Student finance: Students 'wrongly worry' about repaying tuition fees, study shows Under the new regime, graduates earning less than £21,000 don't pay anything back on their student loans. Those who never pass this threshold do not have to make any repayments. "When people say to me 'My daughter's not going to university because she's scared of the £40,000 debt' it really gets to me - not just as head of the taskforce, but just speaking for myself," says Lewis. What is this overhanging debt people are afraid of? It's a nominal amount that you might have to repay some day. If I offered a parent a mortgage on the these terms they'd bite my hand off. The research is published the day after news that Nick Clegg has apologised to Liberal Democrat supporters for pledging to block any increase in university tuition fees before the last election. The Deputy Prime Minister said that the pledge had been a mistake but that the subsequent decision to almost triple tuition fees was correct. Student Finance Day 2013 - Ten point myth-buster You don't pay up front to go to Uni. First time undergraduate's fees are automatically paid by a Student Loans Company loan. There are also loans of up to £5,500 to live off (£7,675 in London) and those from families with income under £42,611 get living grants of up to £3,354. Students don't repay, graduates do, but only if they earn £21,000+. You repay 9% of everything earned above £21,000 starting the April after graduation (2017 for most). This £21,000 will rise from 2017. Those who never earn over it, never repay. Monthly repayments are the same on £6,000 or £9,000 fee courses. As monthly repayments depend ONLY on earnings, the course fee size doesn't impact it. It's wiped after 30 years. Whatever you still owe, repayments stop after 30 years. There are no debt collectors. Repayments are taken via the payroll, just like tax. So you never actually handle the cash, meaning there are no debt collectors chasing. Repayments are £470/year lower than before. Those asking "how can anyone live with such debts?" may be surprised that future graduates will initially have MORE disposable income than today's graduates as they repay above £21,000 earnings (under the old system, it was £15,795). This is also a mild improvement for building a deposit and getting a mortgage in the early years after graduation. You will owe for longer and may pay more. The bad news is compared to today's graduates, 2012 starters onwards repay less each year, have much bigger loans and pay higher interest (as much as inflation plus 3%), so it'll take MUCH longer to repay than now and depending on earnings, may cost a lot more. Many will never pay it all back. Even many starting on £25,000 graduate salaries (and rising after) won't repay everything owed within the 30 years (test your situation at www.studentfinancecalc.com) meaning they'll often be repaying for much of their working life. Many won't pay more on £9,000 courses than £6,000. As even many £25,000 starters won't repay combined £6,000 tuition fees and living loans before the 30 year wipe, it won't cost them any more to take a £9,000 fee course. Paying up front could be throwing £10,000s away. Fee fears means some parents aim to pay them upfront. For those planning to use savings, remember as many won't repay what they borrowed at today's prices before the 30 year wipe, you could be throwing big money away. Don't make knee jerk decisions to pay upfront, without doing research. More in the Telegraph's Student Finance section: Student finance: planning ahead for university Student finance: money-management tips to make university life that little bit easier Student finance is just the beginning of many happy returns Graphic: should you pay off your student loan early? Student finance: Five ways to improve your student finances Live webchat: University Clearing - how does it work? Follow Telegraph Education on Twitter: @tele_education