December 2024

As the UK's largest online student community, we witness daily the valuable exchange of support and advice among young people. Learning from their experiences guides us in providing meaningful support. These monthly sentiment digests share results from some of our recent on-site polls, along with the latest survey findings from TSR Insight.

In this month's edition:

• Making friends has been the biggest challenge for first-year undergraduates since starting uni
• Almost half of students polled are frustrated at the announced rise in tuition fees
• 59% of respondents said student debt and costs would be the main thing to put them off applying to university
• TSR Insight look at student perceptions of Clearing and of Higher Education

We asked first year UGs - what's been your biggest challenge of university so far?

Starting university is a whirlwind of new experiences, and a recent poll sheds light on what first-year students find most challenging:

Unsurprisingly, 'making new friends' (19.3%), highlights the social pressures of building new connections in a new environment. Following closely behind is 'adjusting to the workload' (17.5%), showing that the jump to university-level academics can be a taxing adjustment for many.

A significant 22% of respondents are grappling with regret—whether over their university choice (12.8%) or their course choice (9.9%). These figures suggest that earlier, more tailored support during the application process could help students feel more confident in these life-changing decisions.

11.1% of students report difficulty balancing academics and social life, which ties directly into the first and second top concerns 'making friends' and 'adjusting to the workload' further highlighting the challenges of balancing these priorities for first years.

It's notable that 'managing finances' (10.5%) reflects students tackling broader life skills as they adapt to university life, whilst there are lower concerns for 'feeling homesick' (6.4%) and 'navigating campus' (3.5%); indicating that students feel confident in their independence and adapt quickly to the new physical environment compared to social and academic hurdles.

How students feel about the announced increases in undergraduate tuition fees

These poll results which we ran immediately after the announcement, show a largely negative sentiment towards the announced increased to undergraduate tuition fees.

The largest group of respondents, 47.3%, expressed frustration and that fees are 'already too expensive'. 19.5% said they felt concerned about how they will afford the increases, meaning 1 in 5 respondents for this poll are worried about affordability after tuition fees rise.

A small fraction (4.4%) are selected 'I'm for it', while a further 14.2% expressed an understanding that the increases may be necessary. This suggests that while few people actively support the increases, a somewhat larger group is willing to accept or acknowledge the reasoning behind them.

Notably, 13.6% said that they are feeling indifferent, this group represents a sizable portion of the respondents, indicating that while the issue is significant for most, there are still a moderate number that aren't concerned either because they are either not particularly affected by the changes or simply do not have strong opinions on the matter.

We asked: What, if anything, might put you off going to uni?

When we asked our users what their main reason would be for not going to university, the results were clear.

More than half of the responses (59.6%) said that 'student debt and costs' would be the main reason they would be put off going to university. This is significant because of the recent announcement of tuition fee increases for undergraduate students in England.

'Fitting in socially' follows, with 13.1% of voters expressing concerns over fitting in, signifying the importance of social environment at university for prospective students. 11.93% say they are unsure what to study, indicating a need of better support for those who are overwhelmed by the vast course choices available to them.

6.1% selected 'moving away from home' further echoing that apprehension around fitting in and making friends in a new environment or associated costs that comes with living independently at university, however only 1.6% shared concerns around finding suitable accommodation. This is followed closely by those that said they'd prefer to do an apprenticeship (5.7%) over university, tapping into the audience that feels vocational learning is better suited to them. 

Finally, even fewer (1.2%) are worried they'd not get a place and a further 0.41% are put off by the application process or consider immediate employment as their most viable option. Overall, the results indicate that, while social and logistical concerns play a role, the primary deterrent to university is financial.

2025 entry respondents: Clearing perceptions

When asked about their perceptions of Clearing, 69% of 2025 entry respondents agreed or strongly agreed that Clearing was a good choice for people who wanted to change their options, and three fifths (60%) agreed that it was a good idea to start thinking about Clearing early.

However, there appears to be a lack of knowledge. At this early stage in Year 13 (October 2024), just one in five (20%) 2025 entry respondents agreed that they knew a lot about Clearing.

Perceptions of Higher Education

We asked respondents which of a list of statements about the value of higher education they agreed with. Positively, 96% of respondents agreed with at least one statement listed.

Almost two thirds of respondents (64%) agreed that higher education helped its students form connections and networks, and three fifths (60%) felt higher education supported its students’ personal growth.

Less than half of respondents (43%) felt that higher education was for people like them, and just 23% believed that higher education was accessible. Less than one in five (18%) believed that higher education offered value for money.

You can read more about respondents’ perceptions of Higher Education in our summary here.

That's all for December and indeed 2024! Please do let us know what other student insights you would like us to share by emailing hello@thestudentroom.com. We wish you all the best over the holiday season and look forward to what 2025 brings for students and the sector!

As the UK’s largest online student community, The Student Room is a friendly and welcoming space, where everyone is free to share their knowledge, find support and guidance, and to connect with a world of educational opportunities.

We help students connect with each other and with education experts, so they can make richly informed pathway decisions at each step of their academic journey.