Studies show that more and more students are experiencing university-related stress, either to do with their degree or the managing of their finances.
Annually, NatWest’s Student Living Index examines which university cities are most affordable to live in and what students are spending most of their money on. They conducted research in June on 3,419 University students living in the UK’s 35 most popular Universities. Remarkably, Manchester earned 29th most affordable city to live in, followed by Cambridge at 30th and London in 34th.
The research shows that 43% of students in the UK rated the stress they had with their degree to be an 8/10 or higher (with 0 being the lowest and 10 being the highest amount of stress). Surprisingly, although 15% of Cambridge students and 13.7% of Oxford students rated their degree-related stress to be at 10/10, neither had a percentage of students who were stressed as high as that of Stirling.
Nearly one fifth (18.4% and 19% respectively) of Stirling students rated their degree-related stress to be at 10/10 and their money-related stress to be at 8/10, making Stirling have the most money-related stressed students. At the same time, 39.5% of Stirling students who were most stressed felt virtually unsupported by their University.
Dr. Michael Smith, a psychology professor of Northumbria University, commented on these results: “The student lifestyle also means that university students also tend to have a poorer diet and maintain poorer sleep patterns. Then, of course, there is the stress associated with meeting deadlines and keeping up with university work, while at the same time maintaining a social life and possibly working to help manage a tight budget.”
At the same time, the study also showed that those who spend more time socialising tend to enjoy spending time on their degree more than those who don’t.
If you are struggling with stress, reach out to the University of Manchester’s Counselling Service or the Students’ Union Advice Service for free, impartial help with your university life.
