5 things you should know about international applicants

International students make up 26% of the UK’s student population and add £37 billion to its economy. Here’s what 2024’s Applicant Index report tells us about international applicants and how they differ from applicants from the UK.

Our Applicant Index is the only annual research into the attitudes and confidence levels of undergraduates applying to study at UK universities. It provides a snapshot of each cohort’s specific needs, as well as tracking how these change over time, allowing universities and accommodation providers to adapt their offer over time.

2024’s survey was the first to include a representative sample of international applicants, and the findings were sometimes stark in comparison to those of applicants from the UK. Read on for some of our key takeaways…

1. Chinese applicants are more likely to apply for university to meet family expectations

A new question for this year’s Applicant Index, and one which was last asked in a standalone applicant survey in 2019, was about applicants’ motivations for applying to university.

One fifth of the UK’s international students are from China, and they’ve been an important market for universities over the past decade – so it’s useful to understand what is motivating them to apply to university. We found that 28% of Chinese applicants were motivated by their family expecting them to go to university, compared to just 15% across all applicants.

Bernadette Cochonat, our Head of International Sales and Partnerships and an expert on Chinese culture, explained why in a podcast episode on international students’ mental health last year. “The students who are coming to the UK [from China] were born during the one-child policy,” she said. “They’re facing huge family pressure, because their parents and grandparents saved a lot of money and sending them abroad to study is like a family investment.”

Perhaps as a result of this family expectation, ethnically Chinese applicants were far more likely to expect that they would take up their university place compared to other demographics.

2. Though they anticipate a culture shock at university, international applicants expect to feel welcome when they arrive

Perhaps unsurprisingly, a majority (57%) of international applicants anticipate feeling a sense of culture shock when they arrive at their UK university – although care-experienced applicants are most likely to feel this way (63%).

But this isn’t associated with expecting to feel unwelcome on campus. In fact, international applicants are more likely to feel that they will belong at university than UK applicants, and almost three-quarters think they will feel welcome at university. This is borne out by the findings across the whole applicant population: an overwhelming majority (81%) look forward to making friends from different backgrounds.

3. International applicants are more likely to worry about keeping up academically

More than half (55%) of international applicants think they’ll struggle to keep up with others on their course – and this is as high as 62% of Chinese applicants. Asian applicants are also less confident than others that they will complete their course.

Perhaps linked to these anxieties, international applicants – particularly those from China – are also much less interested in the social side of university; the increased representation of international applicants has had an impact on the overall score for this question compared to previous years. Data from the Global Student Living Index complements our data, suggesting that more than half of Chinese students live alone in a studio apartment.

But this can have a negative impact on them overall. “Chinese students just want to focus on their academic work. They don’t tend to engage very much with social activities and as a consequence, they quickly have the feeling that they don’t fit in and that they can’t make friends,” explained Bernadette on our podcast about international students’ mental health.

4. They’re more confident in their finances overall – but it’s still a source of worry

International students are often characterised as being wealthy. Their tuition fees are much higher than UK students’ fees, and they’re a key target market for luxury student accommodation. So Applicant Index readers may not have been surprised to see that international applicants are much more confident in their funds, family support and budgeting skills than UK applicants.

But while they’re less likely to worry about living costs, those elevated tuition fees are a source of anxiety, with just under a quarter (23%) of international students saying they’re concerned about tuition fees – and 24% are concerned about all costs.

They’re also far more likely to say that financial issues affect their mental health, with 47% of international applicants agreeing with this compared to 38% of UK applicants.

5. But their wellbeing is higher overall than UK applicants’ wellbeing

Despite concerns about finance and whether they can keep up academically, international applicants reported higher levels of wellbeing than UK applicants. They had higher scores for life satisfaction, happiness and feeling the things they do are worthwhile, and lower scores for anxiety.

They’re also more confident in their employment skills and significantly more focused on their goals and meeting deadlines than UK applicants – though less likely to try again after failing the first time.

Download the 2024 Applicant Index from our website, and listen to our podcast episode on international students’ mental health here: