University leavers in 2014 anticipate owning their own home and having a child by the age of 30, being married by 29, and being established in their career by age 27.
Whilst these figures may seem unrealistic and over-ambitious to the average university student, the research, conducted by NUS Services Research Department and published last week by Endsleigh, surveyed 1423 university leavers from across the UK just prior to their summer graduation.
Clearly, this is not the case for all students, many of whom have much less aspirational outlooks on their future lives and careers. The research found some evidence of uncertainty in the lives of students, as 35 per cent of those surveyed—57 per cent of whom were aged between 21 and 22—envisage moving back home to live with their parents after graduating, and 51 per cent anticipate that their bills, rent and food costs will be only just affordable. 6 per cent said that they would struggle to cope at all with the cost of living.
Three second-years at the University of Manchester, who live together in Fallowfield, all expect to be at least 30 years of age before they own a home, agreeing that they are likely to continue living with friends for the foreseeable future.
It seems likely that the current relationship statuses of those surveyed will have had an effect on their expectations for marriage and starting a family, as one 20-year-old Manchester student, who has been in a relationship for four years, said he would probably be married before the age of 27, whereas his flatmates, all currently single, all expected to be at least 30 years old.
Julia Alpan, Student and Graduate Marketing Propositions Manager at Endsleigh Insurance, who published the research, says that “The post-university world can be exciting and daunting in equal measure.
“2014’s university leavers are clearly bullish and ambitious in their hopes and expectations for the future, aiming to reach a number of significant life milestones… all by the age of 30.
“The overall feeling is that the Class of 2014 is positive about moving to a new stage of their lives as they leave their university years behind them.”
