Social Younger applicants (age 17) are most positive about their relationships, being significantly more likely to have people to turn to and have good relationships with family and friends. This year’s applicants are less likely than in previous years to be anxious that they won’t fit in at university, although at 45% this still represents a significant minority. Anxiety around fitting in is noticeably higher among applicants with disabilities and LGBTQ+ applicants. Estranged applicants are significantly less likely to have someone to turn to in a crisis (40% disagree, compared to 12% among those who are not estranged). However, this is not the case for care experienced applicants, suggesting a heightened vulnerability among applicants who are estranged compared to those who are care experienced. *For this question, agreement indicates a negative response; the score for this question was reversed when calculating the index score On the whole, I have good relationships with family and friends 5% 13% 25% 54% I have people I can turn to in a crisis I get on well with other students at my school/college 6% 17% 27% 47% *I’m anxious that I won’t fit in at university 16% 18% 21% 24% Strongly disagree Moderately disagree Neutral Moderately agree Strongly agree Figure 6: Breakdown of responses to Social theme questions The Social score measures the strength of existing social relationships and social confidence in the context of going to university. Up 2 from 2024 66 Applicants are more positive regarding their social lives and relationships across all questions compared to last year, resulting in a two-point rise in the Index score for this theme. 3% 5% 8% 17% 24% 45% 3% 20% Figure 7: Agreement with “I’m anxious that I won’t fit in at university” by specific demographics Trans and non-binary applicants 71% Applicants with a mental health condition 68% Neurodivergent applicants 65% Applicants with physical or sensory disabilities 63% LGB+ applicants 63% Unite Students | Applicant Index Report 16 INTRODUCTION THEMATIC ANALYSIS SOCIAL METHODOLOGY TOPICAL ISSUES BACK TO THEMES