More Than a Third of New Students Took on Jobs Just to Afford Socialising

For most people, Freshers' Week conjures a familiar image: an 18-year-old moving away from home for the first time, living in halls, spending freely and worrying about money later. New research from TOTUM suggests that image is increasingly out of date and that the financial reality facing today's new students is far more pressured than that picture implies.

In a survey of nearly 1,500 UK university students, TOTUM found that more than a third had taken on part-time work specifically to afford socialising during their first term. That is not a group of students making bad financial decisions. That is a large proportion of new arrivals making a deliberate, stressful trade-off: they understand that social spending matters for settling in, meeting people, and avoiding isolation, but doing it on a student budget is genuinely hard.

Social Spending Is Not Frivolous

One of the most consistent findings in TOTUM's research is that students themselves are clear-eyed about why they spend socially. The majority of those surveyed agreed that spending during Freshers' Week helped them meet people, make friends, and feel part of university life.

This matters because it reframes the conversation. Financial pressure during Freshers' Week is not primarily a story about impulsive spending or poor planning. It is a story about the real cost of belonging and the fact that for many students, that cost arrives all at once, at exactly the moment when their budget is most stretched.

Who Today's New Students Actually Are

Perhaps the most significant finding from TOTUM's research is who today's new students actually are. The majority of respondents were commuter students, living at home during term time rather than in university accommodation. A large proportion were over 25, and nearly two thirds were female.

This is a fundamentally different population from the traditional Freshers narrative. Many are managing existing financial responsibilities alongside their studies. The Freshers' experience, and the financial pressures that come with it , looks very different for someone commuting from home, perhaps with family commitments, than it does for a school leaver in university halls.

Organisations that work with students, whether employers, training providers, or support services, would do well to update their assumptions in line with this.

The Gap That Needs Filling

What the TOTUM data points to is a genuine un-met need: tools and support that help students participate in the social side of university life without the financial anxiety that currently accompanies it. Not products that tell students to spend less, but ones that help them spend smarter such as discounts and budgeting tools designed around social categories, and benefits that reduce the cost of doing the things that actually matter during those first weeks.

The financial pressure of Freshers' Week is real, widespread, and largely invisible in public conversation. Addressing it is not just good business. For many students, it is the difference between a positive start to university and a stressful one.

About This Research

TOTUM's Freshers Survey surveyed 1,489 UK university students. TOTUM is a membership platform serving students, apprentices, and professionals across the UK, offering discounts and benefits designed to make education and early career life more affordable. For further data and press enquiries, visit totum.com/press.

This article may be reproduced in full or in part with attribution to TOTUM. For media enquiries, contact the TOTUM press office.