UCAS’ end of cycle data for 2025, published today, shows 89,510 UK 18-year-olds who secured a place this autumn said they intended to live at home, compared to 83,705 last year (+7%).
These figures, published for the first time by UCAS, mean that 31% of UK 18-year-old accepted applicants indicated in their UCAS application that they intended to live at home this year – a record high and a slight increase on 30% in 2024. This compares to 22% a decade ago, with the number of young people planning to live at home climbing steadily since 2016.
Intentions to live at home differ sharply by nation, with Scottish 18-year-olds most likely to live at home (8,435, representing 46% of accepted Scottish applicants) whereas Welsh 18-year-olds are the least likely (2,215, 21% of accepted Welsh applicants).
Young people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds are also more likely to live at home. In total, 52% of UK 18-year-olds in IMD Quintile 1 indicated they planned to live at home compared to 12% of UK 18-year-olds in IMD Quintile 5. By nation, this means IMD Quintile 1 in England are 3.5 times more likely to live at home, SIMD Quintile 1 in Scotland are 1.7 times more likely and WIMD Quintile 1 in Wales 2.3 times more likely. There is no difference between NIMDM Quintiles 1 and 5 in Northern Ireland.
Other end of cycle data insights include:
- The number of UK-18-year-olds who accepted a place in 2025 is up +3.5% on last year, reaching a record high of 289,200. This compares to 279,550 in 2024. However, the entry rate (the proportion of the UK 18-year-old population who received a place) has held steady with a small 0.1 percentage point decrease to 36.3%.
- Accepted applicants to university or college is also up and at a record high, up from 564,940 in 2024 to 577,725 in 2025 (+2.3%).
- UK mature students (aged 21+) who accepted a place in 2025 is 106,120, down from 109,780 (-3.3%) compared to last year.
- International undergraduate students who accepted a place through UCAS has reached 74,660, up from 69,905 in 2024 (+6.8%). UCAS does only see a partial view of undergraduate international admissions.
- Overall, 77,110 applicants used Clearing to secure their university or college place, a slight increase from 76,215 in 2024 (+1.2%). Of these, 26,085 were accepted on a new course or at a university or college after declining their original offer — a +2.9% increase on 25,360 in 2024.
Dr Jo Saxton CBE, UCAS Chief Executive, said:
“Every young person should have the chance to make choices based on ambition, not affordability — which is why UCAS has launched a new scholarships tool to help students find financial support and keep their options open.
“While staying at home can absolutely be the right choice for some, such as those with caring or family responsibilities, for others it may close doors and limit access to courses or the wider university experience.
“The growing number of students living at home may be driven by rising costs of living and broader financial considerations. We need to remain alert to these challenges and more research is needed to fully understand the impact on student choice and progression, so we can ensure students have all the information available to them when making their decision.
“Universities and colleges are highly aware of these pressures and continue to make significant efforts to support students, from introducing scholarships and bursaries to offering help with travel costs.
View the 2025 end of cycle dashboard
ENDS
UCAS Press Office
07880 488 795
communications@ucas.ac.uk (monitored regularly)
@ucas_corporate
UCAS
UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, is an independent charity, and the UK's shared admissions service for higher education.
UCAS’ services support young people making post-18 choices, as well as mature learners, by providing information, advice, and guidance to inspire and facilitate educational progression to university, college, or an apprenticeship.
UCAS manages almost three million applications, from around 700,000 people each year, for full-time undergraduate courses at over 380 universities and colleges across the UK.
UCAS is committed to delivering a first-class service to all our beneficiaries — they're at the heart of everything we do.