This booklet presents a selection of the findings of the national survey on Student Living Conditions conducted between March 12 and May 25, 2020 by the National Observatory of Student Life (OVE).

As this survey focuses on student living conditions throughout the 2019-2020 academic year, results do not take into account the effects of the health crisis beginning in March 2020. However, certain questions had a limited time scope (weeks or months preceding the survey) which could have influenced responses. An additional survey, the results of which are presented at the end of this booklet (p. 32-35) focused on the health crisis’ specific impact on students’ living conditions.

Carried out every three years since its creation in 1994, the Student Living Conditions survey aims to collect and analyze relevant information on various aspects of students’ living conditions. To achieve this, the OVE invites students to answer an online questionnaire. To guarantee results’ scientific validity, the survey targets a random sample of the student population in France.

For its 9th edition, more than 250,000 students were invited to answer the OVE questionnaire. With nearly 100,000 students participating, the Student Living Conditions 2020 survey recorded a gross response rate of 39.0%. Results presented in this booklet correspond to the 60,014 questionnaires which were fully completed by students pursuing studies during the survey.

To constitute a solid tool for understanding student life, the Student Living Conditions survey takes into account both constant issues and societal developments since its first edition. In addition, its close link with Eurostudent VII, the European comparison system used in 26 countries, enables it to describe the specificities of living conditions in France.

Finally, the unusual study conditions caused by the health crisis linked to Covid-19 and the lockdown in spring 2020 were investigated further in an additional survey: its results are included in this booklet.