‘You should definitely have known that’: University experiences of Biosciences and Psychology undergraduate students from a widening participation background

In the UK, there is a drive to increase the number of underrepresented `widening participation´ (WP) students attending university. While the focus has initially been on the recruitment and admission of these students, attention has shifted towards understanding the lived experiences of students once they arrive at university, to help form an understanding of the possible difficulties that they may face. This qualitative study aimed to understand the university experiences of undergraduate students on non-vocational programmes (Biosciences and Psychology) from a widening participation background. Students were either the first in their family to attend university and/or received a bursary for low-income families. Four focus groups were conducted with two to five students from different year groups of the degree programmes. These were analysed using thematic analysis, revealing ten themes that indicated different individual experiences, both positive and negative. A lack of support was indicated both within and outside of the university (e.g. family) throughout a student’s period of study, which could be compounded by a reluctance to ask for help. We discuss general implications for supporting these students within higher education (HE). Furthermore, in discussion with other teaching staff, practical guidelines for tutors/teachers were developed to demonstrate how some of these issues could be addressed.