Clare-Marie White, a history finalist at University College London, says �10,000 is nothing...

The last loan instalment of my degree has just arrived, putting my debt to the Student Loan Company at roughly �15,000.

I also have a �1,400 bank overdraft and a �250 credit card debt.

I was able to take out the biggest amount of the means-tested loan and did not pay fees, so according to the government I had enough to live in London without help from my parents - not true.

Last year I paid �92 a week for a poky room in an unsanitary apartment block 40 minutes away from UCL.

Work 'experience'

The rent on its own was more than the loan and I had to work for everything else.

Working as an office temp meant that I did not have the time to get work experience placements in the media, which is the career I want to take after university.

Although I was able to fit everything in and get work experience, it was a struggle.

I fitted work experience around exams and coursework deadlines and it often meant I did not get much of a break.

Dropped out

I have had friends from low-income families who have dropped out of university when the money has run out because they simply had nowhere to turn to.

I also have friends whose parents are on the threshold for fees but cannot afford them, so they can end up with about �2,000 a year to survive on.

And yet, apart from the overly-relaxed attitude towards credit cards that I have developed, I have no regrets taking on this debt.

It will be worth it in the long run.