In a few years, those University of Otago students about to file into and fill, in no particular order, lecture theatres, common rooms, bars and cafés will exit with an average debt of about $20,000.
Three quarters of them will then take 15 years to repay their loans; only a quarter will have paid off their debt in full in less than four years; some, those whose earnings fall below the repayment threshold (this year it is $18,148), will never pay them off, their outstanding debt written off when they die.
Such figures, taken from Statistics New Zealand and the Ministry of Education, do not account for a global economic downturn likely to put further pressure on employment opportunities (and how can you pay off a loan if you have no job?), though it should be pointed out that the 2006 census showed employers paid a premium for completed qualifications and those with a degree were more likely to get a job.
Also, those who complete their studies are more likely to repay their loan than those who fail to gain a degree. Those statistics largely deal with life after university.
Let's take a look at the "during" phase, when the debt is racked and stacked, accrued like so many points in a degree, and see what can be done to minimise the damage.
Get a job ...
It's a tough world out there. According to Student Job Search Otago, the job market is worse for students this year than last, with a 20% decline in vacancies (as at January 2009) versus the same period last year.
Lorna McConnon, Student Job Search Otago marketing and communications manager, says the current economic downturn is causing a few headaches, both among staff and those looking for work.
"We are still getting a sense from employers that the economic situation remains uncertain at present. This means making key business decisions is difficult for employers. They don't even know what staffing they require in four weeks, let alone months.
"The majority of jobs that SJS places are in household, hospitality, retail/sales and office/professional sectors. We have noted a decline across all of these sectors. Retail and hospitality, in particular, appear to have been impacted by the uncertain economy."
Suzanne Te Au, a team leader at Student Job Search Otago, concurs: "It is difficult in this day and age."
Yet there are things students can do to improve their chances of finding work to help pay the bills: Check vacancy notices every day.
The Student Job Search website (www.sjs.co.nz) is updated regularly; new jobs come in - and go quickly.
Students also need to be able to collate a CV and cover letter (SJS staff can help in this regard); given it is an employer's market, interview techniques also need to be honed.
"We've found in the last year or so, we've really been trying to make students more attractive to employers and I think this is going to be highlighted this year because we have so many students and so few jobs.
"Employers have so much choice that students have to have sharp Cvs. If we see spelling errors, layout problems, grammar problems, we send it back; it's not good enough," Ms Te Au says.
Though work is an obvious way to minimise borrowing, too much work could affect studies, Ms Te Au warns.
"We don't want students to work more hours than they are able to. We can get an alert if a student is doing more than what we would call full-time. We get reports based on the jobs we believe those students have, and calculate what the total hours may be.
"It's as much about learning some time management skills and job responsibility. They are the things all of us need in our working career.
"By the time students graduate and go out to get a job, they can write an awesome cover letter and CV; they've got good communication skills because they might have got a good job or a not-so-great job.
"That's OK, too, because they'll know what a bad employer is; they'll understand team dynamics," Ms Te Au says.
So, it's not just about the money. The skills and experiences students gain from work will improve their chances of finding a job when they finally complete their studies.
Get some budgeting advice ...
Of the clients who enter the Moray Pl offices of the Dunedin Budget Advisory Service, only 10% are students. Yet the service is free.
Could those engaged in tertiary study be better at budgeting? "Absolutely," says Shirley Woodrow, the service's executive officer.
"We start off by doing a budget to see what their incomings and outgoings are. Where we go from there depends on what their outgoings are.
"If their expenditure is within their income, then everything is fine. If not, then we have to look at ways of reducing their expenditure."
The simple process of documenting income versus expenditure is an eye-opener for some, she says. It's an ongoing process, too.
An initial consultation will be followed up with regular (sometimes weekly) reassessments.
"The most common scenario is we'll see someone every payday for a while until we get everything sorted out. We try to get a full picture of what's going on."
The most common mistake students make is getting into debt beyond what they can afford.
A key contributor is credit contracts (formerly known as hire purchase agreements): committing to pay off something that is unaffordable.
"It's one of the biggest problems," Mrs Woodrow says. "Credit is just so easy to get now compared to what it was years ago. People are trying to keep up with what others have got [but] they can't even afford to make their first payments.
"I think students have to be realistic about their incomes. While they're students they can get away with not having new this and new that. If you absolutely need a student loan, go ahead and get it, but . . . you do have to pay it back."
Get some help ...
Having a tenancy dispute, an academic grievance, need some tuition or even a meal? The Otago University Students' Association Student Support Centre deals with a range of issues, all aimed at making the journey to graduation smoother.
And if the support centre's staff can't help, they will point people to agencies that can, says student advocate Tania Cumming.
For students suffering financial hardship, the centre offers a food bank service, without requiring proof of circumstances.
