Statistics released by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) show that the proportion of new students who plan to live at home while attending university or college rose to 22.6% this year compared to 20.8% the year before.

Tony Higgins: "It's a way of cutting expenses"

The figures show that one in four women (24.6%) and one in five men (20.4%) with places this autumn will carry on living at home.

Those accepted for places on Higher National Diploma (HND) courses are nearly twice as likely to live at home as degree-course students (39.3% as against 21.4%).

The Chief Executive of Ucas, Tony Higgins, said: "Choosing a university or a college that is close to home is one way of cutting down your living expenses, and more and more students seem to be bearing this in mind.

"However, the figures also indicate that more than three-quarters of all students still decide to leave home to study and in many cases the proportion is even higher."

This year, the student maintenance grant intended to cover living expenses was phased out altogether, to be replaced entirely by loans.

The National Union of Students is planning to hold a march and lobby of Parliament against tuition fees and student hardship, probably late next month.

Variations

The figures show significant variations between countries. In Scotland, 36.9% of new students plan to live at home, 29.1% in Northern Ireland, 21.1% in England and 17% in Wales.

Another change, which can be attributed most probably to the impact of tuition fees of up to �1,025 a year, is that students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland are far less likely to have chosen to study in Scotland.

This is because at Scottish universities, degree courses are typically four years long, not three. Scottish students do not have to pay the fourth year of fees - those from elsewhere do.

Fewer mature students

And the impact of fees on mature students is clearer than ever: 8.6% fewer over-25s are going to university this year.

A total of 314,217 people have won places so far, compared to 311,906 at the same point in the process last year, an increase of 0.7%, although the number of applications was down by 1.3%.

"Wales has a low proportion of students living at home because it has fewer higher education institutions," Tony Higgins said.

"The proportion in Scotland is more than double that for Wales, but in Scotland there is a strong tradition of Scottish students studying at their local universities and colleges.