We don’t guess what students think. We ask them.
Original structured research, ongoing first-party audience polling and transparent student insight from Unifresher. Built to make the student voice useful to students, journalists, researchers, universities and organisations trying to understand student life.
The State of Student Life 2026
The Student Experience Survey brings 15 questions into one research report so money, housing, wellbeing, work, careers and university choice can be understood together.
What 500 UK student respondents told us
The strongest picture comes from the findings together: financial pressure, widespread housing problems, mixed confidence about university value and a student experience that stretches well beyond the lecture hall.
Read the full study →Deep research and an ongoing student pulse
Structured surveys and quick audience polls answer different questions, so Unifresher keeps them clearly separated.
Original Unifresher surveys
Planned questionnaires with defined samples, fieldwork, question-level evidence, open-text analysis and deeper cross-question interpretation.
Explore the survey research →Ongoing student polls
Quick questions put directly to the Unifresher audience, published with exact response totals, collection dates and clear indicative-evidence labels.
Browse all 24 polls →What the Unifresher audience is telling us right now
The newest first-party poll results, with the response base and collection date kept close to the finding.
- 77 responses · 12 Oct 2026
41.6% say they are very likely to stay in their university city after graduating
More than two thirds said they would very likely or probably stay.
View full result → - 45 responses · 9 Oct 2026
55.6% say going out to celebrate being back is the first thing they spend money on
More than half put a night out ahead of rent, bills and the weekly shop.
View full result → - 43 responses · 7 Oct 2026
32.6% say they were a bit dreading starting or returning to university
Answers were closely split between dread, nervous readiness and excitement.
View full result →
Evidence across the student journey
Current research covers the questions students face before, during and after university.
Money and affordability
Financial worries, tuition value, part-time work and affordability.
Accommodation
Housing problems, value, housemates, Wi-Fi, property condition, landlords and contracts.
Student life and wellbeing
Balance, loneliness, mental health support and pressure to fit in.
Jobs and careers
Part-time employment and confidence about securing graduate work.
Choosing university
Location, rankings, teaching, cost, social life and graduate prospects.
AI and student attitudes
Academic integrity, AI use and reporting behaviour.
The evidence should be easy to check
Question wording, sample bases, evidence labels, methodology decisions and limitations stay visible so readers can see what each figure can reasonably support.