A first degree, a postgraduate qualification, or even a doctorate - all should be keys to a safe and secure future. But don't be too complacent. A fair proportion of people sleeping rough have just the same bits of paper. And they are just the tip of the homeless iceberg.
Homelessness charity Crisis estimates there are some 400,000 "hidden homeless" - that's the population of Nottingham or Edinburgh - and that a substantial number of these have first degrees or better.
It believes one in six of the hidden homeless - people living in hostels, in bed and breakfasts, sofa-surfing with friends, on floors in friends' homes, or even in garden sheds as well as those sleeping rough or of "no fixed abode" - are graduates. In addition, at least half have some educational qualifications.
Its research suggests that of those who do have qualifications, almost half (48%) have GCSEs, one in six (16%) has A' levels, one in six has a degree (15%) and more than one in ten (13%) has a professional qualification.
"The research shows education is no protection against homelessness," says Shaks Ghosh, chief executive of Crisis. "Homelessness is often caused by personal crises against which qualifications can provide a poor defence."
So what happens in between the halls of residence and the hostels?
· In a minority of cases, academic pressures just become too much leading to alcohol, drugs, and depression.
· Arguments with parents. Many graduates go back to living "at home" but then find it has changed - their parents may have split up or they place pressures on the family such as having friends to stay. The survey found that 28% were thrown out by their parents or step parents, and almost one in five - 16%- were forced to flee because of physical or verbal abuse.
· Priced out of the market - some end up sleeping on floors because they cannot afford to pay. Banks won't lend because many have huge debts.
· Health reasons - mental and physical problems may mean they lose their place in a flat-share.
· Landlord action - people lose their home because the landlord wants to sell the property.
· Relationship break-up - the most frequent cause. A degree is no guarantee against bust up with a partner which results in homelessness.
"When a homeless person gets their life back on track, they are not the only ones to benefit. If we give homeless people a chance, they can make a rich contribution to society," said Shaks Ghosh.
Here are a couple of such stories
Pat
Pat wanted to study psychology from her early teens. "I needed to know what makes people tick," she says.
But Pat, from east London, left school without qualifications and worked for 12 years as a dental receptionist and then as a practice manager.
Pat came from a tough background - she had to work illegally while at school to help out. But she didn't leave the parental home until she was 25.
Dental work was "boring and a dead end" so she did an access course and achieved 5 As. In 1994, she signed up for a psychology degree at the University of East London.
"I had my own flat and although the academic work was a struggle as I had to have part time employment, I got my degree and signed up for a masters at East London," she says.
She had nearly completed the two year course when, one weekend while she was away at a psychology conference, her landlord sent an eviction notice.
"I was finishing my dissertation and I just couldn't cope. My home went and my world was turned upside down. The landlord even kept my deposit so I couldn't find anywhere else. The council wasn't interested, my family had moved away and I had no friends with spare space," she says.
Pat was on the streets. "I lost everything. And I thought I wouldn't survive. But I did - I slept in car parks, in and around churches. Eventually, I had a nervous breakdown and ended up in a hostel where I've been for the past two years. Although I had a second nervous breakdown, I managed to finish my dissertation and achieved a high pass.
"The homeless are not down and outs. I met a lot of graduates on the streets and we had lots of philosophical conversations - it's what keeps you going. A few were tipped over by studying but most were like me - a victim of landlords and debt."
Pat owes banks and others nearly �25,000 - making it harder to get a roof over her head. But through the Changing Lives initative supported by Barclays bank, Crisis gave her a laptop and a digital camera. Now she's studying photojournalism and hopes to make this her future.
"Now I feel back on track - I'm going to where I was going before this," she adds.
Sanjay
Sanjay has spent five years in bed and breakfasts. "They're awful places. They're a false hope because so much of the time you end up were you began - back on the streets. From the three B&Bs that I've been in, two people have committed suicide."
Sanjay graduated from Middlesex University with a degree in chemical engineering and was working for a large firm in Reading when he suffered a mental breakdown caused by a family bereavement. He lost his job and his home.
After nine months on the streets, he moved to a series of B&Bs. "I was just stuck there in a small room all day. There was nothing to do. No TV, no friends, nothing. There was a communal kitchen, bathroom and toilet but it was difficult to get on with the people there," he says.
He suffered from severe depression - made even worse because of constant thefts of his few possessions.
Sanjay was prescribed anti-depressants and sleeping tablets: "I felt so trapped in the B&B. It was worse because all my friends were miles away and I couldn't afford to visit."
Five years later, with help from Crisis, he now has a place in a supported flat and is working to find his way back into employment.
"The world is a very hard place, and if you stumble academic education is useless in helping you to regain your position," he says.
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