Not just location, location, location: How living situation shapes the student experience

28 Nov 2025

Dr Su Morris, What Works team, Social Mobility and Widening Participation, King’s College London.

Liv Grosvenor, Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy team, King’s College London.

What do we know already?

Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the proportion of students either remaining in the family home or commuting to campus (Kenyon, 2024). There is evidence that this can impact the students’ academic experiences, opportunities for engagement, and their sense of belonging (Frampton et al., 2023).

The proportion of commuter students varies widely across institutions in the United Kingdom (Thomas, 2019; Stalmirska & Mellon, 2022), and across different groups of students (OfS, 2020). For example, there are higher proportions of commuter students from widening participation backgrounds, and amongst mature students.

What did the project involve?

The main aim was to find out about the students’ travel experiences, their academic experiences, and their wider student experiences. We used the Student Minds definition of a ‘commuter’ for our work:

“A student studying for a higher education qualification, living off-campus in accommodation which is not designed for students, and without other students.” (Frampton et al., 2023).

We collected questionnaire responses from 625 first year undergraduates (in all living situations) about their experiences during Welcome Week, and also asked returning students, who did not live with other students, about their experiences at King’s (a small opportunity sample of 51 responses). We conducted focus groups with first-year students in the Spring term once the students had settled into student life. Finally, we compared scores on mental health and wellbeing scales (collected via a large-scale annual survey shared with all students at King’s), to find out how these related to students’ living situation.

Reasons for living with family or commuting to campus

We found that there were many reasons why students commuted to campus or lived with non-students, including:

Finance. Many students were concerned about the costs relating to student accommodation, and whether there would be suitable accommodation available.
Additional responsibilities. These include family commitments or caring responsibilities (children and pets).
Work commitments. Some students continued in a part-time work role they had had before studying, and therefore needed to remain at their permanent home.
Having family support. Some students preferred to stay in the family home for additional support, ensuring that their mental health difficulties were not a barrier to participating in higher education. Others wanted family support whilst studying, or were reluctant to leave familiar surroundings and their friendship group.

Many students in our focus groups commented that they always planned to commute or live with family whilst studying, and carefully selected the institutions they applied to with this in mind.

Travel to campus

The travel time of students at King’s ranged from less than half an hour, to over two hours. Those who had a longer commute, were more likely to live with family, have caring responsibilities, or have a part-time job alongside their studies. We also found that students with a shorter commute time or who lived with other students, had significantly better mental health and wellbeing scores.

Students tended to select the mode of transport to suit their budget. This included travelling off-peak, booking specific journeys at the advance ticket price, or travelling by bus instead of train. Many students tried to make use of their travel time:

“I have an iPad, and because I do maths, I have worksheets, so I can do that sometimes. And then, … if I want to do something more for myself, either read or crochet on the train.”

Students in second year and above living outside TfL Zone 6, tended to find it harder to cover the cost of travel, so came onto campus less frequently than they would have liked. It was also more difficult for some first-year students to get fully involved with the in-person Welcome to King’s events.

A few key findings

Students shared some positive experiences, as well as challenges that they have encountered:

Challenges with getting fully involved: Students shared that they couldn’t fully take part in activities and events, particularly when they were scheduled in the evening or were arranged at the last minute. “The commuting life, it can be very isolating, it can be very lonely. And yeah, it’s just a bit sad. Sometimes I do wish I lived closer to uni, just to feel part of the community, …I could do stuff.”
Importance of academic study: Many students noted that the main reason for attending university was to gain their qualification. Although they were keen to meet new people and get involved, their focus was on studying rather than the ‘typical university experience’. “Personally, I don’t really align with the typical uni experience with the social side. That definitely wasn’t an aspect for me. If it was, then maybe living up there would’ve been a more desirable option.”
Balancing jobs and studying: Some students were working part-time alongside their studies. First-year students felt that they could balance work and study, but that their leisure time was reduced. Students in other years found it harder to balance work and study. “Part time work puts time restrictions on what I can attend outside of lessons (and sometimes prevents me from attending lesson[s]) including social events.” Across the year groups, students noted that it was important for them to have a job, so that they had sufficient money to attend university or get involved with wider activities.
Connecting with others: There was a feeling among first-year students that they enjoyed and engaged with their course more, once they got to know others on the same programme. “I feel like the social aspect has also been really important, to keep me motivated and keep me coming in and attending my seminars and lectures, and stuff like that. Because it’s nice to sit with people you know and just learn with people you like around you, like-minded people.” Online course chats and daytime social events were important ways to help them make connections. Also, they noted that as they got more involved at King’s (for example, through sports or societies), it was easier to feel more connected. This was particularly the case when they had met students with shared backgrounds and interests. Some noted the difficulties of meeting like-minded people, particularly where students felt there was a wealth gap or cultural differences, or where they had low confidence due to imposter syndrome.

Not all doom and gloom

This project highlighted many challenges faced by commuter students. The most consistent themes related to the time and cost of travelling, and having few opportunities beyond Welcome Week to meet others. However, we also heard many positive experiences from students about living with family. They valued the support they received from their friends and family, felt comfortable being in a familiar environment and maintaining previous friendships, and felt better able to focus on their studies. Additionally, most students who took part in this project had met some good friends, were enjoying their course, and felt supported by staff.

Hopefully, the planned ‘next steps’ resulting from this project will help to make the King’s student experience even more positive.

If you would like to find out more about the project, or would like to share experiences from your own institution about supporting commuter students, please feel free to get in touch!
Contact Su Morris at su.morris@kcl.ac.uk.

References:

Frampton, N., Thompson, D., & Positive Digital Practices Student Panel. (2023). Understanding Student Mental Health Inequalities: Part-time, distance learner and commuter students. https://www.studentminds.org.uk/mh-inequalities-nontraditional-students.html. Accessed 31/1/2

Kenyon, S. (2024). Commuter students: does reducing the need to travel enable more inclusive, equitable participation? Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 26(3), 115–142. https://doi.org/10.5456/WPLL.26.3.115

Office for Students, 2020. Local and commuter students – Office for Students. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-providers/equality-ofopportunity/effective- practice/local-and-commuter-students/. Accessed 31/1/25

Stalmirska, A. M., & Mellon, V. (2022). “It feels like a job …” Understanding commuter students: Motivations, engagement, and learning experiences. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhlste.2021.100368

Thomas, L. (2019). ‘I am happy just doing the work …’ Commuter student engagement in the wider higher education experience. Higher Education Quarterly, 74(3), 290– 303. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12243