32 BACK TO THEMES U NITE STUDENTS | APPLICANT INDEX REPORT | 2023 Life skills We asked applicants about their confidence in completing tasks relevant to their life at university. Applicants are generally confident about household chores, but less confident about essential healthcare and life skills. While 84% are confident about cooking and 88% about cleaning, only 63% are confident about registering with a GP and 60% in dealing with a medical emergency. Female applicants are consistently a little more confident than male applicants about doing household tasks, which may reflect differences in upbringing. Only 64% are confident about managing conflict with housemates which suggests an opportunity to help develop these skills as part of the transition and settling in period for those moving into PBSA or shared housing. However almost three quarters (71%) are ready to be active bystanders, agreeing that they would be prepared to speak out if a friend said or did something inappropriate. A concerning finding is that 15% of applicants do not know where to go to access external support such as healthcare, and 20% of applicants do not feel confident registering with a GP. This is particularly the case for LGBTQ+ applicants; almost a third (31%) are not confident about registering with a GP, and this is an issue that would benefit from further research. Asian applicants tend to be less confident about cooking and laundry. They are much more likely (35%) to intend to live with parents or guardians while attending university compared to the average of 19%. Cooking a meal Washing your laundry Cleaning your living space Managing conflict with house mates Registering with a GP Helping a friend in distress Dealing with a medical emergency Speaking out when a friend says or does something inappropriate ■ Very confident Figure 22 : Breakdown of responses to confidence in completing key tasks 0% 100% 80% 50% 20% 90% 60% 30% 70% 40% 10% ■ Somewhat confident ■ Neither confident or unconfident ■ Somewhat unconfident ■ Very unconfident THEMATIC ANALYSIS - INDEPENDENCE