‘Pressured': 22-year-old Aussie reveals HECS-HELP debt reality after dropping out of university
Clio Crowhurst, 22, attended university to study nursing for one semester when she was 18 but dropped out because she wasn't passionate enough about it as a career path.
'I couldn't see myself working in a career where my heart wasn't fully in it,' she told news.com.au.
Even though her university education lasted less than half a year, she's still paying for it four years later.
'When I left university after a semester, (my debt) was around $2000. To see it more than triple due to indexation is honestly confronting,' Ms Crowhurst said.
The $2000 debt has ballooned now to around $7000, a reality she finds maddening and unfair.
'Don't go to uni if you don't know what you want to do. You're going to be in so much debt,' she warned.
The 22-year-old stressed she has zero issues with the fact degrees cost money but the indexation is what she takes issue with.
'Before indexation, I wouldn't have said it felt unreasonable. But now? Yes. I only studied for one semester, and I'm unable to use any of the skills I learned,' she said.
Higher education loans in Australia don't charge interest, but they are subject to indexation based on inflation.
In 2023, millions of Australians saw their loans increase by a whopping 7.1 per cent — the biggest jump seen in 30 years. In June 2024, the indexation rate was 4.7 per cent.
HECS-HELP loans are now indexed in line with either the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Wage Price Index (WPI), depending on which figure is smaller, with this change backdated to June 1, 2023.
On June 1, 2025, a 3.2 per cent indexation was applied to all student loan debts.
However, on Thursday, reforms passed parliament that will see student loan debts slashed by 20 per cent for approximately three million graduates.
Ms Crowhurst explained that she had always felt 'pressured' to go to university because it was all she had ever heard her teachers and peers talk about.
'We are so wired at school to focus on our ATAR, which then intern makes us focus on what we're going use our ATAR for in uni,' she said.
She never felt hassled by her parents about getting a higher education but she feels, in general, there's so much pressure on young people to finish high school and go straight to university.
'It is such a big decision to take on a degree straight out of school,' she argued.
'I'd honestly encourage (young people) to work in an area they're curious about or even take time to travel.
'There's no rush, follow your heart before committing to something just because it is expected.'
She believes that, if she had put more thought into enrolling in university and understood indexation, she might have made a different choice.
'I'm mostly regretful that I didn't fully understand the long-term implications of HECS debt at the time,' she said.
'In high school, we weren't taught how debt, interest, or indexation work. I wish there had been more education around real-world financial literacy, things like tax, credit scores, and loan systems.'
Ms Crowhurst added that 18-year-olds are trusted to make 'lifelong decisions' with 'very little real-world context', and she didn't feel she was set up with the tools to navigate things like university confidently.
It also stings that she hasn't used practically anything she learned during her short time at university.
'I remember a few health-related facts, but nothing I apply in day-to-day life,' the 22-year-old said.
'I now work professionally as a content creator, PR consultant, and social media manager. Looking back, the degree wasn't worth it for me personally, but I don't think that's a reflection of the field.
'It's more a reflection of how quickly many young people are expected to make huge decisions without the support or education to do so wisely.'
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