8 UNITE STUDENTS | APPLICANT INDEX SURVEY | 2022 THEMATIC ANALYSIS BACK T O T H EMES *For this question, agreement indicates a negative response; the score for this question was reversed when calculating the index score. This cohort has a strong drive towards community, wanting not only a sense of belonging but also to join a diverse community in which they can make friends from different backgrounds. The majority of applicants (80%) agreed that they would like to feel that they belong at university with the majority of them indicating the strongest level of agreement. However, over a quarter (27%) say they have little interest in the social side of university, and this is more common among students over the age of 21 and those who were privately educated. The majority of students want to be an active part of the student community, and this is stronger among those who are planning to live in university or private halls. The vast majority (83%) are looking forward to making friends from different backgrounds (Figure 3), but we were also interested to know if they felt confident in doing so. In response to a supplementary question (Figure 4) we found that only two thirds (66%) are confident about talking to those from different backgrounds to their own. This suggests both a need and an appetite for support in this area during the transition and induction to university. I look forward to making friends from different backgrounds *I have little interest in the social side of university I want to be an active part of the student community while I’m at university I would like to feel that I belong when I’m at university COMMUNITY 70 The Community score measures the orientation of the cohort towards being part of a student community, and the importance they place on this. 0 100 80 50 20 90 60 30 70 40 10 Figure 4 : Response to supplementary question “I feel confident when talking to people from different backgrounds than my own”. 0 100 50 0 ■ Strong disagreement ■ Moderate disagreement ■ Neutral ■ Moderate agreement ■ Strong agreement Figure 3 : Breakdown of responses to community theme questions