A new study has found rural and regional students are more likely to defer attending university and face more financial constraints than their city counterparts.

The Deferring a University Offer in Regional Victoria report found nearly 40 per cent of students were experiencing financial barriers.

The report also found more than 80 per cent of non-metropolitan students deferring from university study are from lower socio-economic backgrounds and that rural and regional students are deferring at more than two and a half times the rate of their metropolitan counterparts.

The Gippsland east region has 21 per cent of students attending university, compared to the total average of 68.7 per cent.

For more, read Friday's Gippsland Times.