Decline My Place is a choice, but for a large proportion it’s a decision prompted by the circumstances they find themselves in on results day.
Decline My Place 2025
Discover the motivations, triggers, and decision-making pathways behind Decline My Place behaviour among 2025 entry students.
Decline My Place research
Each year, a significant number of applicants choose to decline their confirmed university place – a decision often shaped by complex and time-pressured circumstances.
This research explores the motivations, triggers, and decision-making pathways behind Decline My Place (DMP) behaviour among 2025 entry students.
We focused on three distinct groups throughout the survey and qualitative research:
- Students who declined their firm choice
- Students who declined their insurance choice
- Students who declined a change-of-course offer they did not want
Across these groups we explored when and why students make the decision to decline, what influences their new choices, and what – if anything – could be done to support them on their journey.
While not the key motivator, many focus group participants switched to an option closer to home.
After deciding to decline, many students were committed to their new plan and felt their original university could not have done anything differently. However, some did highlight areas where additional communication would have helped.
Decline My Place webinar
In our recent webinar, Dave Penney, Jo Richards, and Kyle Campbell revealed the latest Decline My Place findings, uncovering the drivers behind firm, insurance and course-change decisions, and revealed the real push and pull factors shaping student decision-making.