`It's a question of affording a degree'

Undergraduates tell The Independent of their experiences

Khushpal Assi, 21, is a second-year law and management student at Middlesex. He isn't taking out a student loan - he "needed to, but never got round to it", and will take one this coming year. He has an overdraft of only pounds 60 and doesn't get a grant, however he is completely reliant on his parents and holiday work. His college accommodation costs around pounds 50 a week, and his bill doesn't include electricity.

Tom Stampford finished his finals in Geography and Geology a week ago at Keele University. His debts are pounds 6500; a pounds 2000 overdraft and three student loans. This figure is "about average" among his friends, "and inevitable. I knew the situation before I came and what I was getting in to." Despite relatively low rents, students at Keele have had to face falling government funding. As a result, the Students' Union encourages its members to work. Paul Cornell, the union president, explains that they "actively try to recruit students. We've got to. It's a question of not having a degree if you can't afford it."

Dave Flynn, 20, is a second-year English undergraduate at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford; a relatively poor college. He's had "nothing, apart from a pounds 120 exam prize which I won four weeks ago and still hasn't been paid". This will go straight into his bank account, currently overdrawn by pounds 990, forcing him to work every holiday. He expects to earn around pounds 1800 this summer by working for his college organising conferences. In Oxford, students are not allowed to do paid work during term-time, though rooms can cost up to pounds 100 a week. Dave's parents give him pounds 700 a year, and he has a pounds 1000 grant.

Aneesa Chawla, 20, is a second-year Law student at the LSE. She only gets a nominal grant and had to take out a student loan of pounds 1000. She also has a weekend job. Her parents are contributing a lot towards her living expenses. "A lot of the students here are foreigners who are wealthy enough to study here and have no problems with the high rent. The home students tend to have more financial problems and have to work to meet the living costs. There should be more subsidies for students rather than loans which have to be paid back."

Deepa Hundalani, 20, is studying Social Policy and Government at the LSE. She's had two pounds 250 overdrafts, but, although many students at the LSE work for money during term-time, she hasn't taken up a job because "the responsibility and commitment required in a part time job really conflict with University life, especially towards end of the year when you've got exams". She's not as desperate as others though; her parents contribute to her living expenses and she's living at home. University accommodation costs around pounds 40-pounds 75 a week.