19 BACK TO THEMES U NITE STUDENTS | APPLICANT INDEX REPORT | 2023 Figure 8: ONS wellbeing measures for university applicants 2019 - 2023 ■ ONS 16-18 Q4 2022 ■ ONS 22-24 Q4 2022 ■ 2019 ■ 2021 ■ 2022 ■ 2023 Black students have a higher overall wellbeing score (65) than any other ethnic group, driven by a higher level of happiness on the ONS standard question, higher feeling of being loved and a stronger belief that they are capable of making decisions. This may be due to supportive family and/or community, and is particularly relevant to the Living Black at University research and the ongoing work of the Commission . For Black students moving away to university, the impact of any racism or exclusion they experience at university may be stronger still when compared to this positive home environment. Applicants from C2DE socioeconomic groups have a lower wellbeing score (61) compared to those from ABC1 households (64). Applicants from the less affluent households are less likely to feel loved, and score lower against all the ONS wellbeing indicators. This graph also shows the scores for the entire 16-19 and 20-24 age categories in the national ONS wellbeing measures taken in the last quarter of 2022 (the most up to date available measures). As we have seen consistently in the past, students and applicants tend to score more negatively than the wider population in these age brackets. 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Life satisfaction Life worthwhile Happiness Low anxiety THEMATIC ANALYSIS - WELLBEING