One in three of England’s university starters ‘may live at home’ this yea

"One in three students starting university this year may opt to live at home, according to new research that found rising costs and family needs are affecting the “Covid generation” of school-leavers.
Before the pandemic about 20% of first year undergraduates in England lived at home while studying, including older mature students. But a new survey of current sixth formers by University College London found that as many as 34% of 18-year-old school-leavers could stay at home if accepted by their first-choice university when exam results are published next week."
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/aug/10/one-in-three-of-englands-university-starters-may-live-at-home-this-year

"Rachel Hewitt, chief executive of MillionPlus group of universities, said: “With financial pressure hitting the most disadvantaged in society hardest it is no surprise that so many new students are planning to live at home while they study."
Thoughts?

Hi @Muttley79

I lived at home during my time at the University of Kent, from 2nd year onwards. I found living at university great in first year to make friends, however you can make friends many other ways - I was able to make more friends in later years both on my course and through joining societies. I think living at home is a really good way to save money as living at university can be so expensive, but some people may prefer to live on campus to more fully immerse themselves in the university experience/use other funding opportunities to help fund their accomodation.

Natalie
- University of Kent Student Rep

I think the concern is that studenst from lower-earning families may choose this option for convenience rather than the course being the right one. This will then impact future careers and hence widen the social divide.

Hey,

Yeah, I agree. To clarify further, I actually transferred to Kent from a different university at the start of second year in order to live at home and this was almost 5 years ago, I can imagine this is a much larger issue now. However, I do not think this is always a negative thing in regards to career prospects, whilst I'm lucky that Kent and my course did generally provide great career prospects, I think most employers are more interested in you having a degree/relevant experience rather than where it is from. Also, as I mentioned, I think living at home still provides a fulfilling university experience and ways to make friends too.

Natalie
- University of Kent Student Rep