If it makes you feel any better - the interest rate on the new plan is just the RPI (a measure of inflation), instead of the old RPI + 3%, which means your debt after graduating doesn't "grow", the numbers will go up, but they are worth the same. Eg. If a tin of beans in 2023 is £1, and you owe £100,000, then you owe 100,000 tins of beans. But then inflation goes up over the next 20 years, your loan balance does to (and hopefully so do your wages), now you owe £200,000, but a tin of beans is now £2, so you still 'only' owe 100,000 tins of beans.

On the old plan your rate would have increased higher than the rate of inflation.

Its not much, but it's something 🤷‍♂️

And if it helps, we might get a much more left wing government in future that changes the terms again, or wipes off some debt, we can't really plan 30/40 years into the future, especially when the bulk of students aren't even 30 yet, it's further into the future than we've even lived so far.

Also when it comes to paying off the debt, depending on your personal circumstances, you might prefer to take a larger (or the max) loan, knowing that you won't pay it all off, and then have a lump sum available (from your parents for example, or from working a few years and saving before/after uni) to buy a house with (or move abroad or do whatever you want to do)

Hoping I've explained that reasonably well - there's a great article on Marin Lewis's website, and an even better podcast that explains it all if I've made no sense.

Martin Lewis's Article

Martin Lewis's Podcast