Southampton is just like Portsmouth I guess , like obviously it ' s got more stuff in it , it ' s got a shopping mall and that , but it ' s basically just another city , Portsmouth is close , that ' s why the last choice , just to make my mum happy isn ’ t it .
This suggests that recruitment teams within universities should initially establish how much importance an individual places on either wanting the security of staying local and being close to home support , or looking for freedom and ‘ adventure ’; and then their distance from the university to decide whether to target specific resources towards them or not .
In addition to the location of a university , financial implications had a significant impact on the decision-making process of those students interviewed . Students talked to all sources of support about the financial impact of going to university , these included , parents , friends , careers teams and tutors . The conversations focused on establishing ‘ would it be worth it ’ rather than establishing the actual costs , how to apply and the time scale and salary scale for contribution for repayment . Brian summarised his experience of these conversations ,
Well , I feel like everyone says it ’ s a lot of money but it should , in theory , end up being worthwhile , that ’ s generally the message I hear from that which , yeah , would match with what ’ s been said at home .
In his first interview Adam spoke of the shared concerns he and his peers had regarding the student loan and its repayment .
So , the main thing that we ’ re all concerned about , our whole group was concerned about was the student loan and how … well you might be in debt for the next ten years if you don ’ t pay back your student loan . So , that ’ s something I would be kind of worried of , but I know in the end I can probably do it if I actually start finding a part-time job and actually start paying it off with that . So , right now that ’ s just what the meeting has been speaking about .
With financial considerations being a key focus in the decision-making process , students may require additional time and resources to help support them . Hannah highlights her confusion and misunderstanding when looking at financing university ,
Having to work everything out financially and trying to get some support with that . Because obviously , when you start looking into UCAS and you get people going through it with you , you don ’ t realise how much it is like financially , how much you have to pay
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