The Exeter University Athletic Union (AU) is the organisation responsible for administrating all aspects of sporting activity at the university. Activities range from recreational sport to competitive fixtures at local, regional, national and international level. The AU is a separate body from the Students' Guild and is run by four members of staff based in the Athletic Union Office. Additionally, the elected AU President represents the student body on all sporting matters. Joe Batten is the current sabbatical Athletic Union President.

The AU runs 49 Sports Clubs which have a combined membership of in excess of 5,000 students. An additional 3000 students take part in intramural sport and sports volunteering in the local community.

Many clubs compete in the inter-university fixtures in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) competition in a range of sports including cricket, golf, hockey, netball, rowing, rugby union, sailing, squash, surfing and tennis. In the 2011/12 academic year, Exeter finished in 7th position in the final BUCS rankings of 155 Higher Education institutions.

Students at Exeter are represented by a Students' Guild, which has an active role in campaigning at local and national levels. It is run by four elected Sabbatical Officers: Hannah Barton (Guild President), Jak Curtis-Rendall (Vice President Participation & Campuses), Chris Rootkin (Vice President Welfare & Community) and Alex Louch (Vice President Academic Affairs). There are also other non sabbatical officers representing areas of the student population and student activities areas. These are elected by students in a series of elections throughout the academic year.

There are over 150 affiliated student societies, ranging from the Theatre Company and Creative Writing to the Liberal Youth, Conservative Future, and Socialist Students societies. The Debating Society which predates establishment of the university, started life in 1893 as The Exeter Debating Society at the Royal Albert Memorial College, and has played host to many notable speakers including Anthony Eden, H H Asquith, Ludovic Kennedy, Michael Foot and Stephen Fry. From 2012, a Debating Scholarship supported by Alumni of the Debating Society has been made available.

Community Action is a volunteering agency within the Students' Guild which runs its own projects with members of the local community that are run by volunteers and provides further volunteering opportunities through links with external partner organisations. There is a RAG (Raising and Giving) group which exists to raise money for five nominated charities, and collects in town centres around Britain every weekend. RAG events are run by students, under the co-ordination of a full-time member of staff. The main aim of these societies and activities groups is to provide opportunities for student development.

Exeter's Guild is home to award winning media: a student radio station Xpression FM, a newspaper Exeposé, a website Exeposé Online and television station XTV. Xpression FM is one of three student stations in the country to have a year-round FM licence.

The University of Exeter has climbed rapidly in national and international university ranking listings in recent years and is currently placed between 7th and 10th in the four main ranking compilations of universities in the United Kingdom. It is ranked in 7th place in the UK by The Times and The Sunday Times (2015) and in 10th place by, The Guardian (2013) and The Complete University Guide (2014). Entering the Times Higher Education World University Rankings Top 200 world universities for the first time in 2010/2011 (in 184th place), the university increased its global standing in 2011/2012, by ranking in 156th place and featuring amongst the top 1% of universities in the world. Exeter was ranked 49th on the annual list of the top 500 major universities worldwide in the Leiden Rankings (2013).

The university was named The Sunday Times University of the Year 2013, after being shortlisted for the award four times, more than any other UK university, finishing as runner up in 2006 and 2012.The university was also named Times Higher Education University of the Year 2007.

The University of Exeter has maintained a top ten position in the National Student Survey since the survey was launched in 2005.

The 2007 National Student Survey found that some 91% of Exeter students are satisfied with their experience compared to a national average of 81%. This means that Exeter is 7th in the national universities and colleges satisfaction ranking and 4th in the list of traditional universities.

The University of Exeter Business School was ranked 1st in the country for Business, Accounting & Finance and Management in the 2006 National Student Survey,[ and in the 2005 National Student Survey, Exeter was ranked joint 10th nationally for overall satisfaction. The results put Exeter in the top 25 per cent of UK universities for learning resources (such as IT resources) and for course management and organisation.