Thousands of teenagers receiving their A level results will now be looking forward to life at university.

But many of them could be walking into a debt trap without realising it.

Funding three or maybe more years at university is not easy, and many young people are not even aware of the financial facts of student life.

There have been significant changes to the way students are funded in recent years, and this year sees another major change - the abolition of student grants.

Certain grants will now be available only to students who are disabled, have dependents, are leaving care or experiencing hardship.

Tuition fees

Other students will have to rely on maintenance loans to meet their living costs.

This new move follows another big change last year, the introduction of tuition fees for full-time undergraduates.

They had to pay up to �1,000 a year towards their tuition, a figure which has risen with inflation this year to �1,025.

Financing life at university can prove as much of a challenge as passing A levels

The amount students will have to pay towards their fees is means tested. In the majority of cases this tends to be against the income of their parents.

Means testing can also be carried out against a student's own income, if they are classed as "independent", or against that of a spouse.

Students whose family income is below a certain level do not have to pay any fees.

Up to 25% of the student loan entitlement is also means tested, with the maximum loan entitlement falling in proportion to increasing family income, after a certain level.

The changes mean that students will graduate with bigger debts, but will repay them on easier terms and over a longer period, depending on their incomes.

The government believes it is the only way to fund thousands more college places, widening access to higher education.

But many sixth formers are still not aware of the cost of going to university, according to a survey.

Sixth formers were asked how much they expected to spend on various aspects of student life for the survey by NatWest.

The results showed they greatly underestimated the amount they would spend on rent - an average of �97 per month compared with a real figure of �173.

They also thought they would spent less per month on alcohol than the amount students report they actually spend - �56 per month compared with �72.

The sixth formers overestimated their spending in other areas - books, food, clothes and going out.

But the research showed that overall, sixth formers did not realise quite how much debt they would get into during their time as students.

They expected to end up owing �3,700, while existing students reported an average debt of �4,300.

However, for some of this year's new students, there are fears that financial hardship could strike even sooner than expected.

Concerns have been expressed that those who miss their A level grades and find university places through the clearing system could find themselves without loans at the start of their courses.

Last-minute pressure

The Student Loans Company (SLC) has said it expects to take at least 10 days to process students' loans.

The clearing system runs right through to the beginning of term, and the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) has said many students could end up having places confirmed in the last two weeks before term starts.

This could mean students turning up at university without the money to pay their living costs.

The SLC is urging students to apply for loans as soon as they have their places confirmed to relive last-minute pressure on processing applications.

A spokesman said if every student left it to the last 10 days to send in their application, the company would not manage to process every loan within the expected 10-day time frame.

He said: "What we want is for students to get their loan requests to us as soon as they get a place through clearing.

'Fast-track' system

"That doesn't mean they have to accept the first course they are offered. But when they do accept the course they want, they should get their form through to us as soon as possible."

Concerns were raised last month that some local education authorities were not ready to carry out the necessary means testing calculations because of computer problems.

But a spokesman for the Department for Education said that most LEAs had already processed their student loans applications, and it was confident there would be no major difficulties.

He said a "fast-track" system would operate for students who had not received their loans by the time university starts.

This meant they would immediately be paid the proportion of the loan which is not means tested - 75% - and the rest would be calculated later.

Student finance: some facts and figures

Where parental income is �17,370 or less, students pay no tuition fees and are entitled to the maximum loan of �3,635 outside London (�4,480 for London students). These figures apply to students studying away from home, in all but their final years.

Students whose parental income is �27,800 or more pay full fees. Above this level, students lose up to 25% of the maximum loan entitlement and parents are expected to contribute to their living costs.

Parents whose income is �30,000 are expected to pay �239 towards their children's annual maintenance - the maximum loan entitlement falls to �3,396.

Where parental income is �35,522 or more, parents are expected to contribute �910, and the maximum loan falls to �2,725.

Some courses are exempt from fees, including post-graduate teacher training courses, and the fifth and subsequent years of medical courses.

Graduates whose income is less than �10,000 a year do not have to make any student loan repayments.

Above this figure, graduates are expected to make monthly payments of 9% of their remaining monthly income - a graduate earning �11,000 would pay �7 a month.

The DfEE is running a helpline on student support for three weeks from Thursday on 0800 731 9133.