Learning *For this question, agreement indicates a negative response; the score for this question was reversed when calculating the index score My chosen course is a good fit for me *I think I will struggle to keep up with other students on my course I am sure I will complete my course I’m confident I can learn the knowledge and skills needed for my course Strongly disagree Moderately disagree Neutral Moderately agree Strongly agree Figure 19: Breakdown of responses to Learning theme questions The Learning score measures academic confidence among the cohort, combined with the level of comfort with course choice. 71 Learning confidence has risen this year, following a downturn last year. Based on qualitative data, last year’s applicants were strongly affected by the COVID pandemic at a critical point in their education. The impact on this year’s applicants may have been milder due to lockdowns taking place at an earlier stage of their education. For example, for the majority of this year’s school or college leavers in England, GCSE or equivalent courses will not have been disrupted by lockdown. 8% 13% 22% 4% 60% However, academic confidence can be affected by socioeconomic background. UK applicants from socioeconomic group A are most likely to strongly agree that they are confident they can learn the knowledge and skills needed for their course (36%) when compared to the average of all other groups (23%). International applicants have higher learning confidence in general compared to UK applicants, which is likely linked to the characteristics of applicants who choose to study overseas. Care experienced applicants are more likely to think they will struggle to keep up with others on their course (59% compared to 39%). Applicants with disabilities are also more likely to think they will struggle to keep up, and trans and non-binary applicants are at the highest risk (65%). These groups also express lower confidence in the other questions within this theme. 19% 19% 20% 21% 21% 4% 11% 19% 1% 65% 5% 11% 25% 2% 57% Up 2 from 2024 Unite Students | Applicant Index Report 26 INTRODUCTION THEMATIC ANALYSIS LEARNING METHODOLOGY TOPICAL ISSUES BACK TO THEMES