result
45% of respondents said they would scrap tuition fees if they could change one thing about the student loan system. Source: Unifresher Student Loan System Poll, 2026. 22 responses via Instagram Stories, collected 5 August 2026. Indicative poll. unifresher.co.uk/data-hub
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