North Carolina State University
2005 First-Year Student Survey:
Gender and Racial/Ethnic Comparisons
of Students' Evaluation of the Application Process
This document reports gender and racial/ethnic differences in the respondents' experiences with the application process and factors influencing their decision to attend NC State. For information about the survey and analysis methods see "2005 First-Year Student Survey: Introduction, Methods, and Student Demographic Profile". Exact question wording is available on the web or by clicking on the "Q" next to the table heading.
Number of Schools Applied To | Contacts During the Admissions Process | Factors Influencing Attendance Decision | Most Influential Factor | Satisfaction with Admissions | Virtual Advising Center Rating
| Number of colleges applied to | NCSU | Women | Men | AfAm | White | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One | % | 19.4 | 14.8 | 23.1 | 10.2 | 21.2 | 14.1 |
| Two | % | 22.8 | 19.8 | 25.2 | 17.4 | 23.5 | 22.2 |
| Three | % | 25.1 | 25.1 | 25.1 | 28.2 | 24.5 | 26.6 |
| Four | % | 16.8 | 19.6 | 14.5 | 20.4 | 16.1 | 18.4 |
| Five or more | % | 15.9 | 20.7 | 12.1 | 23.8 | 14.6 | 18.7 |
| Total | N | 3652 | 1620 | 2032 | 362 | 2921 | 369 |
| Yes, had contact via: | NCSU | Women | Men | AfAm | White | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Call from faculty/staff | % | 19.0% | 19.0% | 19.1% | 40.4% | 16.7% | 16.5% |
| Call from current student | % | 20.4% | 21.8% | 19.2% | 42.9% | 17.9% | 18.2% |
| Call from graduate | % | 5.8% | 4.9% | 6.6% | 9.1% | 5.7% | 3.5% |
| Letter from outside Admissions Office | % | 59.9% | 61.5% | 58.7% | 67.9% | 58.9% | 60.2% |
| Total | N | 3660 | 1622 | 2038 | 364 | 2927 | 369 |
Back to Top
QFactors Influencing Decision to Attend NC State
| Mean
Rating Scale: 5=very strong influence, 4=strong influence, 3=moderate influence, 2=weak influence, 1= very weak influence |
||||||
| All | Women | Men | AfAm. | White | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academic reputation | 4.08 | 4.08 | 4.08 | 4.31 | 4.06 | 4.00 |
| Cost | 3.01 | 2.95 | 3.07 | 3.01 | 2.99 | 3.19 |
| Location | 3.62 | 3.73 | 3.53 | 3.73 | 3.59 | 3.68 |
| Size | 2.98 | 3.07 | 2.90 | 3.19 | 2.95 | 2.96 |
| Availability of program | 3.74 | 3.71 | 3.76 | 3.81 | 3.73 | 3.68 |
| Recommended by friend, etc. | 3.36 | 3.38 | 3.34 | 3.32 | 3.38 | 3.27 |
| Number of hours transferred/credited | 2.18 | 2.17 | 2.19 | 2.31 | 2.14 | 2.36 |
| Level of support for my intended major | 3.68 | 3.53 | 3.80 | 3.82 | 3.68 | 3.54 |
| Facilities and resources available | 3.56 | 3.54 | 3.57 | 3.84 | 3.54 | 3.42 |
| Scholarships/financial aid available | 2.82 | 2.90 | 2.75 | 3.69 | 2.67 | 2.97 |
| Campus visit prior to orientation | 3.13 | 3.25 | 3.02 | 3.23 | 3.11 | 3.17 |
| Contact with a current student | 3.05 | 3.17 | 2.95 | 2.98 | 3.06 | 3.00 |
| Contact with a faculty/staff member | 2.38 | 2.38 | 2.38 | 2.75 | 2.31 | 2.54 |
| Contact with a graduate | 2.72 | 2.75 | 2.70 | 2.62 | 2.76 | 2.44 |
| Letter from someone other than Admissions Office | 2.07 | 2.06 | 2.07 | 2.52 | 1.98 | 2.17 |
| Attendance at a college fair | 2.20 | 2.25 | 2.17 | 2.62 | 2.12 | 2.35 |
| Publications from NC State | 2.25 | 2.29 | 2.23 | 2.67 | 2.18 | 2.42 |
| Extracurricular opportunities | 2.91 | 2.92 | 2.91 | 3.31 | 2.86 | 2.97 |
| Acceptance into the First Year College program | 3.63 | 3.73 | 3.53 | 3.43 | 3.66 | 3.59 |
| Campus Recreation programs | 2.76 | 2.72 | 2.79 | 3.04 | 2.72 | 2.82 |
| Other | 4.03 | 4.26 | 3.89 | 3.78 | 4.09 | 3.98 |
Back to Top QMost Influential Factor Influencing Decision to Attend NC State
| NCSU | Women | Men | AfAm | White | Other | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academic reputation | % | 23.9 | 22.5 | 25.1 | 25.8 | 23.4 | 26.5 |
| Cost | % | 4.7 | 4.0 | 5.4 | 2.6 | 4.7 | 6.9 |
| Location | % | 11.2 | 13.0 | 9.8 | 9.0 | 11.0 | 15.3 |
| Size | % | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.9 |
| Availability of program | % | 13.0 | 12.6 | 13.3 | 6.8 | 14.0 | 10.9 |
| Recommended | % | 7.2 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 6.1 | 7.4 | 6.9 |
| Number of hours transferred/credited | % | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Level of support for my intended major | % | 14.8 | 12.6 | 16.5 | 12.9 | 15.5 | 10.9 |
