1. Why do UG students choose Lancaster? Acceptors & Decliners Survey Results 2015 Emily Hargreaves, Market Research Officer August 2015

2. What we did… Revised survey going out to acceptors and decliners covering: – Applying to university – Perceptions of Lancaster University – Reasons for accepting / declining Lancaster’s offer – Communications – Finance Survey was live from January 2015 until July 2015 Sent to all UG acceptors and decliners at point of decision

3. Who 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.

4. Where else are our applicants applying?

5. They’re 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

6. Whilst EU and international students are also considering universities further afield Which UK universities are our applicants also applying to? Northern Russell Group Institutions are our competition for UK students

7. Where 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

8. Choosing a university

9. We know university choice is difficult to explain… “I felt that I’d fit in well here.” “It is my dream university.” “This university is where I would like to spend the next few years of my life!” “I preferred a different university.” “I preferred the atmosphere at XXXX.” “I decided to go to universities that I felt clicked with me a bit better.”

10. Reasons for accepting – UK Course content and university reputation are the biggest hooks for UK students

11. Reasons for accepting – EU & Int’l University reputation was the biggest influencing factor for EU and International students

12. Reasons for accepting – in full

13. Reasons 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

14. Reasons for declining – in full *These options were not included in the response list, but were the most commonly stated ‘other’ responses

15. Location of Lancaster University The location of the uni is as much of a positive for acceptors as a negative for decliners Acceptors Decliners

16. Level 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

17. How will they pay for their studies? My own money / savings Student loan Money from parents / family / friends

18. How does our financial package compare? Broader cost implications of studying are a major factor – especially for Int’l applicants Our tuition fees are comparable to other unis for UK applicants – Greater variation for Int’l 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

19. What do they think of Lancaster?

20. We are friendly, modern and welcoming

21. We are a quality, reputable institution on the rise Reputable Ordinary Leading Aspirational Inclusive Established Falling TraditionalGround-breaking Rising New Exclusive Accessible Following Quality Unknown

22. But they don’t know quite how good we are! UniversityCUG RankingAverage Ranking Durham55 Warwick77 Lancaster914 Exeter1014 York1714 Leeds1916 Manchester2817 Liverpool3926

23. Five Great Reasons are starting to embed A collegiate university56% A UK top 10 University49% Top for student satisfaction47% Great for employability 42% A global university35%

24. Engaging with applicants

25. Communications 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

26. iLancaster Usage of iLancaster is slightly higher among UK applicants – 17% use it a lot, compared to 10% EU and 13% Int’l However, EU and Int’l applicants found the app more helpful in deciding whether Lancaster was for them – 46% of EU and Int’l 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

27. Conclusions & Recommendations

28. Things 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

29. Any questions? Please contact: Emily Hargreaves, Market Research Officer e.hargreaves@lancaster.ac.uk