Fewer students borrowed from the student loan scheme last year but they borrowed more, and more of them received student allowances.
Statistics New Zealand says 207,312 students borrowed from the student loan scheme last year, 5160 fewer than the year before.
They borrowed an average of $7630 from the loan scheme.
Though there were fewer students, a greater proportion - 48% - used the scheme and the average amount borrowed was 4.5% higher than in 2010.
More than 97,000 students received an allowance last year, 3.6% more than in 2010. That represented nearly 23% of all tertiary students.
