This thesis considers the student voice in relation to higher education and its delivery in further education colleges and the implications for leaders in the sector. It considers differences in perception and choice between widening participation students, using questionnaires, focus groups and interviews to compare two student groups undertaking full-time study of either a bachelors or a foundation degree, one group studying in a university and another group studying in a college setting. The findings inform our understanding of why some non-traditional students choose colleges and others university for their higher education. The mind-set at the stage of decision-making is already different and students are prioritising whether the present or the future is most important. Those students choosing university are future-orientated, risk-managers with a transformational approach to education. They have clear expectations of their HE experience and an understanding of the wider university experience and the delayed benefits. They are likely to be embedded choosers with a secure learner identity. Those students choosing colleges are orientated in the present, risk-averse with an instrumental approach to education. They are accepting of a different experience, with fewer expectations. They are likely to be pseudo-embedded or contingent choosers with a tentative learner identity.