Many higher education students combine their study with a job on the side instead of taking up a loan. This paper examines the factors underlying this apparently myopic behaviour. We find that standard economic factors explain observed borrowing decisions to some extent. Students with easier access to financial resources borrow less often. Students with good earnings prospects and/or a high discount rate borrow more often, as do students who are prepared to take risks. An important non-standard factor affecting borrowing choices is debt aversion. We also find that a reduction in working hours will only have a limited positive impact on the time spend on studying. (Contains 3 tables and 7 footnotes.)