Title: Why do UG students choose Lancaster? Acceptors
1Why do UG students choose Lancaster?Acceptors
Decliners Survey Results 2015
- Emily Hargreaves, Market Research Officer
- August 2015
2What we did
- Revised survey going out to acceptors and
decliners covering - Applying to university
- Perceptions of Lancaster University
- Reasons for accepting / declining Lancasters
offer - Communications
- Finance
- Survey was live from January 2015 until July 2015
- Sent to all UG acceptors and decliners at point
of decision
3Who did we consult?
- 1,659 acceptors and 1,363 decliners, including
- 330 Unconditional offer holders
- 816 applicants from FASS, 202 from FHM, 1,211
from FST and 793 from LUMS - 2,200 UK applicants, 375 EU applicants and 447
International applicants.
4Where else are our applicants applying?
5Theyre not just considering the UK
- 38 of EU applicants and 32 of International
applicants applied to universities outside of the
UK - USA, Hong Kong, Netherlands, France, Canada and
Spain were the most common countries - Just 1 of our UK applicants applied to
universities abroad - Over three quarters (78) of those who had
applied to university in other countries intend
to study in the UK
6Which UK universities are our applicants also
applying to?
- Northern Russell Group Institutions are our
competition for UK students
- Whilst EU and international students are also
considering universities further afield
7Where does Lancaster feature in their choices?
- Over a third (35) of applicants said Lancaster
was their first choice when applying to
university - Very few (7) placed Lancaster at the bottom of
their choices - It is essential to make a good impression on
prospective students pre-application as there is
little change in their preferred institutions
between applying and accepting
8Choosing a university
9We know university choice is difficult to explain
I decided to go to universities that I felt
clicked with me a bit better.
I preferred the atmosphere at XXXX.
This university is where I would like to spend
the next few years of my life!
It is my dream university.
I felt that Id fit in well here.
I preferred a different university.
10Reasons for accepting UK
- Course content and university reputation are the
biggest hooks for UK students
11Reasons for accepting EU Intl
- University reputation was the biggest influencing
factor for EU and International students
12Reasons for accepting in full
13Reasons for declining
- The location of the university and the level of
offer were the most common reasons for declining
for all groups - Time taken to receive an offer and contact with
the university were of minimal importance in the
decision to decline
14Reasons for declining in full
These options were not included in the response
list, but were the most commonly stated other
responses
15Location of Lancaster University
Decliners
Acceptors
- The location of the uni is as much of a positive
for acceptors as a negative for decliners
16Level of offer
- Level of offer was a common factor in decliners
decisions to turn down their offer - However, comparing data across different groups
suggests our offers are well balanced
17How will they pay for their studies?
- My own money / savings
- Student loan
- Money from parents / family / friends
18How does our financial package compare?
- Broader cost implications of studying are a major
factor especially for Intl applicants - Our tuition fees are comparable to other unis for
UK applicants - Greater variation for Intl applicants, but still
broadly similar - However, they are less competitive when
applicants compare us to institutions abroad - 25 of applicants applying outside the UK think
they are much or slightly higher, compared with
7 only applying to UK institutions
19What do they think of Lancaster?
20We are friendly, modern and welcoming
21We are a quality, reputable institution on the
rise
22But they dont know quite how good we are!
University CUG Ranking Average Ranking
Durham 5 5
Warwick 7 7
Lancaster 9 14
Exeter 10 14
York 17 14
Leeds 19 16
Manchester 28 17
Liverpool 39 26
23Five Great Reasons are starting to embed
- A collegiate university 56
- A UK top 10 University 49
- Top for student satisfaction 47
- Great for employability 42
- A global university 35
24Engaging with applicants
25Communications
- Speed of response to applications is comparable
with other institutions - 40 said our offer was among the first they
received, 45 said it was somewhere in the middle - 83 of applicants were happy with how often we
emailed them - This falls to 74 for international students, who
would prefer more frequent contact - However, there is room for improvement in the
content of our emails - 17 said the emails were very interesting, 65
fairly interesting
26iLancaster
- Usage of iLancaster is slightly higher among UK
applicants - 17 use it a lot, compared to 10 EU and 13
Intl - However, EU and Intl applicants found the app
more helpful in deciding whether Lancaster was
for them - 46 of EU and Intl strongly agreed / tended to
agree with this compared to 39 of UK applicants - The information about the University was better
received than course information - 41 strongly agreed that the app gave them the
information they wanted about the university,
compared to 24 in relation to information about
their course
27Conclusions Recommendations
28Things to think about
- Lots of changes in the past 12-18 months expect
to see the impact in 2016 research - Continue to push the branding and key messages to
further embed applicants - Importance of maintaining League Table position
- Applicants are having a positive experience when
they engage with us, but there is room for
improvement - Make applicant email content more engaging
- Enhance course information in iLancaster what
do they want? - Engage more with international applicants
29Any questions?
- Please contact Emily Hargreaves, Market
Research Officer - e.hargreaves_at_lancaster.ac.uk