Students' heads in clouds on real cost of university study

Students are underestimating the cost of tertiary study and setting themselves up for a future of debt, a new study has found.

The Canterbury University PhD research, which tracked 1232 final-year secondary school pupils through their first two years at university, found they overestimated their annual incomes as students and underestimated the cost of living and studying, the Press newspaper reported.

Nearly half of the students said debt was a normal part of today's lifestyle.

PhD student Steve Haultain said students were not fully aware of the cost of a tertiary loan and the options available.

The school-leavers estimated their average annual expenditure would be $12,209 - significantly less than the actual $19,610 - while expecting to receive an average annual income of $11,974, an over-estimation of $5157.

Canterbury University Students Association president Steve Jukes said students were losing their concept of debt.

"It's treated as socially acceptable to be in debt and to not be concerned with that. It's a way of life."

The New Zealand Union of Students Associations' debt counter puts total debt from the student loan scheme at more than $10.5 billion.

- NZPA