Is it becoming more common to stay closer to home for uni?

[ClementinePancakes]

DS is year 12 and just starting to research some uni courses. He particularly likes (on paper) Southampton and Swansea, so we have started planning to visit in the summer. They are both pretty far from us, about 6 hours at least.
Everyone we have told this to has reacted with horror, because they are so far away.

I accept if he does end up at one of them, the drive at the beginning and end of term will probably be a two day undertaking with overnight stay, yes, a bit of a pain but not that horrifying.

Both my brother and sister were at uni a similar distance away, they didn’t really come home during term time (but then I didn’t either and I was nearer home - I didn’t really know anyone who went home at weekends). Is this the difference? Are students more likely to come home at weekends than they were 30 years ago? I suppose it could be for weekend jobs etc. Or are there other reasons if there is a trend to stay closer -are there cultural differences across the UK?
I get staying at home and commuting for cost reasons, but I’m talking more about moving away, but not far.

My DS is at uni around 5-6 hours drive away (less on the train). It does seem far away to me and I would ideally have liked him to be a bit closer in case he wanted to come home for a weekend. Having said that, he shows no sign of wanting to do so!

I think there is a huge range still.
Some commute to their local uni due to financial constraints.
Some are local enough to go home for weekend jobs.
Some are far enough away that they can still come home occasionally during term time
Some are much further away because they want to escape, liked a particular uni, or are doing a niche course only offered at a few unis.

I think it is OP. There's a uni that's a 2-hour drive from where we live and it's definitely the No. 1 choice with kids we know who've gone to uni in recent years. I think it's that sweet-spot distance - far enough away for independence, while close enough to pop home easily for a weekend.

I don't remember distance being a consideration when I was looking at unis for myself. I went to one on a major train line, which helped with going back and forth, but driving it was about 7 hours from home and I only went home in the holidays.

Dont know if it’s becoming more common but I’d say it’s easily the preferred option for a lot of people - easier to get home, weekend jobs, family stuff, cold student flat/no money etc. It just depends on the student/family. My partner went home most weekends during uni as he had much younger siblings he wanted to spend time with and not miss them growing up! I live in Ireland and a lot of students now live in ‘digs’/with another family due to housing shortages, so they have to leave at weekends.

DD wanted to go away for Uni and we encouraged it but all the ones she chose we less than a 2 hour drive away, we actually only went to one open day that was further.
I left it up to her but I am glad shes not too far to pop home at weekends if she wants to and I can get her in an emergency or if she's poorly.

I’m in Ireland and it has always been that way here, it’s a mass Exodus from universities here on a Friday everybody goes home to see family/friends or to work their weekend job.

Given the fees and costs of accommodation, and where teaching time is mainly online and the subject doesn’t require lab work etc, I have seen more undergrads living at home while studying for financial reasons. I was an undergrad in Southampton in the early 90s and we had a real mix of people going mainly 2 to 3 hours journey away, and some local, with some coming from 8 hours away. I was in the first year for Student Loans, a whopping £300 I think it was. It’s a completely different situation now and the old stereotype student lifestyle is not really so much of a thing anymore.

Here there seems to be local encouragement schools - careers people to stay closer by not sure why.

We set reasonable limits - my parents did on me which as we were back and forth more due to term time housing in two year - was probably for the best but as we were in midlands actual gave a huge choice.

DD1 3 hours away - close enough to get there if she need us to. DS looking 4 hours away - both by train as we don't drive. He's suddenly realising with offer days this is quite far for a day travel but we think is still fine. He did look at more local options as we are near a few but two he's considering look better options - course and city wise. Cost of living in uni area also plays a role - one of near ones here it's actually pretty high so DD1 better off than a friend there.

When I went to Uni, a couple of my school friends went to the local Uni and I remember thinking how strange it was, very parochial, definitely not the done thing (funnily enough, this University is now hugely popular, most of my freinds' kids have applied there, my own DD did as well!).

