Students Plan for Normal University Life, Post Pandemic Return as Students Want to Experience University Life

Student.com, the world’s largest student accommodation marketplace, released data which shows that 89%* of students are still planning on living in student accommodation for the 2021/22 academic year. Website traffic data for the UK as a destination suggests that student demand for university life still remains despite a rollercoaster 2020/21 academic year.

In addition, UK students are set to spend 6% more for 2021/22 than 2020/21 – due to choosing higher spec rooms because of spending more time in their accommodation. This will take the average cost for student accommodation in the UK from £7,113 to £7,559**.  

This data is released alongside Student.com’s Global Trends Report which highlights trends of students across the world, as the company helps thousands of students worldwide find their home away from home. 
Top findings for the UK in the report include:

• £7,559 average spend with average booking length 44 weeks
• Seven days to book from initially searching for student accommodation to finalising their booking 
• 26 minutes average walking commute from student accommodation to university campus 

This data comes as universities across the UK are sending out offers for college students ahead of starting university in September, plus universities sharing learning plans – with many planning for hybrid learning from September with face-to-face teaching to resume for seminars and workshops and online for lectures. 

During the 2020/21 academic year,  Student.com has provided support to those students who had been directly impacted by the global pandemic. At the start of the team provided 1:1 24/7 support to help students to change or source accommodation at short notice if they were unable to get to their home countries. In the summer, Student.com launched Student Heroes – providing a years’ free student accommodation – to help support medical students.              

Luke Nolan, Founder and CEO at Student.com comments:

The last year for students has been a real rollercoaster. For the first time in history we saw the traditional education format of face-to-face learning come to a standstill during the height of the global pandemic. The implications of this for students in their higher education learning plans and international studies were vast, however, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

We believe that with vaccination programmes progressing, borders opening up and the ability to attain visas improving; the 21/22 academic year looks much brighter for international and domestic students

Dan Baker, General Manager, EMEA at Student.com adds,

It’s great to see that students are still wanting to experience the ‘normal’ student university life. It has been a tough year for many students across the world, but with the roll out of the vaccines, increased cleaning and safety procedures in student accommodation and by universities, this should enable students to achieve the university experience.

To download your copy of the Student.com Global Trends Report 2021, please visit: www.student.com/global-report

Find out more about BETA member Student.com here

*Data based on website traffic to www.student.com in March 2021 for the UK as a destination. 
**Data based on all students with the destination as a UK city from Student.com bookings data