13 BACK TO THEMES U NITE STUDENTS | APPLICANT INDEX REPORT | 2023 Unsurprisingly, there are differences between socio-economic groups in the Finance theme scores. Applicants from ABC1 groups have a combined theme score of 60, compared to 55 for C2DE groups. The biggest driver of this difference is having friends or family that can help financially. Applicants from less affluent households are going to university with less financial support than their peers, and this has a knock-on effect on their mental health: 44% of applicants from C2DE households say financial issues are affecting their mental health compared to 35% from ABC1 households. There are also differences in scores between genders, reflecting a lower level of general confidence among female students and applicants seen consistently in our previous polling. Female applicants score 58 on the Finance theme compared to 60 for male applicants. Female applicants score slightly lower on all of the items, but particularly on the belief that they will have enough money to cover their costs. Both Black and Asian applicants have a lower score (57) than White applicants (60) on this theme. For Black applicants the main difference is the impact on their mental health, whereas Asian applicants are less confident in their budgeting skills and less likely to feel that they will be able to reach out to family and friends for financial help. Care experienced applicants are more likely than average to believe that they will have enough money to cover their costs. However they are less confident in their budgeting skills and their mental health is much more affected by financial issues than the cohort as a whole. Estranged applicants’ mental health is similarly affected by financial issues, but in contrast to care experienced applicants, estranged applicants are much less likely to believe that they will have enough money, and are less likely to have friends or family who can help financially. This reflects the differences in formal support mechanisms for the two groups. LGBTQ+ applicants score lower across all the financial items, with a particularly strong impact on mental health among Trans students. The reasons for this are unclear, but it may be linked to lower wellbeing overall within this group. THEMATIC ANALYSIS - FINANCE