Graduates facing a record debt burden of more than £20,000 EACH

Students starting university this autumn face graduating with debts of more than £20,000 for the first time, a survey has claimed.

The rising cost of food, travel and rent is forecast to add almost £4,000 to current first years' projected debt of £17,500.

The growing debt millstone, which follows the imposition of £3,000-a-year tuition fees in 2006, emerged in a poll of 2,000 students at 136 universities.

The survey showed that debt now stands at £4,500 for each year of study  -  an increase of 9.6 per cent on last year's figure. And those who started university in autumn last year expect to graduate owing £17,611.

If debt continues to rise at current rates, it will pass £20,000 for freshers next month and even exceed £21,000.

The findings from university guides firm Push emerged as a second study concluded that students are 'sleepwalking into financial crisis' because they vastly underestimate their living expenses.

The true cost of campus life exceeds their budgeting by £450 a year on average, according to research from the National Union of Students.

Undergraduates were found to be largely accurate in their spending forecasts for rent, books and course equipment but likely to underestimate the cost of groceries, travel, household bills and socialising, it found.

Both studies suggest students are being particularly badly hit by the worsening economic climate, possibly because rising food costs and rent make up a large and inflexible part of student outgoings.

Johnny Rich, Push series editor, said: 'This increase is not just another rise.

'Some students are facing real financial hardship. Even so, the advantages of having a degree still vastly outweigh the costs and the Push survey shows that  -  with high-quality advice and information  -  students can keep their debts down.'

The second study involved research among 3,135 current students and 250 school-leavers who are about to start at university.

Prospective students forecast a £510 annual spend on groceries, when current students reckon they spend £710. They also thought household bills would come to £580 instead of the more accurate £740, while travel would be £285 as opposed to the £385 getting around will actually cost them.