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It aims to further explore how the characteristics of mature undergraduate students from the UK differ from 18 year old students. This includes when they apply, where they apply to, and the subject choices they make.

UCAS analysis shows significant regional variations in entry rates to full-time higher education among mature students, and these differ notably from the patterns in entry to university among applicants of different age groups.

Key findings of this report include: 

• Mature students are more likely to live at home while studying full-time, and this likelihood increases with age.
• Mature students are typically drawn to a small range of vocational courses. The most popular are subjects allied to medicine (including nursing), education and social studies.
• Mature students age 21-50 had the highest entry rates in 2017 (by UK country and region) in Scotland and London. 
• Mature students apply in higher numbers when the job market is weaker.

You can read more analysis of the report on the UCAS website.