A study of around 2,000 students revealed that the majority believe they will graduate with debt management issues that won’t be resolved quickly.

The survey commissioned by Endsleigh insurance, showed that almost thirty per cent (29.2%) of students questioned thought that they will graduate with debts of over £20,000.

There was also over a quarter more (26.4%) who believed they will leave university owing up to £20,000 and 16.8 per cent believing they will have debts of up to £15,000.

One in thirteen (7.5%) students think that they will leave their studies with no debt problems at all.

Worrying though was the time that many students believed it would take to clear their debts. Almost one in four people (23.3%) believed that their debts would take twenty years to clear, whilst a further 38.4 per cent believe it will take ten years to get out of debt.

James Crocker, Endsleigh Financial Adviser, said: “The results of the survey point to the increasing financial strain that today’s student is under. In the short term, students need to manage their finances as carefully as possible by creating a budget and sticking to it so as not to get into even more debt.”

Ivan Cooper, Chairman at debt management specialists Chiltern, said: “Many students will end up graduating with potential debt problems if they fail to land a job to quickly repay it.

“As we have seen recently the employment market is much tougher, so students may need to seek debt advice, along with seeking a job when they leave university.

“Prevention is always better then cure, so students should avoid developing high-interest credit card debts or unnecessarily high overdrafts to keep their debts lower for when they leave university.”