Average debts for UK students could double from 2012

New research from the Push university guide has revealed that the average amount of debt for a UK university student could rise to £53,000 for a three-year undergraduate course starting in September 2012.

This is in contrast to existing figures that suggest that current students graduate with £26,000 of loans to repay.

The Coalition government came over fire in late 2010 for their decision to triple annual tuition fees for English university students, with many educational institutions expected to charge the maximum £9,000 per year for entry onto a course.

Backbench ministers are understood to be concerned that bright individuals could be deterred from applying to university next year because of the financial implications. This is despite the fact that students from 2012 will only begin to repay student loans after earning a minimum of £21,000 per year, with any outstanding monies owed being written off after 30 years. The current threshold for monthly repayments is £15,000.

Student riots broke out across the capital in November 2010, with frustration that Welsh and Scottish university students would continue to have their university education subsidised. The average debts in these two nations accrued over three years are just £6,200 and £2,000 respectively.

UCAS, the agency responsible for processing university applications, is expecting an unprecedented volume of students to compete for places on further education courses, with students who would have normally opted for gap years postponing their arrangements to beat the tuition fees rise.