But having been through it three times as a parent myself – with varied outcomes, to say the least – I can advise that even if you have an academic genius in your midst, the angst has only just begun, as you still have to find accommodation.

This week a study was published by University College London suggesting that a third of UK students will opt for living at home in 2023, compared with just a fifth, pre-pandemic, due to accommodation costs. This just seems like yet another blow for youngsters eager for their first steps as an independent adult.

While a few years ago you could make an application to your university of choice for a room in halls for the initial year and leave it at that, nowadays there seem to be no certainties that an offer of a place will actually come with a place to stay.

The problems are found all over the UK, but some university towns are worse affected than others.

A friend’s son took on a last-minute place at Bristol two years ago – a city notoriously unprepared for the number of its university alumni. His “shared room in halls” turned out to be a camp bed in a small bedroom already occupied by an understandably disgruntled fellow-student.

With no storage space and no warm welcome, the young man lasted until Christmas before returning home, having decided a life of academia was not for him.

In Scotland, the accommodation provision – and the cost – varies widely and seems to have little to do with the quality of the institution.

Comparing the rental of a typical single room in a shared flat in halls at the largest universities reveals such a divergence that sensible students and their parents might well think of switching courses to get a more affordable degree.

The largely Inverness-based University of the Highland and Islands, for instance, has rooms available for a reasonable £112 a week. Aberdeen has an average weekly rate of £135, while Dundee, Stirling and Glasgow all come in at just over £150.

Meanwhile St Andrews and Edinburgh vie for the top spot, with students expected to pay around the £200 mark for accommodation every week – and that is if they are lucky enough to win a place in halls. A bunk in one of the private blocks that have been springing up all over our university cities may well set them back a lot more.

Nor does the problem go away after the first year. In Glasgow, for instance, such are the shortages of the large shared flats favoured by second year students on, that queues form round the block at every viewing. Anxious parents must also be ready with bank statements, guarantor forms, and sometimes six months rent in advance to be in with even a hope of getting their young scholar a room.

No wonder parents in a position to do so can be tempted to buy instead, but it all depends on that results envelope to see if the sums add up.

While a flat in Edinburgh would set you back an average of £300K, a similar set up in Dundee or Stirling can cost less than half that. Over the course of a four-year degree, buying might well be cheaper than renting – with not a camp bed in sight.

- Kirsty McLuckie is property editor at The Scotsman

Kirsty McLuckie: Securing a space for a first-time student