But how does someone thinking of applying to university know what is on offer?

The government's controversial plans for student funding in England hang on the outcome of next week's Commons vote.

If they go through, fees in many universities will rise in 2006 - but they will have to offer bursaries for poorer students.

The official application service, Ucas, is going to be compiling information on how much will be charged for each course, for publication in the spring of 2005.

It says the best source of information on alternative sources of funding is the website studentmoney.org, which it set up with the UK's largest publisher of guides to courses and colleges.

This lists more than 9,000 schemes, worth several million pounds in total.

Users can search for possible funding by entering their preferred subject, or by browsing through the organisations by name.

For example, a female prospective engineering undergraduate in the South East of England is offered 118 possible awards of various amounts from 79 organisations.

Sponsorship

One option is to get someone else to pay you while you are doing your degree - the deal being that you go to work for them afterwards and typically during your course.

Royal Navy weapon engineer Jon Boughton was sponsored through his engineering degree at the University of Southampton.

The Navy paid him �4,000 per year, plus payment for the days he had to work for them, making a total of �5,500 per year or �16,500 over the course of the three-year degree.

He was then committed to at least five years' service, the first two involving further training.

"I had quite an unusual experience at university in that I was quite well off," he said.

Commercial deals

If being in the military does not appeal, companies also offer sponsorship arrangements.

Our prospective female engineer might try Ricardo Engineering, a consultancy for the automotive industry, which offers �1,000 a year for up to four years.

Students usually spend a gap year working with the company, then are sponsored through their degree course, coming back for paid industrial experience during the summer vacations.

The minimum requirement is AAB grades at A-level in maths, physics and another subject.

Charities and trusts

There are also non-commercial sources of funding - though these are limited.

Organisations usually have specific criteria that they try to meet when awarding funds and generally support first-time students rather than postgraduates.

If a charity or trust does decide to help, funds may only come to �300 and may be for a particular purpose, such as purchasing tools or equipment.

Payments may also be made because the charity thinks the funds will make the difference between your staying the course or dropping out.