Students planning to live at home while at university reaches record high
UCAS has released its latest figures after speaking to students
A record number of UK 18-year-olds intended to live at home while at university this year, figures show, particularly if they were from poorer backgrounds.
In the latest data from UCAS, 89,510 18-year-olds (31%) who got a place at university for this autumn said they planned to live at home, a 6.9% jump from 83,705 (30%) last year.
It represents a sharp increase from the 22% of accepted university applicants who said they planned to live at home in 2016.
Eighteen-year-olds from poorer families are more likely to live at home - this year, more than half (52%) of 18-year-olds from the most deprived quintile in the Indices of Multiple Deprivation said they planned to live at home, compared with 12% of those in the most affluent quintile.
Scottish 18-year-olds were the most likely to say they intended to live at home - 46% (8,435) said this in 2025. At the other end, 21% (2,215) of Welsh 18-year-olds planned to live at home.
Disadvantage had the most impact in England though - among English 18-year-olds who were accepted into university, those from the most deprived backgrounds were 3.5 times more likely to live at home than those from the most affluent, compared with 1.7 times for Scottish 18-year-olds and 2.3 times for Welsh 18-year-olds.
In Northern Ireland, there was no difference in the proportion indicating they intended to live at home by background.
Ucas chief executive Jo Saxton said all young people should have the chance to make choices "based on ambition, not affordability".
"While staying at home can absolutely be the right choice for some, such as those with caring or family responsibilities, for others it may close doors and limit access to courses or the wider university experience," she said.
"The growing number of students living at home may be driven by rising costs of living and broader financial considerations. We need to remain alert to these challenges and more research is needed to fully understand the impact on student choice and progression, so we can ensure students have all the information available to them when making their decision."
Save the Student warned earlier this year students in the UK were facing a "never-ending cost-of-living crisis", with many facing shortfalls from their maintenance loans on their actual costs.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has announced the Government will reintroduce maintenance grants for students on certain courses deemed to support the industrial strategy.
The Ucas figures released on Wednesday also show international undergraduate students accepting a university place through Ucas has increased 6.8% this year to 74,660. Last year it had fallen 2.3% from 2023 to 69,905.
The growth in international students comes after the Government published plans for a levy that would see universities pay £925 per international student. Funds raised through the levy will go towards maintenance grants, Department for Education ministers have said.
The number of 18-year-olds in the UK who accepted a university or college place in 2025 grew 3.5% to hit a record high of 289,200.
There was a slight fall in UK mature students (21+) accepting a place in 2025 to 106,210 - a 3.3% drop from 2024.
Top universities saw the largest increase in place acceptances (up 7.4%) from 2024, while lower tariff universities saw a 2% fall in acceptances.
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