Band 7+: The pie chart below shows the main reasons why students chose to study at a particular UK university in 1987 and in 2007. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The pie charts illustrate the main reasons why students applied for the UK universities from 1987 to 2007.

Overall, applications motivated by suitable degree courses, proximity to parents’ home, the quality of teaching increased to varying degrees, whereas interest in sports and social activities as well as quality of resources consistently declined. Notably, suitable degree courses became the most significant reason by 2007.

Focusing on the increases first, suitable degree courses started at 35%, and this was followed by a slight rise to 37% in 2007. Similarly, the figure for closeness to parents’ home accounted for 10% in 1987 then increased to 22% in the final year. A somewhat similar upward trend was evident in quality of teaching, where the figure climbed from 15% to 18%.

In contrast, interest in good sports and social activities showed distinct trajectory. The figure initially stood at 19%, then dipped dramatically to 6% at the end of the span. Quality of resources, on the other hand, witnessed a slight fall from 21% to 17%.