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The same is true across the West End at University College London, where bursaries are generally pegged to 50% of the value of grants, except for those from the poorest backgrounds. Where household income is below £15,800, bursaries rise to £1,600 a year, topping out at £2,700 a year for the least well-off (on family income of less than £11,600 a year). Added to the maximum grant, that amounts to more than £5,500 of non-repayable cash per year.

Others, such as the University of Teesside, will concentrate on students from families with a residual household income of less than £25,000, who in 2009 will receive £1,025 a year.

A short distance away in Durham, extra cash can be gained purely by dint of your postcode. While nobody gets a bursary with family income above £28,725, the university is doubling its maximum award of £1,285 to £2,570 for those from families with a household income of less than £18,500 in Durham, Darlington, Sunderland, Teesside, Newcastle and Northumberland.

Even in the same city, rates can vary hugely. Leeds University, the second most popular in Britain in terms of applications, from this month offers a bursary of £1,500 to students from families beneath the £25,000 income threshold, tapering to a minimum bursary of £335 where income is in the range of £35,001 to £36,000.

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Next door at Leeds Metropolitan, tuition fees have been held across the board at £2,000 per year since their introduction in 2005. So, for those from the poorest backgrounds, Leeds University offers the best deal but, if family income is above £26,000, Leeds Met is the better financial bet.

Many universities offer cash for A-level grades. For example, the University of Greenwich gives a £525 annual scholarship to all students achieving 300 Ucas tariff points, equivalent to BBB at A-level, regardless of income.

And the cash opportunities don’t stop there. A number are now offering course-specific grants aimed at increasing applications in subjects more difficult to recruit to.

Northumbria University, for example, offers £250 to students studying popular degrees such as law, psychology and sport, £500 for degrees in performing arts and business and £1,000 for degrees in engineering, applied sciences and maths. Professor Peter Slee, deputy vice-chancellor for student and staff affairs, says the aim is to attract students of high academic potential. “They are tiered according to market conditions,” he says.

This, the second year of the scheme, saw the engineering and computing courses filled without going into clearing. “Every £4 or £5 students get from a university like ours is another hour less they have to work in a bar or restaurant to pay their way,” says Slee.

It might also be worth considering a four-year sandwich course. Undergraduates can earn decent cash — more than £15,000 a year — and you may even meet your future employer.

For most, however, student loans and term-time jobs are par for the course. An estimated two-thirds of students now have a loan and while these don’t have to be paid back until students have finished their degree and are earning more than £15,000, debt can mount up when loans of between £3,580 (£3,673 in 2009) to £6,475 (£6,643 next year) are available each year.

A study published last month by the Halifax found that two-thirds of students have jobs, 41% in term-time. Nearly a fifth of students had two or more jobs. On average 9% of students worked 16 to 20 hours a week.

These help pay the bills but they do so at a cost. Three years ago a study for the Higher Education Funding Council for England found that students who worked 15 hours a week were less likely to get a first-class or upper second degree than their non-working peers.

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