North Carolina State University:
2003 First-Year Student Survey
Executive Summary

• NC State conducted its annual survey of entering first-year students during New Student Orientation sessions held in July and early August 2003.
• The survey response rate was 86.5% (N=3,402 of 3,934).
• There were no significant gender or racial/ethnic differences between the first-year students actually enrolled at NC State and those responding to the survey.

• About two-thirds of all survey respondents (65.4%) reported that they expect to receive some form of financial aid, slightly up from 62.9% in the 2002 survey. Respondents were more likely to expect aid based on financial need (40.2%) than academic ability (34.0%). Substantially more African American students expected to receive financial aid than whites or non-African American minorities (88.7% vs. 62.2% and 69.4%, respectively). African American respondents were more than twice as likely as white respondents to expect aid based on financial need (71.9% vs. 35.4%) . African Americans were also more likely than whites to expect aid based on academic ability (47.6% vs. 32.6%).
• More than one-third (35.1%) of white respondents reported family incomes over $100,000 per year, compared to 11 percent of African Americans and 19 percent of other minorities. African American respondents were nearly six times more likely than whites to report family incomes of $25,000 or less (31.5% vs. 5.4%).
• The most common parent/guardian educational attainment reported by all respondents was a four-year baccalaureate degree. A majority of fathers/male guardians (62.9%) and mothers/female guardians (57.3%) had a baccalaureate or higher (e.g. M.S., Ph.D.) degree. African American and other minority respondents were more likely than whites to report that neither parent had attended college (12.6% and 15.1% vs. 6.2%, respectively).
• A majority of first-year students (62.7%) reported having four or more household members currently supported by parents/guardians. More than two-thirds (67.4%) of all respondents reported being the only household dependent currently enrolled in college.
• More than half of respondents reported coming from either a "moderate size city" (28.2%) or a "small town" (26.5%). Non-African American minorities were more likely than both white and African American respondents to be from a large city or urban area (38.3% vs. 28.2% and 27.7%, respectively). White respondents were more likely than both African American and non-African American minorities to be from a rural area (17.5% vs. 12.8% and 8.3%, respectively).
• Baptist was the most common religious preference reported by respondents (26.4%), followed by Methodist (14.4%) and Catholic (13.7%). About 15% of respondents reported that they had no religious preference.
• About 8 percent of respondents reported some sort of disability.
• Over 40 percent of respondents said they were "well prepared" for college by their high school (45.9%) and by their own efforts (45.0%). African Americans were less likely than whites and non-African American minorities to say they were "well prepared" by their high school (38.2% vs. 46.3% and 51.5%, respectively) and through their own efforts (35.0% vs. 46.2% and 46.0%, respectively). Men were slightly less likely than women to feel "well prepared" through their own efforts (43.4% vs. 47.2%).
• 90 percent of all respondents report that they will bring either a desktop (39.8%) or laptop computer (50.2%) to campus. African American respondents were much less likely than white and non-African American minority respondents to report that they would be bringing a personal computer to NC State (70.9% vs. 92.8% and 84.3%, respectively). More than 90 percent of those bringing a personal computer reported that they would be able to connect to the Internet (93.5%).
• About 30 percent of respondents reported that location will not be important in their search for employment after graduation (29.8%). Non-African American minorities were more likely than whites and African Americans to say they would seek employment in any location after graduating from NC State (39.2% vs. 29.5% and 25.4% respectively). Men were slightly more likely than women to say they would seek employment "anywhere" (31.8% vs. 27.1%). Less than 15 percent of all respondents (13.8%) report they plan to look for employment only in North Carolina.
• One-third or more respondents in the Colleges of Design (41.7%), Engineering (35.0%), Textiles (40.5%), and Management (34.4%) report that they will seek employment "anywhere." Almost half of College of Education respondents report that they will seek employment in North Carolina only. This figure is more than twice that reported by first-year students in other colleges.

