1 in 8 students don’t know size of their tuition debts

AROUND one in eight first year students are unaware how much they have borrowed to cover their university tuition fees, according to a report.

And a fifth of applicants are unsure of the amount they will have to take out in loans, the Department for Education study found.

The findings come weeks after the Government announced a wide-ranging review of post-18 education – including the £9,250-a-year tuition fees.

The report found that 54 per cent of applicants said they were ‘put off’ to some extent by the costs of university.

Despite this, many who felt deterred said the fact they could access tuition fee loans helped ease their concerns.

Almost two-thirds anticipated using their parents as a source of income.

Nick Hillman, of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said a major challenge was that many youngsters do not realise that as soon as they take out a student loan they are paying interest of up to 6.1 per cent.

He said the Government and universities should help pass on details about fees – and that schools were not just to blame.