Student loans: pay off early or let them run their course?

(UK) This year's freshers will be the first students to pay up to £9,000 a year in tuition fees under new funding arrangements for English universities.
Students don't have to pay these fees upfront, but will be given loans to cover the costs, alongside maintenance loans – of up to £5,500 a year – to pay accommodation and living expenses.
Many parents might shudder at the thought of their child graduating with debts of £43,000 alongside their degree, and may be looking at ways to offset these costs now.
But most financial experts are cautioning parents against paying tuition fees upfront, pointing out that the cost of doing so could exceed the likely repayments.
For students starting a degree course this autumn, the cap on tuition fees has risen from £3,375 a year to up to £9,000 a year. Universities have discretion to set their own course fees, but more than two thirds of institutions will charge the full amount on the majority of their courses – giving an "average" tuition fee of £8,300 a year.

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