Teenage girls are more realistic than boys about potential student hardship when they fly the nest to go to university, a study has suggested.
The research from Friends Life found girls are less optimistic about how they will afford undergraduate life and clear their debts.
The UK-wide study of 16 - to 19-year-olds found 54% of girls believed they would not be able to afford university, compared with 38% of boys.
Nearly two thirds of girls (64%) intend to work during term time and holidays after starting their degree, while fewer than half of boys (46%) have the same plan.
The research, which comes amid calls for compulsory financial education in schools, found a greater proportion of female students expect to take unpaid work experience to clinch their dream job - 66% compared with 57% of young men.
Rob Barnett of Friends Life said:"Young women expect to earn less and pay more. This might be because they mature quicker than young men and give serious issues like finance greater thought in their late teens. Whatever the reason, it is very likely that some financial education at school would even out this difference.
"Our research shows that both young men and women have unrealistic expectations about salary so it is important they start thinking carefully about their financial future.
"These are issues parents are facing too, as graduates may be dependent on their parents for longer after graduating due to the current economic situation."
In terms of student debt, boys expect to spend a decade paying off loans and overdrafts, while girls believe it will take two years longer - 12 years.
Teenagers generally appear over-optimistic about the amount they will earn in their first graduate jobs, with girls expecting around £23,000 and boys hoping for £24,500. This compares with an actual average of only £20,000 for the 67% of students who find full-time employment within a year, Friends Life said.