Students 'living at home to avoid debt'
Thursday, 19 Jul 2007 14:01
More students are living at home to avoid debt
Almost a third (31 per cent) of students planning to start university this year intend to live with their parents due to financial worries, new research has found.
The respondents to a survey by Lloyd TSB's student banking division said that unless they remained within the family home they would not be able to afford to enter higher education.
It appears that the problem of debt is increasing for those wishing to go to university, with the number of students intending to continue living with their parents up from the 22 per cent recorded last year.
With more than a quarter (26 per cent) of those questioned worried about how they will manage their money while at university, more students are also turning to part-time work in order to fund their studies.
Of the 1,000 students who took part in the Lloyds TSB survey, 73 per cent said they were planning to work during term time, while over a quarter said they thought that having a part-time job was essential to ensuring they could pay their way through university.
In contrast just ten per cent said that they planned to rely on loans and overdrafts to finance their higher education.
Almost half (46 per cent) of respondents said that they had already applied for a loan to cover the cost of their tuition fees while a further 40 per cent have requested a maintenance loan to help with living costs.
Caroline Brady of Lloyds TSB's student banking division stressed that "savvy budgeting skills" could help students start university life on the right foot and urged those planning to enter higher education to plan ahead financially.
"Students face higher levels of debt than ever before and whilst it’s essential that they find ways to keep costs to a minimum it is also important that students think carefully about all the options," she said.