The bar chart shows the main reasons why students chose a university in the UK in 1985 and 2005.
Overall, it can be seen that some factors increased while others decreased over time. Sport facilities and teaching quality became more important, whereas proximity to home and resources became less significant. Degree programmes remained relatively stable in both years.
Looking at the increases, sport facilities experienced a significant rise from 1985 to 2005, becoming one of the top reasons for students. Teaching quality also showed a slight increase, which suggests that students paid more attention to the quality of education. In contrast, degree programmes did not show any noticeable change and stayed almost the same in both years.
On the other hand, proximity to home decreased considerably. This indicates that students in 2005 were less concerned about studying close to their homes. Similarly, resources saw a small decline, although the change was not as dramatic as for proximity to home.
In conclusion, students’ preferences changed over the period, with more focus on facilities and teaching quality, while location and resources became less important.