Students are unrealistic when it comes to how much they will earn, how much they will own and how much they will be in debt, research has revealed.

According to the research conducted by MoneySense Panel, a significant majority of students believed they would be earning an average of £53,900 by the age of 35. The average salary for a 35 year old today is however, £23,893.

Furthermore, approximately 75 per cent of 12-19 year olds believed they would own a car by the age of 21, while 58 per cent believed they would have their own home by the time they were 25.

39 per cent of the 12-19 year olds who participated also believed that they would be in less than £10,000 debt after university.

Maxine Norris, head of NatWest MoneySense for Schools, said: "The MoneySense Panel results are encouraging in that young people's attitudes and behaviours towards money seem to be moving in the right direction.

"This will be the first time these young people live through an economic downturn which, although challenging for their parents, may encourage greater realism when it comes to their future financial expectations."

Yet, as those students continue to have unrealistic thoughts, graduates, on the other hand, have other plans.

Taxpayers to pay off student debt

According to statistics from the Student Loan Company, (SLC) a great number of EU students have not yet started to pay off their student loan.

Figures revealed that only 1580 out of the 2240 EU students who had been granted permission to study in the UK, have started to pay off their student loans.

As a result, the amount of outstanding debt from EU students is worth approximately £3.8 million.

Yet with EU legislations enabling EU citizens to study in any EU country, graduates may actually leave that country without paying off their debt. This could leave UK taxpayers saddled with excessive debts built up by foriegn students who no longer reside in this country .

And to make matters worse, tuition fees could be doubled, leaving more students taking out bigger loans and landing themselves in even deeper debt.

Tuition fees to double

According to a BBC survey, two thirds of Vice Chancellors are in favour of higher education fees being between £4,000 and £20,000.

With student debt already reaching an average of £26,000, the National Union of Students (NUS) is arguing against it.

Wes Streeting, president of the National Union of Students, said: “In the context of the current recession, it is extremely arrogant for university vice chancellors to be fantasizing about charging their students even higher fees and plunging them into over £32,000 of debt.”

Stephen Williams, Liberal Democrat universities spokesman said: “It is no surprise that many of the vice-chancellors involved with this research would like to see tuition fees more than doubled. The conclusions would be very different if students’ views were considered.

The Government must look at ways of easing the student debt burden instead of increasing it. It should publish its fee review before the next election, so all political parties can make their views known to the electorate.”