Now, most of my friends' kids have chosen to stay within 1-2 hours of home, and I know several that have stayed in our nearest cities (30 mins drive). My DD is 5 hrs' drive away, I'd love her to be closer, but she's happy, she's in a fantastic institution which was her no 1 from the beginning.

I also think there is a 2 tied Uni system in place - if you're Oxbridge/Top Ten Uni material, you're going wherever is 'best', but if your local Uni is as much of a muchness to the one 5 hours away, you may as well stay closer to home.

My DS is aplying at the moment, and the furthest Uni is 3 hrs away, most of them much closer to home - he has ASD, so being closer to home makes more sense, plus he's not particularly strong academically, so he's not chasing a prized place.

It does seem to be more of thing now. In parents' generation (postwar) going to the local university and living at home was more usual, in ours (with a grant, or at least without fees) it was unusual, and now it's more common again. All down to money, I guess.

My DS is year 12 too and we're having similar conversations. He is looking at subjects where he may only get a few face-to-face hours each week.

If he stays reasonably local he has the option of living at home and travelling in just for lectures if he has trouble getting accommodation in years 2 and 3. Also the ability to bring his washing home (and eat his way through the contents of the fridge) regularly seems appealing.

Really would not advise this. As a lecturer we found during covid that understanding and attainment plummeted and a key reason is the loss of peer-peer learning. Sitting round doing lab reports together, going to seminars that aren’t directly related but interesting, chatting with friends about the reading - that sort of thing

OP it is more common but still not the majority. Most students travel still

I think it’s becoming more common amongst certain groups of students. Certainly amongst first generation university students, and probably those from less affluent backgrounds. Perhaps there are also more students these days with anxiety, who feel being closer to home is important. But many others wouldn’t think twice about going 6 hours away.

One of the benefits of the far-flung unis, is that few people go away at weekends/go home. Those uni campuses or cities are busy at weekends with lots of uni activities. Other places can be ghost towns, especially if a lot of the students live at home.

DS wanted to go to St Andrews which is frankly, however desirable as a place, back of beyond. Not even a dual carriageway all the way. They didn't offer so he ended up 2 hours from home. He has since said he was glad he didn't end up that far away. He probably has come home twice a term and that's been to catch up with friends or one of his sports clubs. Most weekends he is playing sport at uni and it's not a university that empties at weekends. Only one of his friends stayed at home for the local university, doing medicine.

Both of ours are what should be 4 hours away but traffic is often bad at weekends so it takes longer. DH is the only driver and won't do more than 6 hours a day so any further would be impractical. If you have two drivers or are happy over long distances it can work practically. It's difficult to predict how your DC will find things. I thought DC2 would thrive (and they were really looking forward to it) but they've had lots of anxiety issues so we've been going up once a term and they've come home once a term and we're really glad we didn't consider any further. Most of their peers went similar distances; two are in Scotland and are quite happy but they (or parents) usually fly when they travel.

Thinking of my DC and friends compared to me and my siblings. Definitely more commuting now (?accomodation costs) and less willing to consider far flung unis (I've siblings who went to StA and Aberdeen whose children didn't consider either). My youngest is 35 miles away but generally only comes home at end of term (works in uni city). Easier to get stuff dropped off, switch winter clothes for summer etc as usually family or friends visiting uni city. Also means end of year pickup less painful for my DH.

Her uni doesn't empty out at weekends as loads of internationals and attracts RUK students from 4+ hours away (London/Home Counties).

My DS is a long way away. But he can do it in less than 4 hrs by train, as we live on the outskirts of London and the train from London is v fast. By car, it takes about 8 hours.

We took him up at the start of the year. He came home at Christmas by train and went back the same way. Same will happen at Easter. In all likelihood we won’t go in the summer as he will move his stuff into his house and then come back by train. For us to drive is a 2 day job as we’d need to stay over. The good train links make it possible.

