29.8% selected “May, exam season”. 25.5% selected “March, end of spring term”; 23.4% selected “October, setting everything up”; and 21.3% selected “January, after Christmas”.
How all 47 respondents answered
Respondents selected one answer from four options.
Percentages are based on the published response counts. Where whole-number percentages are shown, totals may differ slightly from 100% because of rounding.
There is no single money crunch, but late spring edges it
May is the top answer, just
29.8% chose May, during exam season, the largest group in this poll.
The second half of the year is tougher
55.3% (26 of 47) chose either March or May.
Every month gets a big share
Each of the four options was chosen by at least 21.3% of respondents, so money pressure is spread across the year.
Money pressure doesn’t only hit at the start of term
Student finance support is often concentrated on the start of the year, when students are setting up, but this poll suggests the hardest moments are spread across the calendar.
With May and March together making up more than half of answers, the later part of the year, when loan instalments may be running low and exams limit time for paid work, could be a useful focus for budgeting advice and hardship support.
How to report this poll accurately
Keep the response base and indicative audience label attached to the headline finding.
How this poll was recorded
- Question
- Which month of the academic year do you find hardest financially?
- Responses
- 47 total responses
- Date recorded
- 30 September 2026
- Collection
- Unifresher audience poll
- Evidence label
- Indicative first-party Unifresher audience poll
This is an audience poll rather than a population survey. It is useful as a snapshot of the respondents who took part and should not be described as representative of every UK university student.
Questions readers ask next
What was the most common answer?
29.8% selected “May, exam season”, making it the largest answer in this poll.
How many respondents chose the top answer?
14 of 47 respondents selected “May, exam season”.
What was the second most selected answer?
25.5% selected “March, end of spring term”, equal to 12 responses.
Is this representative of all UK students?
No. This is an indicative Unifresher audience poll with 47 responses, not a nationally representative student survey.
How should this result be reported?
Keep the 47-response base, collection date and indicative-audience label attached to the finding.
Explore more student attitudes
Cite this poll
Unifresher poll, “Which month of the academic year do you find hardest financially?”, 47 responses, recorded 30 September 2026. Unifresher Data Hub.
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