Student satisfaction, league tables and university applications: Evidence from Britain

• We investigate the effect of student satisfaction ratings on demand for university degree courses.
• Better ratings increase applications, but only through their influence on published league tables.
• The effects of student satisfaction ratings and league tables on demand are relatively small.
• Demand response is greater for higher ability applicants and for courses facing more competition.

We investigate the impact of information about student satisfaction on university choice, using data from the UK's National Student Survey (NSS) and on applications to undergraduate degrees. We show that NSS scores have a small statistically significant effect on applications at the university-subject level. This effect operates via the influence of the NSS on a university's position in separately published, subject-specific league tables, suggesting that information contained in the league table rankings is more salient. The impact of rankings is greater for more able students, for universities with entry standards in the upper-middle tier, and for subject-departments facing more competition.