"I had to find my place to sit” – students’ experiences of transitioning to higher education

Entering higher education is one of the most significant transitions in a students’ life. Successfully transitioning into HE increases students’ chances of success (i.e., reducing the likelihood of dropout). Our research, across four UK institutions, has sought to better understand sport students’ experiences of FE with expectations and realities of HE. Furthermore, we have begun to identify the pre-arrival confidence and perceived importance of multiple factors in first year students, through devising a pre-arrival survey as a tool for early identification of students requiring enhanced transitional support, with the aim of improving the induction, sense of belonging, and subsequent successful transition of incoming students.