Final-year students need cash

Debt and living costs are forcing university students to work during their final year at university.

Research commissioned by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit found that students in their third year were much more likely to find a job than those in their first year.

The Futuretrack study is following 50,000 students from completing their university application to getting their first job.

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The report published yesterday, which is the third in the series, shows that nearly eight in 10 final-year students (78.2 per cent) work, with 42.8 per cent of these working during holidays and term time.

In comparison, just over two-thirds (67.8 per cent) worked

during their first year of university.

Meeting essential living costs was the most common reason for choosing to work during term time of their final year – chosen by 84 per cent of those questioned.

Around eight in 10 (79 per cent) said they worked to meet the cost of leisure activities and 66 per cent needed to meet the cost of books and study materials.

Almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of final year students said they were working to avoid debt.

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One student told researchers she was "extremely overdrawn for the last one-and-a-half years and my bursary and part-time work does not pay for all the bills, mortgage etc."

The students questioned expected to have an average debt of 15,700 on graduation.

Men expect to have higher debt levels than women, with a quarter (25 per cent) of women saying they expected their debt to be zero or less than 10,000, compared to 21 per cent of men.

Almost a third (31 per cent) of those questioned said they

expected to owe 20,000 or more.