Lowdown on high pay

The projected starting salary of £22,000 for graduates is calculated by the Association of Graduate Recruiters on the basis of salaries paid by blue-chip employers, who recruit only a fraction of graduates. ("Graduate starting wage up 4.8%", February 11).

The NatWest survey, which found that the average starting salary in 2004 was up 7 per cent to £13,600, is much more representative.

Glen Crust
Founder, www.bestvalueHE.org.uk