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Freshers 2022

Ending the stigma around Freshers Week

What students really want from their first week at university? Many years ago, you may have associated Freshers Week with partying, drinking and not doing a whole lot of learning. Fast forward to 2022 and the experience is quite different from this.

Andréanne Orsier Divisional Director, Higher Education 10/10/2022

We know from our previous research that young people don’t foster a heavy-drinking culture. When it comes to alcohol, like many other aspects of their lives, Gen Z prefer quality over quantity. They crave new and interesting experiences – and they want to remember these experiences.

With that in mind, don’t waste energy on creating campaigns that speak to an archaic stereotype. It’s time to be more creative in your student marketing and recruitment…

Forming deeper connections

So, what does the Freshers Week really look like today? What social events are Freshers taking part in? How do you support new students settle in? …And why does it all matter?

For higher education professionals, it’s essential to deliver successful inductions to your institution. First impressions impact retention levels, degree outcomes and the extent to which your students and graduates speak highly of you.

For brands, understanding Fresher culture allows you to form strong relationships with this audience, by sharing in their big moments, offering support where they need it most and delivering brand experiences that resonate with them.

Immersing yourself in Fresher culture

You can analyse statistics and look at satisfaction surveys, but there’s nothing quite like first-hand experiences.

So, to give you a better feel for how this year’s Freshers Week went down, we asked our new cohort of first year students (from our youth research panel) to share their Freshers stories – the highs, the lows and the outright fails.

Our new insight video reveals which universities are hitting the right notes and what areas students feel less supported.


Related Content

If you enjoyed this, then you may also like to watch our insight video from applicants receiving their A Level results. Discover how applicants are feeling – ahead of and after – receiving their A Levels this year.

Will their results impact decisions around university choice? And how should brands and HE professionals connect with applicants at this key moment in their lives?

Click here to access the insight video directly.

Student insights from Savanta

Did you know that Savanta are famous for solving student and applicant challenges for over 100 UK universities. Through our acquisition of YouthSight (the leading Gen Z and student market research agency), we now have a dedicated HE research team who bring over 15 years of sector expertise and student tracking data that will ensure you never start from zero.

We have over 32,300 university applicants and considerers on our panel and can uncover data including subject areas applied for, expected UCAS points, likely living arrangements and institutions applied to.

What’s more, our student panel includes over 46,500 higher education students from across the UK and over 11,400 recent graduates. We will help you understand the needs of students throughout the entire applicant journey, to ensure you win the battle for brand distinction, student attraction, conversion, and retention.

Click here to find out more.

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