The provided pie charts illustrate the main reasons that influenced student choices at a specific UK university in 1987 and 2007.
Overall, it is evident that Suitable degree courses were the most important factor in both years. However, the significance of quality of teaching showed a moderate growth, while the importance of quality of resources decreased. Other factors, such as good sports/social activities and proximity to home, changed their positions by the end of the period shown. Specifically, there was a notable decrease in the importance of sports and social activities, while the proximity to home experienced a considerable increase.
In 1987, the majority of students (35%) chose the university based on the quality of its resources, followed closely by the availability of suitable degree courses (21%). The importance of proximity to their parental home was much lower at 15%, and other factors like quality of teaching (19%) and sports/social activities (10%) were given even less weight.
By 2007, the significance of resource quality had slightly increased to 37%. The percentage of students selecting the university for its suitable degree courses rose by only 1 percentage point to 22%. Conversely, the importance of proximity to their parental home decreased significantly to 18%, while the significance of quality of teaching and sports/social activities declined by 2 and 4 percentage points, respectively.