In recent years, personal loans have become a key option for many Spanish students who want to study at the university. Given the increase in registration and lack of scholarships, resorting to this type of private financing is increasingly common to cover expenses.
More and more young (and in many cases, their families) resort to debt to face the cost of a race. The problem is that these credits are usually applied with interests and return terms that condition the economy of the newly graduated for years, just at a time when they face the precarious labor market.
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The demand for loans to study grows 50 % so far from 2025
Given this, and according to data from Microbankthe Social Bank of Caixabank, between January and June of this 2025, 695 microcredits were granted for a total value of 7 million euros. This represents a 50% growth in number of operations and 61% in volume of financing compared to the same period of the previous year. Loans that are intended to finance degrees of degree, master, doctorate and professional training, evidencing an upward trend in the demand for financing for higher education.
We talk about loans for students in Spain that usually range between 1,000 and 60,000 euros, depending on the duration of studies, the type of training and the cost of life in the city of residence.
To do this, banks offer special conditions for these loans, with somewhat lower interest rates than conventional but equally dangerous personnel. This was explained by Antonio Gallardo, director of Studies of the Association of Financial Users (ASUFIN) in the SER chain. “A loan for something more superfluous as a normal vacation is that it exceeds the two figures, between 10 and 12%; while study loans are between 6 and 7%, even less,” he says.
In any case, it is important to note that there is no public body that manages loans for students; Those who wish to access this financing must go to one of the different banking entities.
What is needed to obtain a loan to study at the university
For many young people, resorting to a loan is not a comfortable option, but almost a necessity. “It is the only way to access certain academic programs without giving up living in cities where labor and academic opportunities are greater, although the cost of life is high,” explains Laura García, an economist specialized in education for the section of Five days of the newspaper ‘El País’.
Of course, to request a student loan, as well as one to use, it is necessary to meet certain requirements. Among them include the presentation of the registration of the educational center, being of legal age and having stable income that allows the loan payment to be faced. In case of not complying with these requirements, some entities may require an guarantee by parents.
In this sense, at the beginning of the year, student organizations linked to CC.OO. They published a report that indicates that the economic and educational situation of families greatly influences access to the university, creating important inequalities. According to the study, 77 % of people between 25 and 64 who have at least one parent with higher studies study university education, compared to 6.5 % of those who do not have university history in their family.
In addition, the report points out that the lack of sufficient financing for public universities causes more and more registration to cover their expenses. This implies a larger cost for students and families, and together with the limitation of scholarships, it increases inequality in access to the university.
The loan dependence grows to study
While microcredits and loans can help pay studies, from professional training to university, they also have very high risks. This was stated in the aforementioned newspaper Enrique Flores, analyst of the General Council of Economists, who emphasizes that the effort to pay a student loan should not exceed 35% of the income.
Anyway, and despite the growth of this type of loans, public scholarships remain an important help for students. In the 2025/2026 course, the Government has allocated a record of 2,544 million euros to scholarships and aid. However, many people cannot access them for reasons for rent, age or type of studies, or because scholarships do not cover all necessary expenses.