• More than half of respondents (56.2%) applied to "three or more colleges" including NC State. Men were more likely than women (24.4% vs. 15.9%) and whites were more than twice as likely as African Americans (22.2% vs. 9.4%) to report having applied "only to NC State."
• About two-thirds of survey respondents reported that after applying for admission to NC State they received a letter from someone at NC State other than the Admissions Office (66.6%). Considerably fewer respondents reported having received calls from NCSU faculty/staff (21.2%), current NCSU students (23.1%), or NCSU graduates (7.3%). African American respondents were much more likely than white and non-African American minority respondents to report having received a call from NCSU faculty/staff (33.3% vs. 19.5%, and 24.3%, respectively) or a current NC State student (37.2% vs. 22.2%, and 14.5%, respectively) during the admissions process.
• One-third or more respondents in the Colleges of Education (34.4%), Natural Resources (34.8%), and Physical and Mathematical Sciences (42.5%) reported that they received a call from NCSU faculty/staff during the admissions process. One-third or more respondents in the Colleges of Natural Resources (37.4%) and Management (43.3%) reported that they received a call from a current NCSU student.
• In general, women and African Americans tended to give higher ratings than their counterparts to the factors influencing their decision to attend NC State. African Americans gave substantially higher ratings than whites to scholarships/financial aid (mean rating 3.80 vs. 2.78) and letter from someone other than admissions office (mean rating 2.68 vs. 2.01).
• Overall, academic reputation (25.0%) was most likely to be rated the "single most influential factor" in the decision to attend NC State, followed by availability of program (16.3%), and level of support for intended major (13.7%). African Americans were more than twice as likely as both white and non-African American minority respondents to report that scholarships/financial aid available (13.7% vs. 5.1 and 6.0%, respectively) was the "single most influential factor" in their decision to attend NC State.
• The vast majority of respondents were "moderately" or "very satisfied" with university (94.7%) and departmental (93.9%) admissions processes. Fewer respondents (71.3%) reported being "moderately" (45.7%) or "very satisfied" (25.6%) with the university financial aid process. Women were more likely than men to report being "very satisfied" with university (54.5% vs. 47.3%) and departmental (52.6% vs. 42.1%) admissions processes. Non-African American minority respondents were less likely than African American and white respondents to report being "very satisfied" with university (38.8% vs. 53.1% and 51.0%, respectively) and departmental (38.1% vs. 49.4% and 46.9%, respectively) admissions processes. African American respondents were more likely than whites and non-African American minority respondents to report that they were "very satisfied" with the financial aid process (36.5% vs. 23.3% and 31.7%, respectively).
• A majority of respondents (58.0%) "did not know about" NC State's Virtual Advising Center website. Among those respondents who had used the website, 90 percent rated the website as "excellent" (26.3%) or "good" (63.4%).

