36 UNITE STUDENTS | APPLICANT INDEX REPORT | 2023 METHODOLOGY Unless otherwise stated, all data in this report is from a survey administered via the Savanta Panel between 5th May – 19th May 2023 with 2,141 respondents who were planning to start university in the 2023/24 academic year. The sample has been constructed and weighted to be broadly representative of the applicant population as a whole. The margin of error is approximately +/-2.1%. Reported demographic differences in the data are significant to the 99% confidence level unless otherwise stated. As far as possible, survey numbers and quotas aimed to replicate those achieved in the 2022 Unite Students Applicant survey . A known limitation of the survey sample is that it under- indexes international applicants. Within this group there is a very low percentage of Chinese students, meaning that it is not representative of the UK’s population of international students. Because of this limitation, care should be taken in interpreting differences between Home status and International status applicants in the data, and there are few references to them in the report. Male - Fee paying school or college 4.80% Male – State or Other 39.40% Female – Fee paying school or college 4.80% Female – State or Other 51.00% The sample also under-indexes mature applicants, and does not include applicants to part time courses. The index provides a cohort score out of 100 for each of nine different themes. The scores for eight of these themes are based on responses to 28 different statements, four in each theme, on a seven-point scale of agreement. From this, an average score from 0-6 is calculated for the whole population and sub-populations, and each item is weighted equally within the theme score to provide a maximum score of 100 and a minimum of 0 for each theme. For the Wellbeing theme, we have also included the ONS wellbeing questions which represent 40% of the theme’s overall score, with four seven-point scale items contributing the remaining 60%. A high index score is indicative of a positive response in relation to each of the themes, however it should be remembered that there are many valid reasons why an individual applicant may give a low score in one or more themes. They may not have had opportunities to develop key skills, or may have faced challenging circumstances. A demographic breakdown of the scores highlights groups that may require targeted support, and in some cases only a systemic change will produce equality of outcomes. Further questions have been included in the survey to address topical issues within the sector. These are discussed in relation to a relevant theme, or in a separate section. The majority of the questions in the survey are items to which respondents indicate their level of agreement on either a seven-point or five-point scale, from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”. For the purposes of discussion we have used the following interpretation when reporting the result: The sample was weighted and split by Gender and School Type (state or private). The following weighting matrix was used: Five point scale Seven point scale 1 Strongly disagree 2 Disagree 3 Neutral (neither agree nor disagree) 4 Agree 5 Strongly agree 0-1 Strongly disagree 2 Moderately disagree 3 Neutral (neither agree nor disagree) 4 Moderately agree 5-6 Strongly agree