As any student will know, there’s a lot more to what makes a university a great place to learn than its exclusivity or the research it pumps out.
The end of the summer exam season is now just days away, and many A Level candidates have already begun the lengthy wait to find out how they did - with results day falling on August 14 this year. Many will have university offers hanging in the balance, and once their place has been confirmed, they can finally set out on an exciting new time in their lives - university, and all that comes with it.
As well as wanting an amazing student experience, they’ll no doubt be hoping to achieve good grades with expert teaching and guidance, leaving with a degree that will open the door to exciting careers or further study opportunities in the future. Most of them will also probably be taking out hefty student loans, and will no doubt want good bang for their buck.
The Complete University Guide has this month released its brand new UK university league table for 2026, to help keep this coming year’s university hopefuls in the loop. This comprehensive annual ranking compares dozens of institutions based on their entry standards, the proportion of students who stay on after their first year, research quality, how much they spend on academic services and facilities, student-to-staff ratio, and more. One of the factors it considers is how satisfied each institution’s students are with their education. They’ve each been given a score out of four based on responses to The National Student Survey (NSS), a poll of final-year undergraduates.
We’ve used this data to compile a league table of all the UK universities that scored around 80% or more when it comes to student satisfaction - so that prospective students can get an idea of how happy with their education current students are. Many are schools which didn’t make it to the upper echelons of the Complete University Guide’s overall performance table, but which each shine in their own unique way.
Here were the 17 universities that came out on top:
13. St Mary's University, Twickenham
St Mary’s is based in Twickenham, in London’s Richmond borough. It was ranked 69th in the overall league table. It too had a student satisfaction score of 3.22 out of 4 - or about 81%. | Google
14. University of Roehampton
Another London-based university, this one is in Roehampton, in the Wandsworth borough - and ranked 115th overall. It had a student satisfaction score of 3.21 out of 4 - or about 80%. | Google
15. University of West London
Yet another London university, this one was placed 70th in the overall league table. It has campuses across West London, as well as in Reading. It had a student satisfaction score of 3.20 out of 4 - or about 80%. | Google
16. University of Aberdeen
As its name might suggest, this university is headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, and was ranked 30th overall. It too had a student satisfaction score of 3.20 out of 4 - or about 80%. | UoA/Supplied
17. Middlesex University
Rounding out the list as the last university with a student satisfaction score of 80% or above is Middlesex, in Hendon, London. It was ranked 112th overall in the Complete University Guide’s list. It had a student satisfaction score of 3.19 out of 4 - or about 80%. | Google