The would-be freshers believe that tuition fees, rent, food, books, beer and cigarettes will cost them an average of £950 per month. The annual sum is double the maximum student loan of £4,095 available to undergraduates outside London. The survey found that three quarters of school-leavers were worried about the cost of university.
Eighty four per cent expected to get a part-time job to support themselves. The survey of more than 3,100 graduates, undergraduates and sixth formers, conducted for NatWest, found that the average graduate debt has risen by a third since 2003 to £12,180 this year. A spokeswoman for NatWest said that the rise in debt appeared in part to be due to a reduction in parental support. The proportion of students saying that they received no financial help from their parents rose to 34 per cent this year, from 26 per cent in 2003.
The Department for Education and Skills dismissed the survey's findings as "way too high". It pointed to its own Student Income and Expenditure Survey last year, which showed that the average anticipated debt among final-year undergraduates was £8,666.
A spokesman said that it expected average debt levels to rise to £15,000 when annual tuition fees of up to £3,000 are introduced in 2006.
Ann-Marie Blake, head of student and graduate banking at NatWest, said: "The good news is that this year's average starting salary is up 7 per cent to £13,600, which proves that the cost of university is clearly an investment in your future earning potential."
