Students who started university in September 2008 will have debts of around £17,000, which is likely to see an increase this year.

Johnny Rich, editor at Push.co.uk, believes this will rise to around £20,000 for students going to university in the next academic year, with some unlikely to receive any funding from their parents.

"Those who are most challenged by finance are the ones who are most likely to be put off by going to university by the serious debt," he claims.

Mr Rich also believes the issue of finance is one of the deciding factors when people choose whether or not to go to university, with some weighing-up whether it is financially worth it.

The Student Income and Expenditure Survey released by the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills shows that at the end of their first year of study, students in 2007/08 finished for the summer vacation with around £3,518 in net debt.

It also reported that around one in three students said that the availability of funding and financial support affected their decisions about higher education.