Record numbers of people have accepted university places through Clearing this year, according to official statistics.

Despite the race for a university place slowing, 1,355 more people have accepted places since Friday.

One day this week student Harry Peters* dropped by his local Sainsbury's in Edinburgh to get his evening meal. But unlike every other shopper that evening, Peters didn't go through the supermarket's front door. Instead he went round the back of the store and salvaged some packaged sandwiches, ready meals and other essential food items from a giant bin.

Peters is a freegan. The word freegan is a blend of "free" and "vegan". Devotees of freeganism seek to make a political statement by rescuing edible food and perfectly good household items from supermarket bins and skips respectively.

The number of people applying to UK universities and colleges is up 9.1% on the same point last year, according to new figures from the University and College Admissions Service (Ucas).

According to the snap shot taken on June 30, so far 540,108 people have applied to start full-time undergraduate courses this autumn compared with 494,842 at the same point last year.

In the age of top-up fees, choosing the right degree course is more important than ever. Courses that are perceived to offer a clear career path are seeing a significant rise in applications, while some traditional academic subjects are struggling.

As they open their A-level results and make their final choice of university, another decision looms almost as large for prospective students: where they are going to live, and how much it's going to cost them. A report just published reveals that students are not only spending more on accommodation than ever before, but also that rent prices play a crucial role in determining their choice of institution.

Students are borrowing record amounts to pay for their studies, new government figures published today reveal.

The total amount loaned to university students rose by 32.2% last year to nearly £4bn.

Most of the money loaned to students in higher education during 2007-08 was used to cover living expenses, a total of £2,835.5m, up 10.4% on 2006-07.

Heard the one about the student who gets so drunk that he swallows his door key? Or about the undergraduate so pissed that he breaks into a stranger's home thinking it's his friend's? You have? What about the one about the student who doesn't drink at all? Thought not.

Universities and colleges in the UK are putting up fees for international students faster than inflation, charging up to £650 more this year, according to new figures compiled for EducationGuardian.co.uk.

Universities charge international postgraduates in arts subjects £9,858 on average in 2008 - an inflation-busting rise of a rise of 5.2% on last year's £9,373. In science subjects, the fee rise is 6.2% or £11,245 in 2008, compared with £10,591 in 2007.

Thousands of lecturers are set to walk out on strike if a dispute over pay isn't resolved.

The strike threatens to cancel with large majorities of those who responded saying that they would be in favour of strike action. More still voted for 'action short of a strike', which could include boycotting assessments and examinations.

Government plans to clamp down on "studentification" of university towns could damage housing supply and deprive students of the chance to go to university, the British Property Federation (BPF) warned today.

The review of houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs) announced yesterday by ministers would introduce measures would make it harder to rent family homes to students.