He does do the odd visit by train to friends at other unis. He could come home for a weekend if he needed to, but because most people live a long way from the uni, there isn’t a lot of going home. I’ve known people go to unis less than 2 hours away and go home most weekends. It’s been too easy. And as lots live near such unis, it’s a spiral as the more who go home, the more want to as less is going on.

Typically, lower ranked unis tend to have a greater proportion of people living at home or living within close distance.

In my mind, if you’re going 2 hours away, what difference really does 6 hrs make….unless you are feeling worried and expect to need to go home regularly. But perhaps lots of people do feel like this these days…there is lots of anxiety about.

I think like a pp said my parents stayed close to home or didn’t go, we went all over due to no fees and cheap(er) digs.

The one thing I think about my kids is that I would like them to have a tiny bit more strategic crossover in the venom diagram between home and uni. I went far away and have literally no crossover between home friends and uni friends and when I moved to home town a few years ago it was a real wrench and total upheaval. I could see that peers who’d gone to certain unis close by or with a strong connection to my location had maintained social links much better.

But then living completely away was such a freeing experience!!

Who knows?

Venn diagram- although venom diagram sounds good!

A range of fascinating though largely evidence free, though possibly understandable, perspectives on this thread.

fortunately HESA publish domicile data, by provider level and going back over a number of years. The interesting thing is that there hasn't been any real shift. Given the real cost of living pressures over recent years I admit I thought we might start to see something along those lines, but largely this isn't the case. Yet….23/24 data remains to be published.

www.hesa.ac.uk Table 59

Focusing just on home, rather than international undergrads. At a fairly, and slightly simplistic, regional level. For the most recent year published

East of England, so Herts bordering London up to Norfolk 68% go to a Uni in East (27%) East Mids, London or South East.

East Mids 64% go to a Uni in East Mids (42%), West Mids or Yorks & Humber

London 45% go to a London Uni, increasing to 69% once South East and East of England included

North East 61% go to a North East Uni, rising to 83% if North West and Yorks & Humber added

North West 61% go to a North West Uni; rising to 73% when Yorks & Humber added

South East 64% go to a Uni in the South East, London or South West

South West 41% to a uni in the South West, and 74% if South East, West Midlands and Wales added

West Mids 44% to West Mids, rising to 67% if East Mids and North West added

Yorks & Humber 52% go to Yorks &Humber Uni, 81% once East Mids, North East and North West added.

Scotland (no fees but also a number cap) 96% go to a Scottish uni

Norther Ireland 70% to a NI Uni, rising to 87% when North West and Scotland included

Wales 59% to Uni in Wales, 81% when South West and North West added.

My DD wanted to go as far away as possible.

We lived in the south and she was looking at St Andrew's, Edinburgh, etc.

My perception is that young adults seem a lot less keen on independence these days

20 years ago in my social circle anyway we were all desperate to leave home, but now it feels like there's more of a mix, some seem reluctant to leave home and anxious about independence

Picking up on @WombatChocolate ’s higher / less high ranked observation.

Durham Uni 47% from London, South East or East of England; 10% from North East

Teeside Uni 83% from North East

Nottingham uni 39% from London or South East, 14% from East Mids

Nottingham Trent 32% from East Mids, though still 25% from London or South East

Warwick 49% from London or South East; 12% from West Mids

Coventry 50% from West Mids

London doesn’t quite fit the profile - understandably

Imperial 60% from London (42%) and South East

LSE 64% (L 49%)

UCL 65% (L 48%)

Kings 70% (L56%)

QMUL 80% (70%)

then somewhere like Southampton Uni and Southampton Solent are much more similar The former 78% from South East, London or South West, the latter identical combined percentage from those three regions.

Very interesting to see actual percentages @boys3

We're from London. We have bright DC, the only universities worth leaving London for to gain a better education would have been Oxbridge. So we would have happily scared together for Oxbridge living costs but if not, DC will only do one academic year in accomodation.