The pie charts illustrate the proportions of five main reasons why students chose a college or a university in the UK in the years:1987 and 2007.
Overall, the figures for students choosing universities for suitable cources,distance to parental home, and teaching quality showed rising trends,while those of the remaining factors declined, with the most remarkable decrease reported in those choosing for good sports and social activities.The most common reason for university selection was suitable degree courses in both years,whereas the reasons for the lowest shares were different at the start and the ending of the period.
Focusing on the most common factors first,suitable courses had 35% of total reasons in 1987.Although the figure experienced only a minimal growth to 37% in 2007, it remained the largest proportion compared to other shares of reasons.The most striking growth in reasons was observed in the share of the location,which had only 10% at the beginning of the period, but had already grown to 22% as the second most influencial factor by the end.The figure for quality of teaching accounted for 15% of the chart in 1987, before rising to 18% in 2007.
In terms of quality of resourses, along with good sports and social activities, showed falling trends of varying levels;while the former dipped by 4% from 21% in 1987 to 17% in 2007, the latter witnessed a marked reduction,from 19% to 6% over the period shown and remained as the least common reason.