Welcome continues to provide a strong start for students, with 87% rating their overall experience positively and almost all students (96%) spending time on campus, according to the 2025 Welcome Survey findings.
Notably, the undergraduate experience has improved year on year, with a 5 percentage point increase in positive ratings – driven by particularly strong gains among Home undergraduates.
What is the Welcome Survey?
Each year, LSE’s Welcome Survey, coordinated by the Market Research and Intelligence team, captures how new students feel as they arrive and experience their first few weeks at the School. This year we heard from 2,692 (33%) incoming students, providing our strongest evidence base yet.
Headline insights
Students consistently highlighted the value of events, societies and informal socialising in helping them make friends and feel part of LSE, alongside positive interactions with staff and a welcoming campus atmosphere.
- A sense of connection and community remains central to students’ experience
- 87% of students rated Welcome as excellent or good
- UG satisfcation rose to 85% (up 5pp), including a 10pp rise for Home UG
- Engagement with Welcome activities was high, with 99% of those who spent time on campus attending at least one event
- 95% of students identified an event that stood out positively, while 19% identified an event that stood out negatively.
- Most students are both worried and excited in starting out at LSE, with academic success, careers and social life emerging as key priorities for incoming students.
Experiences across different student groups
Attitudes and experiences can differ considerably across student groups with different characteristics. Encouragingly, there are signs of improvement in key areas for some groups that are typically less satisfied with their early LSE experiences.
Black students reported notable year‑on‑year increases across several areas, including feeling part of a community during and after Welcome, satisfaction with events, and overall experience.
Overall pictures reflects work in this area
While some challenges remain – particularly around students feeling overwhelmed by the volume of activity –these findings suggest that ongoing work to strengthen connection, communication and inclusivity is beginning to have a positive impact.
Read how these Welcome Survey insights are shaping Welcome 2026