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Student views

Talking to students about their experiences can help to give you a better sense of what it’s really like to study at a university or college. It can help you to decide whether it’s the right place for you.

There are various official and unofficial sources of student views about different universities and colleges, and specific courses.

The National Student Survey (NSS) is an independent, UK-wide survey that gathers final year students’ opinions about their academic experience. Over 70 per cent of students complete the survey each year.

Students answer questions on teaching, learning, the organisation of courses and how well they are resourced, as well as what support is available to them as students.

Learn more about the National Student Survey.

Where to find survey results

We publish the survey results on our course pages.

Using the results

As the NSS is a survey, you should only make decisions based on significant differences in scores. Small differences are unlikely to be meaningful.

If you are considering a course where NSS results don’t look as good as others, talk to the university or college about the reasons for that and what they are doing to improve things.

If you want to talk to current students or other people making decisions about higher education, there are a number of online forums and social media options available to you.

You can talk to current and future students about a whole range of things on the forums at The Student Room.

Universities and colleges often have their own social media channels for connecting applicants and current students, so look out for those as well.

Check university or college websites for details of open days, summer schools or other events for applicants where you can meet current students. If you’re at school or college, they may be able to arrange visits from former students who are now doing higher education courses.

You can also find out about these on the UCAS website.

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