Students, we are often told, are on the breadline. The tins of beans, lack of cash and drafty rooms are widely thought to be part of the experience that toughens them up, preparing them for the trials and tribulations that await in the outside world.
But yesterday's news that six volunteers were left in intensive care after a drug trial went horribly wrong is a reminder of just how desperate some young people are becoming in the drive to make hard cash.
This year's Unite study by Mori found that students owe an average of £10,000 by the time they leave university. Forty one per cent work part time, more than half say they are under more stress than before university and a quarter admit they are "seriously worried" about spiralling debt.
Although relatively few put themselves forward as drugs' guinea-pigs - it does happen. And in recent years students have also been found paying their way through college by appearing in porn films or gyrating round a poll in the local strip club.
Getting a taste of the "real world" - in terms of a part-time job - is widely seen as a good thing for students [although some would argue there is plenty of time for that after they put the books down].
But the grinding poverty which drives students - people who are trying to better themselves - to go to these extremes should make us all stop and think about the level of financial support on offer.
