For many students, the decision to continue at university is not made at the point of withdrawal.
It is often quiet in the first six weeks.
This early period is when uncertainty is highest, routines are unformed, and small barriers can quickly compound. Increasingly, engagement data is showing that continuation outcomes are strongly influenced not by what happens later in the year, but by how effectively students are supported during this initial transition.
Across UK institutions, the strongest first-year strategies are those that treat the first six weeks not as an orientation phase, but as a critical continuation window.
In the early weeks of term, students are navigating multiple transitions at once:
While most students will not formally signal risk during this period, engagement patterns tell a different story. Questions around “what do I do next?”, “Where do I find X?”, and “am I doing this right?” dominate early interactions, particularly in peer-led environments.
Data across Vygo-supported programmes consistently shows that early engagement themes are strongly linked to confidence, belonging, and stabilisation, all of which precede continuation outcomes.
One of the clearest predictors of early stabilisation is whether students form meaningful connections quickly.
At Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), where the university delivers its largest buddy scheme and a targeted social support programme using Vygo, over 80% of first year students were connected with a mentor within their first week.
In Term 1, 77% of all connections occurred during that first week, reducing uncertainty at the point when students are most likely to disengage silently.
A similar pattern is observed at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), where programmes delivered using Vygo see 80 to 88% of mentors actively engage, ensuring that most first year students receive early peer contact.
These early connections matter because they create a safe, informal space for students to ask questions they may not raise through formal channels, preventing small issues from becoming significant barriers later.
Belonging does not emerge from one-off events. It develops through repeated, low effort interactions that help students feel recognised and supported.
Across institutions, early peer led connections frequently evolve into ongoing mentoring relationships, rather than ending after welcome or induction.
This continuity allows support to shift naturally as students’ needs change from social adjustment in the first weeks to academic and personal challenges later in the term.
Engagement data reinforces this:
These interactions play a critical role in reducing isolation one of the most common drivers of early withdrawal.
Confidence emerges as the dominant early indicator
Across multiple institutions, student confidence consistently accounts for a large share of early engagement.
At MMU:
At QMUL:
Confidence functions as a stabilising force during the first six weeks. When students understand how the university works and where to seek help, they are far less likely to disengage when academic or personal challenges arise.
The first six weeks are also when demand for support peaks. Crucially, peer-led models absorb much of this demand without increasing pressure on professional services.
Highly engaged mentors, many of whom act as informal super mentors, play a central role by:
Evidence of mentor participation is strong:
This level of engagement ensures that most early concerns are addressed promptly, informally, and at low cost exactly when intervention is most effective.
Institutions that focus on the first six weeks are not just preventing early withdrawal. They are creating conditions for sustained engagement.
At the University of Greenwich, early support programmes have scaled from a single cohort (~500 users) to 14,000+ students across 11 programmes, without increasing programme management headcount.
In Term 1 (2025), 41% of engagement related to outcomes linked to continuation, demonstrating how early stabilisation supports longer-term persistence.
As students move through different programmes, welcome, academic mentoring, and career support, the risk of falling through gaps reduces significantly.