Every discussion of student finance is dominated by one word: debt. While the number taking degrees continues to rise, there is no doubt that some potential students are put off by alarming projections of how much they might end up owing.

For most graduates, debt is a fact of life, although student loan repayments do not start until they are earning £15,000 a year. But, with careful planning, money troubles need not blight your student days.

British undergraduates are no longer required to pay fees upfront, so those who receive support from their parents may even have more money while they are studying. Add to this a range of grants, bursaries and loans, and the picture is not always as bleak as it is painted.

Growing numbers of students - nearly half, according to a NatWest survey last week - supplement their income with part-time employment. And most universities offer detailed financial advice to help students to prevent any problems getting out of hand.

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Some universities are so exasperated that this message is not getting through that staff are visiting schools to try to reassure sixth-formers.

Neil Gorman, vice-chancellor of Nottingham Trent University, says: “The advice at many schools is disastrous, it's dreadful. We run financial sessions at every open day because some schools refuse to talk about money and others just talk about debt. We are investing a lot of time in helping students.”

At Nottingham Trent and 50 other universities this help comes partly through a “money doctors” scheme: (www.fsa.gov.uk/financial_capability/our-work/higher_education/money doctors.shtml) sponsored by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Students are offered expert counselling, workshops on financial issues and a “toolkit” with tips on managing money that has gone to every UK higher education institution.

Advice ranges from help with budgeting and calculating the real rate of credit, to basic tips such as not to avoid unwelcome news by leaving post unopened. Every university adapts the programme in its own way, but the aim is to draw students in from the moment they arrive with induction packs and invitations to one-to-one surgeries.

Money Doctors started three years ago at Roehampton University and has now reached more than 90,000 students. Raywen Ford, Roehampton's director of student services, says: “It has been invaluable to have somebody on site with the knowledge and skills to work with students to help them to balance their budgets. Students who have used the service say it has allowed them to concentrate on their studies and some have gone on to become advisers themselves.”

The FSA hopes that 100 universities and colleges will sign up to Money Doctors by next year. Chris Pond, the authority's director of financial capability, says: “Today's students are faced with more financial pressures than previous generations but, according to our research, are less well equipped to deal with them. We want young people to feel that they are in control of their money, rather than money being in control of them.”

Wherever you study, it is essential to draw up an accurate budget before you arrive, so that you know whether (and how much) you may need to work to supplement your income. A survey published yesterday by the National Union of Students shows that many new arrivals seriously underestimate living costs. Spending on groceries by current students, for example, was nearly £200 more over a year than new students were budgeting, while the shortfall on daily transport came to more than £100.

The cost of groceries may provide even more of a shock for this year's new arrivals, although the NUS is hoping that media coverage of rising prices will have made an impression, even on those not yet familiar with the food aisles of supermarkets.

But, with only rents and course equipment costing less than prospective students anticipated, the overall shortfall averaged some 10 per cent. Since the survey put actual spending at £4,900 a year, that left a gap of £445.

The survey also showed that prospective students were less worried about money than those already at university. But it appears that this is because many either did not understand the advice they had been given, or had not sought any.

To draw up a realistic balance sheet, the first step should be to establish whether you are entitled to a government grant, or one of the bursaries that every university awards. Last year 12,000 students who qualified for full state support did not claim bursaries to which they were entitled.

The next few weeks, before the start of term, are the time to prepare, so that money matters do not spoil the student experience.

John O'Leary is Editor of The Times Good University Guide

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