Queen's University in Belfast says the amount of debt built up by undergraduate students could be almost £100m (€113.7m).
'The level of undergraduate student debt has been neglected and under reported and is a time bomb that is about to explode,' according to the Money Management Adviser at Queen's Students' Union.
Debbie Forsey says students are often reluctant to face up to their financial difficulties.
In the past few months, she says she has advised over 50 undergraduates with an average debt of £7,000.
If that is extrapolated across the 14,000 undergraduates at Queen's, it amounts to a total debt approaching £100m.
To assist students and address the problem, the Students' Union there has established a programme aimed at improving the capability of sixth form pupils in making the transition to university.
