THREE QUARTERS of students at the University of Edinburgh are the children of graduates a survey by The Student has found.

The poll of 100 students from across all three colleges also showed that nearly 40 per cent of those with university-educated parents had at least one parent with a postgraduate degree.

86 per cent said their parents had reached some form of higher education.

According to Careers Scotland, graduates earn around twice as much as those without degrees.

Research by the London School of Economics for the Sutton Trust also found earlier this year that those with a postgraduate degree earn a further 15 to 23 per cent more over their lifetime than graduates with first degrees only.

These latest figures are in line with findings recently reported in The Student that Scottish Universities have the smallest proportion of students from low-income families in the UK and that just 18 per cent of those pursuing medical degrees come from lower socio-economic classes.

The results of the survey also follow fears expressed in The Guardian recently over the ‘gentrification’ of arts and humanities subjects due to concerns from poorer applicants over their employability.

Only around a quarter of those that responded from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences said they did not have a parent that went to university.

The University has operated a number of schemes in recent years to widen participation, including the successful Pathways to the Professions scheme, which has recently received funding for expansion.

Some of the respondents in The Student’s survey worried that the institution is not widening access as effectively as it should be. One respondent called the University of Edinburgh "a very middle class institution."

Whilst many respondents said their parents had encouraged them to go to university, an overwhelming majority did also say that they felt their parents had little to no impact on their decision to pursue their chosen degree.