• Almost 90 percent (87.1%) of respondents intended to enroll for 15 credit hours or more during their first semester. African American respondents were slightly more likely than white and non-African American minority respondents to report enrolling for less than 15 credit hours. Among those taking less than 15 credit hours, the most common reasons reported were "want to make better grades" (42.4%) and "courses wanted were unavailable" (23.0%).
• 80 percent of respondents indicated that they intend to complete a degree at NC State in 4 years (76.1%) or less (5.0%). Respondents' intended time to complete a degree varied by gender, race/ethnicity, and college. Men were more likely than women (21.0% vs. 14.7%) and African Americans were more likely than whites and non-African American minorities (22.2% vs. 18.3% and 13.7%, respectively) to report that they intend to take more than 4 years to complete a degree. One-third or more of Natural Resources (45.7%), and Design (35.5%) students indicated that it would take them more than four years to complete their degree.
• A majority of respondents reported that their primary goal or objective for attending NC State is to "obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for graduate or professional school" (53.6%). Women were more likely than men (61.0% vs. 48.2%) and African Americans were more likely than whites and non-African American minorities (62.3% vs. 52.5% and 55.0%) to report that their primary goal or objective is to "obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for graduate or professional school." Men, white, and non-African American respondents (35.8%, 34.0%, and 35.1%, respectively), on the other hand, were more likely than women and African American respondents (30.3% and 28.2%, respectively) to report that their primary goal or objective is to "obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for a career". More than two-thirds of respondents from the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences (81.4%) and Physical and Mathematical Sciences (69.3%) report that graduate or professional school preparation is their primary goal. Respondents in the Colleges of Education (48.4%) and Natural Resources (50.4%) were more likely than others to report career preparation as their primary goal.
• The vast majority of respondents reported that they intend to obtain a Master's degree or higher (72.6%). Women were more likely than men (76.9% vs. 69.8%) and African Americans were more likely than whites and non-African Americans (83.7% vs. 70.9% and 79.3%, respectively) to report that they intend to obtain a Master's degree or higher. Women were more than twice as likely as men to report that they intend to obtain a medical degree (10.4% vs. 4.7%) and almost six times as likely to report that they intend to obtain a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree (10.0% vs. 1.7%). African American respondents were more likely than white and non-African American minority respondents to report that they intend to obtain a doctoral degree (21.0% vs. 12.5% and 17.3%, respectively), a medical degree (14.3% vs. 5.9% and 11.3%), or a law degree (8.8% vs. 4.5% and 4.3%).
• Respondents’ educational aspirations also varied by college. One-third or more respondents in the Colleges of Design (34.4%), Education (38.1%), Natural Resources (43.1%), and Textiles (36.2%) reported that they planned on stopping at the baccalaureate. Physical and Mathematical Sciences respondents were much more likely than others to plan on getting a doctoral degree (40.3%). College of Agriculture and Life Sciences respondents were more likely than others to plan on getting a medical (27.5%) or veterinary medicine degree (32.3%), and those in the Humanities and Social Sciences were more likely than others to say they were going to get a law degree (25.0%).
• 70 percent of respondents indicated that they were "certain" (43.9%) or "very certain" (26.1%) of their choice of college major. African Americans were more likely than whites and non-African American minority respondents to report that they were "very certain" of their choice of major (35.7% vs. 25.1%, and 23.6%, respectively).
• Nearly two-thirds of respondents (63.7%) reported that they do not intend to work during their first semester at NC State. African Americans (42.2%) and non-African American minorities (42.6%) were more likely than whites (35.1%) to report that they plan to work during their first semester at NC State. The majority of respondents who plan on working said they would work less than 20 hours per week (83.7%).
• Overall, respondents indicated greatest interest in intramurals (52.2%), fitness (47.8%), and study abroad/student exchange (40.6%) from a list of 27 co-curricular activities and programs. There were persistent gender differences in interest in participating in the various activities. For example, women were more interested in fitness, study abroad, and volunteer services, while men were more interested in intramurals, co-op programs, and club sports. Racial/ethnic differences in interest in the various activities were somewhat less widespread. African Americans were more interested than whites and non-African American minorities in volunteer services, social fraternity/sorority, student government, student leadership, residence hall council, and Union Activities Board (UAB) programs/services. White respondents were more interested in outdoor adventures, club sports, intramurals, and informal recreation.

• For each of 35 knowledge, skills, and personal development goals held by NC State, respondents were asked to rate their current level of development and the importance of the goal for undergraduate preparation. Respondents consistently gave higher importance ratings than current development ratings to these knowledge, skills, and personal development goals. In general, goals that received high importance ratings tended to receive high development ratings.
• While current development ratings tended to be higher for personal development and world view goals than for general education goals, importance ratings were consistently higher for personal development goals than for both general education and world view goals.
• Scatterplots depicting mean importance and current level of development of each goal reveal that taking responsibility for my own behavior is the highest ranking goal in terms of both importance and development. Other goals ranking high in importance and development include valuing racial equity and valuing gender equity. Managing my time and handling stress ranked high in importance, but low in development. Several goals central to the University's core general education curriculum received low importance and development ratings, including developing an appreciation of the arts, developing the ability to apply scientific principles, developing the ability to communicate in writing, understanding the present as it relates to history, and being involved with public/community affairs.
• The patterns of individual goal rankings remained fairly stable by gender and race/ethnicity. However, women and African American respondents consistently assigned higher importance and development ratings to the goals for undergraduate education than did their counterparts.

For more information on the 2003 First-Year Student Survey contact:
Dr. Nancy Whelchel, Coordinator for Survey Research
University Planning and Analysis
Box 7002
NCSU
Phone: (919) 515-4184
Email: Nancy_Whelchel@ncsu.edu

Posted: January, 2004

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