More than eight out of ten recent graduates would still choose to go to university ahead of any other option, according to a survey of students who finished their degrees in the summer of 2024 and were questioned 15 months later. The finding runs counter to gloomy headlines suggesting that a degree is less worthwhile than it once was, with concerns about graduate jobs and rising student debt dominating public debate.
The same research, however, reveals a more complicated picture beneath the headline satisfaction figures. Up to a third of graduates said they wished they had picked a different subject, indicating that while the overall university experience is valued, the specific course choice is a source of regret for a significant minority.
The survey asked graduates to look back on their decisions with the benefit of hindsight, at a point when most had entered the labour market or moved into further study. Their responses suggest that the decision to attend university is broadly endorsed, even as the choice of what to study emerges as the more contested element of the experience.
That distinction matters for policymakers, universities and prospective students alike. If the main source of dissatisfaction is the subject rather than the institution or the decision to study at all, then the debate about higher education may need to focus less on whether young people should go to university and more on how they are guided towards particular courses.
The findings arrive amid a sustained period of pessimism about the value of higher education in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Media coverage has repeatedly highlighted the burden of student debt, the competitiveness of graduate job markets and the varying returns on different degrees. Against that backdrop, the survey offers a counterpoint: the vast majority of those who have actually completed a degree do not regret having gone.
At the same time, the level of subject regret recorded in the survey is not trivial. A figure of up to a third represents a substantial share of graduates who feel their course was not the right fit. That could reflect a range of factors, from limited careers advice before applying to changing personal interests or labour market conditions during their studies.
The survey does not identify which subjects attract the highest levels of regret, but the overall pattern points to a gap between the general value graduates place on their time at university and their assessment of the specific academic path they followed. For universities, that suggests an opportunity to strengthen course guidance and to ensure that students understand where a degree might lead before they commit.
For prospective students, the message is mixed but not discouraging. The decision to go to university is one that most graduates stand by, even after experiencing the costs and challenges that follow. The choice of subject, by contrast, is the part of the process most likely to be revisited in hindsight.
The survey results also sit alongside broader questions about how higher education is funded and marketed. With student debt levels frequently cited in public discussion, the finding that most graduates would still attend university suggests that the perceived benefits, whether financial, personal or professional, continue to outweigh the drawbacks for the majority.
That does not mean the concerns raised in public debate are misplaced. Rising debt and a competitive graduate jobs market are real pressures, and the survey's finding on subject regret shows that the system does not get every decision right. But the overall picture is one of enduring confidence in university education among those who have been through it, even as the details of course choice remain a source of doubt for many.