| Facilities and resources available | % | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
| Scholarships/financial aid available | % | 5.5 | 6.6 | 4.7 | 17.1 | 4.0 | 6.5 |
| Campus visit prior to orientation | % | 2.7 | 3.6 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 2.8 |
| Contact with a current student | % | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 1.9 |
| Contact with a faculty or staff member | % | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Contact with a graduate | % | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 |
| Letter from someone other than admissions | % | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Attendance at a College Fair | % | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Publications from NC State | % | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Extracurricular opportunities | % | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
| Acceptance into First Year College | % | 2.0 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 1.2 |
| Campus recreation programs | % | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Other | % | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 5.8 | 4.0 | 4.7 |
| Total | N | 3165 | 1416 | 1749 | 310 | 2534 | 321 |
| Satisfaction with university admissions | NCSU | Women | Men | AfAm | White | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 3.38 | 3.45 | 3.33 | 3.36 | 3.40 | 3.31 | |
| 4: Very satisfied | % | 47.2 | 52.0 | 43.3 | 49.6 | 47.7 | 40.8 |
| 3: Moderately satisfied | % | 45.1 | 41.6 | 47.8 | 38.7 | 45.1 | 51.0 |
| 2: Moderately dissatisfied | % | 6.8 | 5.8 | 7.6 | 9.5 | 6.5 | 6.3 |
| 1: Very dissatisfied | % | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 1.9 |
| Total | N | 3638 | 1619 | 2019 | 357 | 2916 | 365 |
| Satisfaction with dept. admissions | NCSU | Women | Men | AfAm | White | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 3.36 | 3.41 | 3.32 | 3.33 | 3.37 | 3.29 | |
| 4: Very satisfied | % | 45.3 | 50.3 | 41.3 | 48.3 | 45.7 | 39.4 |
| 3: Moderately satisfied | % | 46.4 | 41.9 | 50.0 | 39.2 | 46.7 | 51.1 |
| 2: Moderately dissatisfied | % | 7.2 | 6.5 | 7.7 | 9.6 | 6.7 | 8.3 |
| 1: Very dissatisfied | % | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 1.1 |
| Total | N | 3517 | 1558 | 1959 | 344 | 2823 | 350 |
| Satisfaction with financial aid process | NCSU | Women | Men | AfAm | White | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 2.82 | 2.87 | 2.79 | 3.07 | 2.78 | 2.84 | |
| 4: Very satisfied | % | 24.5 | 26.6 | 22.8 | 34.5 | 22.5 | 27.7 |
| 3: Moderately satisfied | % | 42.9 | 42.5 | 43.2 | 45.8 | 43.1 | 37.7 |
| 2: Moderately dissatisfied | % | 23.0 | 22.0 | 23.9 | 12.2 | 24.5 | 25.3 |
| 1: Very dissatisfied | % | 9.6 | 8.9 | 10.1 | 7.4 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| Total | N | 2687 | 1197 | 1490 | 336 | 2062 | 289 |
| Virtual advising center rating | NCSU | Women | Men | AfAm | White | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excellent | % | 8.5 | 9.6 | 7.7 | 8.9 | 8.6 | 7.9 |
| Good | % | 20.9 | 22.3 | 19.7 | 17.2 | 21.3 | 21.0 |
| Fair | % | 4.2 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 3.5 | 8.7 |
| Poor | % | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
| Know about/did not use | % | 10.0 | 10.9 | 9.4 | 11.4 | 9.6 | 12.3 |
| Did not know about | % | 55.6 | 53.3 | 57.4 | 57.1 | 56.2 | 49.5 |
| Total | N | 3654 | 1621 | 2033 | 361 | 2927 | 366 |
| Virtual advising center rating (among those who have used the website N=1,256) |
NCSU | Women | Men | AfAm | White | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excellent | 24.8 | 26.7 | 23.3 | 28.1 | 25.0 | 20.7 | |
| Good | % | 60.7 | 62.3 | 59.4 | 54.4 | 62.3 | 55.0 |
| Fair | % | 12.1 | 9.8 | 14.1 | 14.9 | 10.3 | 22.9 |
| Poor | % | 2.3 | 1.2 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 1.4 |
| Total | N | 1256 | 581 | 675 | 114 | 1002 | 140 |
Dr. Nancy Whelchel, Associate Director for Survey Research
Office of Institutional Planning and Research
Box 7002
NCSU
Phone: (919) 515-4184
Email: Nancy_Whelchel@ncsu.edu
Posted: February, 2007
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