University students from London feel the most resilient following the pandemic and are among the least likely to consider dropping out of their courses, new research shows.
An overwhelming 85 per cent of students who come from London described their well-being as “good” or “okay” in a new study of student wellbeing published on Tuesday — the highest proportion of any region.
But the results of the annual UK Student Well-being Survey also reveal the cost-of-living crisis is hitting students hard, with more than two thirds of London students concerned about sacrificing study time to do paid work. The results show:
Nationally, four out of five students feel the cost-of-living crisis has affected their university experience, with three-quarters worried about not being able to afford a social life.
More than half of London students are concerned about getting an extra job to pay the bills, and being able to afford heating, food and rent.
But only one third of London students have considered dropping out of university — the lowest rate in the country. Londoners were also the most likely to say they felt motivated to study.
18 per cent of London students said they were “significantly more resilient” in dealing with future hardships following the pandemic — the highest rate in the country. Isabelle Bristow, managing director of Studiosity, which commissioned the research, said it was “encouraging to see students are typically more resilient as a result of the pandemic and banding together to support each other emotionally and academically”.
But she added: “Students are really feeling the crunch. To try to combat rising costs, students are picking up more paid work alongside their degrees which is reducing the time they have to study and socialise. As a result, students are in need of 24/7 access to additional feedback and support, whenever and wherever they want it, when they are now burdened with extra responsibilities.”
The report, published today, said: “Looking to the future, 2023 displays evidence that students are indeed enjoying their university experience more than in 2021 with most aspects returning back to ‘normality’ and most aspects hitting or exceeding expectations.”
The research comes as the Evening Standard’s Step Up Expo at Olympia is preparing to give expert advice and guidance to thousands of London teenagers about their sixth form, college, university, training, apprenticeship and career options at age 16 and 18.
It gives an insight into the future plans of today’s undergraduates. The report predicted that competition in the graduate market will be “harder than ever”.
Register for free tickets to StepUpExpo at stepupexpo.co.uk
