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On average, parents believed that the likely debt of a university graduate who began a degree in 2012 would be ?22,179, less than half that of the ?53,400 average figure calculated by Push.co.uk, an independent guide to universities. The estimates of students stacked up only slightly more favourably against the Push average, at ?,140.

The Push projection is based on a student paying undergraduate fees of ?8,630 a year for a course that lasts 3.4 years and taking on loans for living costs.

The survey, commissioned by the Association of Investment Companies, quizzed more than 1,000 parents and 1,000 students who were either at university or were planning to go.

holly.else@tsleducation.com