Government reforms could make it tougher for teenagers in care to go to university, it has been suggested.
Around one in 10 youngsters leaving care go on to higher education, up from about one in 100 a decade ago.
But this could now stall due to public spending cuts and next year's tripling of university tuition fees, Professor Sonia Jackson warned.
Prof Jackson, of the Institute of Education, a leading authority on children in care, said: "Local authorities are having to implement drastic spending cuts and will struggle to offer care leavers as much financial and personal support as they have in recent years.
"Higher tuition fees will also be a deterrent because young people with no family to fall back on are very frightened of getting into debt, even though they won't have to make repayments until they are earning a decent salary."
Her comments come as a new report analysing the impact of a 2005 study called Going to University from Care, by Prof Jackson, was published.
The study highlighted the obstacles care leavers face when trying to gain a degree.
It contributed to changes in the system, such as a new bursary for those who have been in care and minor changes to the university admissions system to allow youngsters to identify themselves as care leavers.
The latest impact report concludes that while much has since been done, it would be "misleading" to say that all problems have been resolved.
"Many local authorities are now struggling to support care leavers through university because of increased funding pressures and the growing numbers of care leavers applying for higher education places," the impact report says.
