Quarter of new students staying at home to save cash

Twenty-seven per cent of students starting university in September will stay at home to save cash.

Furthermore, a third claim the only way they will be able to afford university is stay at home – losing out on the social side of life living on campus, new research from Lloyds TSB finds.

However, staying at home is not a happy choice for students, with 62 per cent saying they would prefer not to stay with their parents if cash was not an issue.

The rising cost of university debt placing burden on students, means more people are trying to work through their studies.

A quarter of students plan to have term-time jobs, and a third would take jobs over the summer holiday.

Alvin Hall, financial guru and host of Your Money or Your Life, explained students need to weigh up their priorities, but staying at home should not be seen as losing out.

"If you want to keep your costs low, stay at home," he said. "If you want the full experience and can afford it, go to university and be independent.

"Don't view it as one choice good, one choice bad."

He added the old model of always leaving home for university has passed.

"People are often trapped by past models. They think things should remain the same as when their parents went to university. The world is no longer the same with less money available from educational grants and the cost of living going up. You have to change things and adapt.

"Those people who are most adaptive will be those who will be able to get an education, with the lowest level of debt and be able to pay off their debts sooner and moving on with their jobs."

However, he maintained university remains a sound investment in your future.

Daniel Barnes