Change any number below to match the actual situation, and check the source on every figure we use. If university is the right call, this will show you that too.
A degree is rarely paid for upfront. It is borrowed, and repaid as a graduate tax: 9% of everything earned above £27,750 a year, for up to forty years before any remaining balance is written off. On the salary set above, here is what that actually means.
What’s real, and sourced: tuition £9,535/yr (2025/26 cap, UK Government, rising to £9,790 for 2026/27). City rents from the Accommodation For Students database, January 2026. Living costs default to £250/month above rent. Rent is calculated over a 40-week academic year. Loan terms are the actual Plan 5 rules. Course fees and the 90%-in-work-within-six-months figure are as published by The Event Academy. One simplification to know about: earnings on the trained route are shown before tax, and its own living costs are not modelled, because they depend heavily on whether you live at home.
What you control: salary and all three core costs are yours to change. The head start is fixed at 18 months and the working is shown above, so nobody has to take it on trust. The tool does the arithmetic on your numbers. It does not guess anyone’s outcome.
Where university genuinely wins: if the plan is medicine, law, engineering, science or anything that requires a specific degree, university is the right and necessary route, and no calculator should say otherwise. This tool is for the large group of young people heading to a general degree mainly because it felt like the only option. For them, it is worth seeing the alternative clearly.
The money matters, but it isn’t the real question. The real question is whether you come out the other side employable, confident and wanted by employers. That is what this route is built for, and its courses are built around what employers tell us they need.
Could events be your future? Take the first step with an informal 20-minute call about the industry, the opportunities and the different ways to get started. Bring your questions. We’ll give you straight answers.
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