Even though I'm swedish I did go to Scotish uni (Strathclyde!) for a while. It was probably paid for by magical EU funds though. I do remember registering and my peers talking about student loans but I thought they were like my student loans (which were for rent, food and books) and thought almost all tuitions were paid by govt. grants, not loans. I know at least a part of my friends had grants, not loans, paying their studies at least.

What is the political situation now in the UK wrt. free higher education? It seems like one of the biggest social justice/social mobility issues a society can have. Is that not a top issue for Labour?