One-third of students expect their spending money will be gone by Christmas, a survey has found.

Half of Canadian post-secondary students expect their money will run out before the end of the coming school year, according to a new survey on student finances.

An Ipsos Reid poll commissioned by RBC also found that about one-third of respondents were worried that their spending money would be gone by Christmas.

So it was not surprising that two-thirds of students returning to campus said they were planning to be more cautious in their spending.

Almost four in five respondents were planning to work part-time while attending college or university. Almost half said they needed to work to pay the bills.

"Working to make ends meet is an additional challenge for students, with at least three-quarters concerned that working will affect their grades and two-thirds believing that worrying about money will have a negative impact on their studies," said Kavita Joshi, director of student banking at RBC.

The survey is the latest sign that students will likely face a tight year for finances. The July unemployment figures revealed that the jobless rate for students climbed to 20.9 per cent last month — a record high.

Student leaders have called on governments to boost financial aid and reduce tuition fees, which now average almost $5,000 a year for university undergraduates and are poised to rise further in at least six provinces come September.

Two online scholarship search services — Studentawards.com and ScholarshipsCanada.com — say they've noticed 10 to 15 per cent jumps in registrations and web traffic as students scramble for other funding sources for their education.

The Canadian Federation of Students says the average student debt load at graduation is $25,000.

The Ipsos Reid survey of 1,200 students was carried out online between June 9 and June 17. The results are considered accurate to within 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

With files from The Canadian Press