"We just believe them," Ms Cumming says. "We figure if someone is coming in to access our food bank they are probably in need of it and making someone go away to prove they are in need of help in a time of financial hardship would be quite tough."
Those in financial strife could also visit the university's student finance division, which offers budgeting advice, including an analysis of banking options, as well as a student assistance fund available to those experiencing temporary financial difficulties.
Be warned, however: the fund is managed on a case-by-case basis and has strict criteria.
"We are the very last resort and we advise students to explore and exhaust all other avenues before we will actually provide help," student finance division accountant John Thomas says.
"Generally, it will be food vouchers to free up cash for the student to meet a bill.
"We do have a service where we provide budgeting advice. It doesn't always end in us giving them some sort of assistance; it may just be suggesting they get a part-time job. There are a range of solutions.
"We refer them to Studylink [www.studylink.govt.nz] to make sure they get all their entitlements. Studylink also has emergency assistance."
Go to Summer School ...
Shorten the length of time you are at university by attending Summer School.
In 2001, the school's pilot year, 701 students pored over 23 papers; this year, more than 1800 students have chosen to study a range of 77 papers, testament to an attitude director Dr Claire Matthewson describes as "go-fast".
"The primary reason why students got to Summer School is to get though quicker. A high proportion of our students are doing two degrees. It's just a better way to manage their workload.
"Also, many students do Summer School to complete a degree. In the old days, if you had just one or two papers to do to finish your degree, you had to come back and finish a whole semester.
"Now, Summer School - at any of the universities - gives them the opportunity to knock a degree off and not have to come back and commit to a flat, travel back, do all that."
A student can fit in during six weeks what would normally take 13 weeks; they pay the same fees as a 13-week course (the university sets fees on the basis of the paper).
Some are even doing two courses at summer school, accruing 36 points in a month and a-half.
"It's full-on," Dr Matthewson says. "The kind of students we get are those who choose to come; they are highly motivated; they work really hard."
It should be noted that the humanities and commerce faculties dominate the Summer School curriculum; of 77 papers, only two are from health sciences.
"There aren't a lot of papers for those who are doing a set programme, like physiotherapy or dentistry, in which there is a prescribed set of papers.
"Some of them will come and do dance or philosophy papers, but they can't actually do papers that are included in their degrees."
Still, those who can maximise their study hours can enjoy more car parks, free library desks and smaller classes.
"You can get through without so much debt, doing two degrees and managing your workload," Dr Matthewson said.
Get a grip ...
At the risk of opening up all manner of philosophical debates, it might pay to know what your degree is worth before embarking on it.
The highest income earners (as per the 2006 census) are. -
1. medical practitioners (with an average annual salary of $98,300)
2. ICT managers ($87,700)
3. chief executives, general managers and legislators ($69,600)
4. advertising and sales managers ($69,300)
5. financial brokers/dealers and investment advisers ($69,200)
6. air and marine transport professionals ($67,300) and
7. education, health and welfare service managers ($64,700).
It's important to note these are average incomes in their fields; individuals could well earn more, or less, depending on experience.
As a comparison, the average annual salary in New Zealand is about $45,000.
According to a 2008 study by Education Counts into the impact of education on income, those with a tertiary qualification are likely to earn 30% more than those without any school qualification.
Also, a person with a bachelor's degree is likely to earn at least twice as much as someone with no school-level qualifications; and if you finish a degree you are likely to make 25% more than if you drop out. That last point is worth exploring a little further.
Consider this: if you take out a student loan but do not complete a degree, the debt remains.
In light of the aforementioned statistics regarding employment and earnings, such a scenario is worth committing to memory.
Dollars and sense
As at June 30, 2008, a total of 530,000 people had a student loan registered with IRD.
As at December 2007, 779,000 had used the student loan scheme, which was introduced in 1992.
In 2007, 173,766 students had loans, split roughly 60% male, 40% female.
The average amount borrowed in 2007 was $6747.
Of those borrowers, 54% were under the age of 30.
From 1994 to 2007, the number of people with bachelors degrees doubled, from 224,000 to 448,000.
For those attending university, the average leaving debt in 2007 was $20,180.
The number of students receiving an allowance in 2007 was 61,230.
The average income for those who left university in 2002 was $45,440 by 2007.
Those who left study after 2000 repay slightly more quickly than those who completed study in the late 1990s.
This is a consequence of fee-stabilisation policies since 2001; more generous repayment provisions; the introduction in 2000 of no interest while studying for full-time students and part-time students on low incomes; and recent high employment.
A 2005 Victoria University study found the presence and size of a student loan doesn't appear to affect the probability of a couple having a mortgage; and neither the presence nor the size of a student loan appears to reduce the number of children a couple has.
A 2006 study by researchers from Otago and Canterbury universities found that the presence of a student loan had "little observable effect" on the subjects' mental health or residence in New Zealand.
Sources: Statistics New Zealand, Education Counts, Career Services.