Going to university – at home or away?

The proportion of stay-at-home students has risen over the years, challenging the traditional view that students that stay local miss out. Here are some pros and cons to consider when deciding whether to move away or stay put. 

Moving away to university

Leaving home and moving away to university can feel exciting and daunting in equal measure. Here are a few things to think about:

Pros

• It could broaden your horizons and give you a more diverse view of the world.
• You’ll have more choice when selecting a course and type of university.
• You’ll meet new people and expand your social circle.
• Depending on your area of study, you could increase your networking potential. 
• You could have a greater sense of independence and increase your life skills.

Cons

• Being away from home can be emotionally challenging.
• Studying away from home is usually more expensive.
• You’ll be responsible for building new support networks; some people find this easier than others.
• Academic pressures can be harder to deal with away from familiar surroundings.
• No matter how good you are with change, there will be a period of adjustment and time needed to establish a new routine.

Staying local for university

Staying local will suit some people and their circumstances more than others. Here are several things to consider:

Pros

• There isn’t the emotional challenge of moving away.
• It is a more affordable option for your family and gives you a chance to save money.
• You could use your local knowledge to find work to help with tuition fees.
• You’ll be able to keep at least some of your existing support networks.
• It’s usually easier to adapt to a change in routine in a familiar place.

Cons

• You might be limiting your options both to make new friends and experience new things.
• You might have fewer choices of what to study, depending on your local universities.
• Your friends could move away to university, leaving you feeling more isolated.
• You could feel less independent than your peers who do move away.
• You might have less freedom to live how you want to if you’re staying with family members.

How to choose

As a first step, decide what is important to you from the pros and cons and do some research on the different options available to you. 

Some tools that could help you include:

• Uniselect – our search tool can help you come up with a shortlist based on various factors such as distance from home, university size, and wellbeing services. Generate multiple shortlists based on different ideas you might have.
• University league tables – compare and contrast over 160 UK universities across our main, arts and subject table rankings using various criteria.
• Regional guides – discover more about your local region or what moving to a new region might hold.
• Student city guides – what could your local city or potential new city offer.
• Campus universities in the UK – find out more about campus v city university experiences, home and away.

See our advice articles on choosing a university and how to use the league tables for more useful information to help you.  

What if I change my mind about where to study?

If you change your mind, don’t worry, this happens more often than you might imagine. You can review your choices on your UCAS Hub and find alternative options via Clearing. 

Courses that still have places available will be listed in UCAS Clearing from 2 July 2026. If you can, do some research before results day to see what alternative options you might prefer. It's always worth having a back-up plan so that you can make decisions quickly if you need to.

Read our guide on how Clearing works for more information.

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