You might recall the time before the pandemic as much happier. The grass is always greener, right?

There’s no doubt that there are plenty of things causing stress for students and people in general right now, from the cost of living crisis to lecturer strikes and the Ukraine War, but perhaps all this is making us appreciate the things we do have.

Well, according to a new survey, students in the UK are happier now than three years ago. Whether you’re shocked or not, you might have some questions about exactly what this survey says as well as other particular questions about the data, so we’ve pulled together a quick overview to run you through it all.

What’s the survey?

The report, produced by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), surveyed over 10,000 students across the UK from different areas and demographics to paint a clear picture of how students felt not only about their life but also about their university and degree.

HEPI is the UK’s only independent think tank devoted entirely to higher education and released a Student Academic Experience Survey talking about many areas of student life since 2006. 

This means they’ve amassed tons of data on students’ well-being and satisfaction with life and universities in the UK over the years, giving them a pretty strong data set to compare and work from.

The results they’ve collected in the last year are pretty interesting and potentially unexpected too. 

What did the survey say?

The data revealed that levels of happiness among students have climbed slightly higher than where they were in 2020, with the proportion of students reporting that they are very happy being 2 per cent higher than in 2020. 

This may only sound like a small increase, but when talking about tens of thousands of people, this percentage equals a massive amount of students. 

There were also differences in levels of happiness seen depending on the area of the country in that you went to university too. 

Students attending university in London were by far the most satisfied with their life, with 21 per cent reporting that they would rate their satisfaction at 10 out of 10. This was a whole 5 per cent higher than the next area of the country (Northern Ireland).

The area of the country with the lowest reported life satisfaction was the east coast, with 17% reporting a satisfaction score of only 0-4 out of 10. 

You can view how each area scored below:

There are plenty of other interesting nuggets of information in the survey too, including that London students are the most likely to report that their university course has exceeded expectations. London students were also most likely to report that they never — or almost never — felt lonely either. Perhaps this could have something to do with their life satisfaction too.

Despite these encouraging reports, HEPI is clear to set out that there’s still more that can be done to improve student well-being, as 1 in 10 students still claim to be unsatisfied with their life as it stands.

With the well-reported strains on university mental health services, we should always be promoting funding for these important support networks that many students still desperately need.
How would you rate your current happiness? Let us know on Instagram and join the discussion.