Record numbers of people have accepted university places through Clearing this year, according to official statistics. Despite the race for a university place slowing, 1,355 more people have accepted places since Friday. According to the latest figures from Ucas, published yesterday, 4,767 students have gained places through the Clearing system – up from 3,392 on Friday and 4,448 this time last year.

Money worries are turning the traditional gap year into more like the gap half-year, according to a survey. The economic concerns are leading to a cutback in the amount of time British students stay abroad, the survey by social website Bebo found. The financial difficulties also mean students visiting countries thought of as dangerous in order to make their money go further. Some travellers even lie to their parents about their actual whereabouts to avoid them worrying. The survey of 2,00 British students and post-graduates, also showed that solo trips are on the rise as is the age of those taking gap-year breaks.

Banks are keen to sign up new undergraduates, but beware the fees, warns Teresa Hunter
THOUSANDS of students will soon take that first step down the road to their future and set off for university after Scotland's bumper set of Higher results. But it takes more than academic prowess to make a success of student life. A good grip of basic arithmetic to keep debt under control is also vital, and when it comes to managing your finances, choosing a good bank account is an important first step.

Newer British universities may disappear because of global competition forcing them to spend more, a leading ratings agency has warned.
Credit analysis by Standard & Poors warns of "certain universities ceasing to exist" because of increasing competition from China and India and within the UK. The analysis suggests that more research-intensive universities will be in a stronger position to cope but newer, more teaching-focused universities will struggle.

THE number of students juggling their studies with a part-time job has hit a record high as the cost of living soars, new figures out today show. Nearly half of students at two of Wales’ biggest universities expect take on a part-time job in the next academic year, according to the NatWest Student Living Index, which examines cost of living for university students. At Cardiff University, 44% (13,609) will be in part-time employment when they start the new term next month, while at Swansea University, which appears in the list for the first time, 43% (3,571) claim that it is a necessity to work to pay their way through university, saying it would be too expensive without additional income.

MORE than £20million will be wiped off Scottish student debt next month thanks to a major cut in interest rates, the Press and Journal can reveal. With economic misery hitting many families through record fuel costs and rising food prices, the Student Loan Company is about to announce a 1% drop in interest rates for the next 12 months. Student debt in Scotland passed £2billion for the first time at the end of the last financial year and the announcement will save Scots more than £20million overnight.

ALMOST a third of British Muslim students believe killing in the name of Islam can be justified, according to a poll. The study also found that two in five Muslims at university support the incorporation of Islamic sharia codes into British law. The YouGov poll for the Centre for Social Cohesion (CSC) will raise concerns about the extent of campus radicalism. “Significant numbers appear to hold beliefs which contravene democratic values,” said Han-nah Stuart, one of the report’s authors. “These results are deeply embarrassing for those who have said there is no extremism in British universities.”

More than 20,000 graduates were overcharged on their student loan repayments last year. They have forfeited hundreds of pounds in overpayments because money is still being deducted from their salaries despite having paid back the full amount they owe on their student loans. Figures given to MPs for the first time show that 20,900 young people were overcharged last year – about one in 50 of the students who should have finished paying off their arrears.

Students are running up substantial debts but earning less than they expect on graduating, research indicates. The authors of a report say that government ambitions to push half of all school-leavers into higher education could be to blame for the mismatch between expectations and reality. On average, students misjudge their starting salaries by more than £2,000, according to the research led by John Jerrim, a PhD student at Southampton University's department of social statistics.

Nearly 50 per cent of recent science and maths graduates are unhappy because they rarely or never use their science and maths skills in their jobs, according to a recent survey conducted by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA). “Some graduate jobs do rely on having a specific degree and knowledge but an awful lot rely on just having a degree, so many science and maths graduates end up in a generic office job sitting in front of a computer screen and going to meetings,” says John Connolly, head of recruitment at TDA.