17 BACK TO THEMES U NITE STUDENTS | APPLICANT INDEX REPORT | 2023 score of 72 compared with 68 for males. LGB+ applicants score 73 overall and have a stronger than average desire to belong. Their higher Community score may reflect the opportunities to be more open about their sexuality at university, in line with the findings of the UCAS/Stonewall Next Steps report (2021). When it comes to choosing a university, however, applicants are influenced more by location than community. More than half of applicants (54%) rated location as the most important factor, compared to the academic community (36%) and the student community (10%). The university’s location comes with its own community context however, and 64% of all applicants want to be involved with the local community while at university. Additionally, about half (51%) of applicants would like to volunteer when at university. Black and Asian applicants are more likely to want to volunteer, as are care experienced applicants. I would like to do volunteering when I am at university I would like to be involved with the local community when I am at university Figure 5: Which of the following were most important to you when deciding where to go to university? The location (city, town or campus) The academic community The student community 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 0 100 80 50 20 90 60 30 70 40 10 Figure 6: Interest in volunteering and community involvement at university ■ Strong disagreement ■ Moderate disagreement ■ Neutral ■ Moderate agreement ■ Strong agreement 54% 36% 10% 16% 35% 30% 18% 46% 26% 8% 15% 1% 3% THEMATIC ANALYSIS - COMMUNITY