Applicant Index

As thousands of students across the UK receive their A Level results and many prepare for university life, new research reveals what today’s university applicants really want - and it’s not just academic success.

Unite Students' 2025 Applicant Index finds that 2025/26 starters are arriving at university ready to move away from home and find their independence as they balance studying, socialising and work.

This year’s university applicants are more confident about their job prospects after graduating than at any other time since the pandemic, according to new research.

Unite Students, the UK’s leading provider of student accommodation, is offering unique 24/7 wellbeing and mental health services to 70,000 students.

Almost one in three applicants (30%) will start university this September with a history of missing education due to their mental health, according to the Unite Students 2023 Applicant Index.