Opinion is split as to whether the right amount of young people are going to university, with 1 in 3 Britons saying there are too many
New research by Ipsos in the UK shows Britons are unsure about whether the right amount of students are going to university. While a third (32%) say too many young people go to university, a similar proportion (34%) say it’s the right amount. A quarter (24%) say not enough young people go to university. Opinion differs by age; 42% of those aged 55-75 believe there are too many and only 15% believe there are not enough. Conversely, those aged 18-34 are most likely to say about the right amount of young people go to university (40%).
Despite most having an opinion, many are not able to correctly identify the proportion of 18-year-olds who go to university. Only 12% correctly say it is between 31-40 out of every 100 18-year-olds, the correct figure is 37.9 . People are most likely to say between 41-50 out of every 100-attend university (17%) while 15% say the number is between 51-60. People aged 18-34 are among the most likely to overestimate the proportion of 18 year-olds going to university – 20% believe the proportion is between 51-60%.
Is university important to do well in life?
Almost 6 in 10 (57%) Britons believe that going to university is important in helping to do well and get on in life. This rises to 66% among those aged 18-34. And 67% among those aged 35-44.
While a majority, it is least likely to be seen as important among other options put to respondents. Britons see ‘being confident’ as the most important thing to help people get on in life (94%) while 86% say passing exams/getting qualifications is important and 82% say the same for knowing the right people. Around 7 in 10 say family background is important to help to do well and get on in life (71%) or simply being lucky (70%).
Which university courses are deemed worthwhile?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the university courses deemed most worthwhile by Britons are skill-based, including medicine (86%), engineering (85%), sciences (84%), law (83%) and dentistry (83%). Maths and economics are also seen as worthwhile by a large majority of Brits, 79% and 77% respectively. Seven in 10 (71%) say foreign languages are a worthwhile course.
Around two-thirds find both criminology (67%) and psychology (66%) worthwhile while just over half say the same for geography (55%), history (54%), politics (52%) and English Literature (52%). A minority say media studies (45%), philosophy (44%), classics (39%) or fashion (35%) are worthwhile university courses.
Again, there is considerable difference in opinion by age. Those aged 55-75 are more likely than those aged 18-34 to value medicine (93% vs 78%), dentistry (89% vs 77%), law (87% vs 79%) sciences (91% vs 75%) and maths (84% vs 72%). In contrast, those aged 18-34 see greater value in geography (58% vs 49%), history (59% vs 46%), media studies (54% vs 33%), fashion (43% vs 23%) and philosophy (49% vs 37%).
Trinh Tu, Managing Director of Public Affairs at Ipsos in the UK, said:
Sixty per cent of us think that going to university is an important life stage and yet, according to our research, it rates only sixth in terms of our respondents’ views on what factors help most in achieving success in life, including just being lucky!
With record numbers going to university, while businesses are experiencing widespread skills shortages, and with public opinion clearly valuing STEM degrees over humanities, the debate between technical training and funding for universities continues.
Technical note
Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 2,001 adults aged 18-75 in Great Britain. Interviews took place on the online Omnibus on 9th-11th August 2022. Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.
