Everyone knows university isn’t about learning. God, no. University in the UK is about downing 20 blue VKs in one night, boogieing to a rubbish Miley Cyrus song while sweat literally rains down on you, stumbling home with a sad soggy kebab, and gaslighting yourself into believing that was fun and worth £60 grand. University Compare’s new league tables are here, and it reveals how students rate the social life at their unis. So, here are the worst UK unis for student life in 2025.
Three Russell Group unis made it onto the list. Apparently, King’s College London and Imperial College London students have no life. The University of Oxford is also apparently one of the worst UK unis for student life. Um, I guess the Oxbridge students are all too busy writing a gazillion essays a week to talk to each other and enjoy their lives.
University Compare came up with these rankings by surveying students about their unis, then assigning each UK uni with a “student life” score.
So, here are the worst 20 UK unis for student life in 2025:
=19. University of Stirling – scored 3.57
=19. University of Strathclyde – scored 3.57
18. King’s College London (KCL) – scored 3.55
17. University of Oxford – scored 3.51
These Oxford students are in a club and smiling, so presumably they go to Brookes
16. University of Sunderland – scored 3.50
=14. University of South Wales – scored 3.49
=14. Royal Holloway, University of London – scored 3.49
=12. Teeside University – scored 3.48
=12. University of Greenwich – scored 3.48
=9. University of Essex – scored 3.47
=9. Robert Gordon University – scored 3.47
=9. University of East London – scored 3.47
8. Coventry University – scored 3.46
Down it, fresher
=6. Abertay University – scored 3.45
=6. University for the Creative Arts – scored 3.45
=4. University of St Andrews – scored 3.42
=4. Imperial College London – scored 3.42
3. Bishop Grosseteste University – scored 3.39
=1. University of the Arts London (UAL) – scored 3.35
=1. University of the West of Scotland – scored 3.35
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