Student Finance and Wellbeing Study (SFWS) Scotland 2023-2024: main report

12. Impact of finances on wider student experience

12.1. Key findings

Students' ability to make the most of their wider student experience – that is, being able to meet with other students, socialise with friends, take part in sports or clubs and societies – varied, and was impacted by their income.

• Finances impacted on some students' abilities to make the most of their wider student experience.
• In the survey, between a fifth (22%) of FE students and two-fifths (40%) of postgraduates, experienced difficulties paying for social activities or clubs.
• In the qualitative research, students' abilities to socialise varied. Those with higher incomes were better able to socialise and to do so without worrying about money.
• Those on lower incomes reported limited their socialising, while others reported not being able to take part in the wider social experience due to the costs associated with this. This impacted on their mental health in terms of financial worry and also feelings of social isolation.

12.2. How student finances impacted on their wider student experience

As outlined in Chapter 11, a proportion of FE (22%), HN/undergraduate (38%), postgraduate students (40%) and students from under-represented groups (35%) experienced difficulties paying for social activities or clubs.

Male HN/undergraduate (46%) and male students from under-represented groups (45%) were more likely to experience difficulties paying for social activities or clubs than female students (36% and 33% respectively). This difference was not present for FE and postgraduate students.

Difficulties paying for social activities varied by age for all student groups, except postgraduate students. For FE students, those aged 25 and over (29%) were more likely to experience difficulties paying for social activities than those aged 16 to 19 (17%). However, the reverse was true for HN/undergraduate students; those aged 16 to 19 (43%) were more likely to experience difficulty than those aged 25 and over (30%). For students from under-represented groups, those aged 20 to 24 (44%) were the most likely to experience difficulty paying for social activities compared with 37% of those aged 16 to 19 and 32% of those aged 25 and over.

Difficulties paying for social activities did not vary by accommodation type or area deprivation.

In the qualitative research, there were students who were able to socialise as much as they wanted, those who had to limit their socialising, and those who were unable to socialise as a result of their finances. Each of these groups, and the ways that finances impacted their behaviour, is explored in the following sections.

12.2.1. Students who could afford to socialise

The students who were able to make the most of the wider student experience and spent time socialising with their peers were generally those in receipt of higher incomes, for example, whether through their parents' financial contributions, paid work, and/or student loans and bursaries. These students were able to participate in social activities because they had sufficient income to comfortably cover their costs. This included some part-time students who had a full-time wage and students who received all their income from their parents, which meant they did not have to undertake paid work during term-time.

"If people want to go out for drinks or something like that, I never have to say no, just because I don't have enough money, and yeah again, because I don't have work commitments that won't get in the way of meeting up with friends. Yeah…like I can…go for a lunch or something with my friends after we finish classes, whereas some might have to go to a shift after lunch. (Full-time undergraduate student)"

A second group of students that were able to participate in social activities were those who received discounted or free gym membership through their institution, or had been awarded the maximum FE bursary rate, including support for housing. As discussed in more detail in Chapter 13, being able to afford to socialise and meet new people had a positive impact on students' wellbeing.

"It's meant that I can socialise with people as well outside of class time without feeling pressured to study and to earn instead. It actually just means that I feel like I'm more at peace... It's a good stress relief, and I wouldn't have done it without having that financial incentive to do it, the fact that I did have a discount because of my scholarship. (Part-time HNC/HND student)"

"Now, with that [FE] bursary, I have time to study. I feel more freedom. I can pay for internet in my home. I can afford more things. For example, to go some trip with my daughter or buy tickets for something. More social life. More meetings. More friends. More enjoyment. Not only study and nothing, just stay at home. It's a huge difference. (Full-time FE student parent)"

12.2.2. Students who had to limit their socialising

There were also students across study levels who were able to afford some level of socialising with their peers; however, this was limited. Students said they had to monitor their spending, or were able to participate in social activities only if their friends helped them out.

Students were largely aware of the costs of various social activities and for the most part those that were able to afford to participate in a social life or hobbies had to limit their expenditure and seek activities that were free or low cost to take part in. Some students pointed to how they would have to make concessions elsewhere; for example, if they went for coffee with classmates one day, they would have to cut back on bus travel the following day. Students also shared ways they had found to continue being able to participate in activities they enjoy on a smaller budget, for example, shopping around for cheaper membership for particular activities (e.g. gyms) or opting to take up different activities because they are less expensive.

Other students said they were able to take part in social activities only if a friend loaned them the money or paid for them. Being looked after by friends when they were low on money brought comfort to some students, who said they had been able to do the same for their friends. However, if students regularly needed this kind of help and were unable to return the favour, this hampered their enjoyment, and made some feel ashamed that they relied on the support from others.

"I would say that my social life at the moment…it's not like it used to be with working full-time, I had the money to go out and go and do things. So it has dropped off a little bit but luckily, I've got friends, they know I've gone back to being a full-time student and they're working full-time so they'll cover me if we're going out for a meal or something, they're quite good at being like yeah, I'll get you this time you know. (FE student focus group)"

"I was very lucky that my partner helped me fund a holiday [with friends]. […] I needed financial assistance to go on holiday. I don't think I've ever felt quite so small. It was a shame. It felt shameful, watching everyone just, 'I'll buy the next round of drinks,' and I just couldn't. They all knew and they were fine with it, but it was hard. (Postgraduate student focus group)"

12.2.3. Students who could not afford to socialise

Despite their best efforts to carefully monitor their spending, there was a group of students at all study levels who report that they could not afford to take part in the wider student experience. They spoke of not being able to meet classmates for coffees or for lunch when they were at college or university, not being able to meet friends of an evening, and being unable to join clubs and societies due to the fees attached. Instead, students spoke of having to make up excuses not to go, for example, working in the library over lunch to avoid being asked if they want to go to the canteen.

"Yeah, I mean I don't really socialise because I can't afford to. I can't afford to go out to pubs. When everyone is like we'll go for breakfast, or we'll go for a meal, I can't afford to do that. So I'll make up excuses not to go. I think between that and even stuff as simple as like when I'm in the office, people will say we're going to have breakfast, I can't do that either. (Full-time undergraduate estranged student carer)"

Students who could not afford to participate in social activities noted the detrimental impact on their mental health. They spoke of the isolation they experienced as a result of not being able to see friends outside of studying or paid work and of having to closely monitor and limit their spending.

"I'm not able to go out and socialise. I think that also has an impact on mental health and things. It can be quite isolating especially when you see everybody else at uni going out every week and doing stuff and then you have to stay at home because you really can't afford to go out…Yeah, it's definitely had an impact on getting that full university student experience. (Full-time undergraduate student)"

Some students faced more challenges in terms of being able to access the wider student experience than others. For care experienced and estranged students, they faced additional barriers in terms of being able to meet and socialise with their peers, on top of the financial barrier of not receiving parental financial support. In some circumstances, these students also experienced an emotional barrier to socialising, as they did not feel their peers understood what it was like not to have a supportive family or to have grown up experiencing financial hardship. Others noted how some aspects of socialising could bring back memories of trauma, or expressed the shame they felt at having to rely on financial support from others.

"I think because the background that I came from is - when you grow up and you're very conscious of money, you feel very lonely. You don't want to go out. Sometimes the impact - I know, for myself, the impact of going out at night clubbing with the music - and it's very crowded - it brings back trauma and memories from when I was in care. I think it's really affected my loneliness and my ability to just go out and meet people because I don't really know how to do that. It just happens. Yes, I think it does take quite a negative impact on your mental health. (Care experienced student focus group)"

"It's Christmas coming up so my class is like, 'Let's go for a college night out,' and I'm just sitting thinking, do I have enough for that? My friends were like, 'It's okay. I'll pay for you,' but I don't want to be seen as charity. Sometimes I feel like that's all I'm seen for because I don't have what they have. I don't have the support they have. I don't have the financials that they can support themselves with and the people that they surround themselves with that support them as well. It's really hard to think, 'do they only see me as charity? Do I have enough to support myself to do that? Why can't I be in the same situation as them?' It's constantly playing on my mind. (Estranged student focus group)"

Student parents and carers who took part in the qualitative research had little or no spare time to socialise or participate in activities or hobbies as part of wider student life. This was usually because any time that they were not studying or working they had parenting or caring responsibilities.

More generally, having to undertake a large amount of hours in paid work to be able to cover their living costs also impacted on students' ability to socialise. For the most part those who were in paid work felt that they had the financial means to socialise but, depending on their working hours and other commitments, sometimes did not have time or energy left to do so.

"Socialising? I didn't really have much of a social life, being at college and then straight to work. The only people I speak to is the work colleagues. Aye, that's really about it. (Estranged student focus group)"

Among the students, in the qualitative research, who referred to clubs and societies as part of their universities or college, the fees for these were seen as too expensive and acted as a barrier to student engagement. A student noted how the costs of joining clubs and societies could mean only the most affluent were able to participate.

"I'd wanted to join societies but even that costs […] if you want to join any of the sports clubs you have to pay first off, a monthly fee […] So yeah £21 a month to them and then on top of that you also have to pay to the society each semester […] Some of them are like £200 a semester they have to pay to be in the society. Yeah, it is a lot of money. I choose not to do these things because I know I can't afford it and that is a bit unfair, it's almost like a class divide in a way. You see these other students that can afford it and they don't have to work and can afford everything and some of them don't even have to take a student loan or anything, you know, if their parents are able to provide for them. And then there are other students who are worse off than me that are getting the maximum loan and still having to work on top of that. (Full-time undergraduate student)"