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North Carolina State University
2005 First-Year Student Survey:
Frequency Distributions of Survey Item #5
(Factor Influence on Decision to Attend)

This document reports the frequency distributions by gender and race/ethnicity of survey item #5 of the Fall 2005 First-Year Student Survey. The exact wording of the survey item is as follows:

To what extent did each of the following factors influence your decision to attend NC State? Using the scale below, please enter the number closest to your opinion for each factor listed. (Scale: 5="very strong influence," 4="strong influence," 3="moderate influence," 2="weak influence," 1="very weak influence," 0="not applicable")

Note: "Not applicable" responses were excluded from the analyses.


Academic reputation NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 4.08 4.08 4.08 4.31 4.06 4.00
5: Very strong infl. % 33.5 33.5 33.5 46.6 32.3 30.1
4: Strong influence % 44.4 44.2 44.6 39.0 45.1 44.2
3: Moderate infl. % 19.2 19.7 18.8 12.9 19.6 22.1
2: Weak influence % 2.0 1.9 2.0 1.1 2.0 2.5
1: Very weak infl. % 0.9 0.7 1.0 0.3 0.9 1.1
Total N 3616 1610 2006 356 2898 362

Cost NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 3.01 2.95 3.07 3.01 2.99 3.19
5: Very strong infl. % 15.1 14.3 15.7 17.4 14.7 16.3
4: Strong influence % 20.0 18.0 21.6 17.7 19.8 23.6
3: Moderate infl. % 31.7 32.9 30.7 31.2 31.5 33.8
2: Weak influence % 17.6 17.4 17.7 15.3 18.2 14.9
1: Very weak infl. % 15.6 17.3 14.3 18.3 15.8 11.4
Total N 3430 1537 1893 333 2754 343

Location NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 3.62 3.73 3.53 3.73 3.59 3.68
5: Very strong infl. % 24.9 28.5 22.1 31.0 23.5 30.2
4: Strong influence % 31.9 31.9 32.0 30.1 32.4 29.9
3: Moderate infl. % 28.4 27.9 28.9 26.2 29.1 25.7
2: Weak influence % 9.3 7.4 10.8 6.5 9.9 6.7
1: Very weak infl. % 5.4 4.4 6.2 6.2 5.0 7.5
Total N 3572 1601 1971 355 2859 358

Size NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 2.98 3.07 2.90 3.19 2.95 2.96
5: Very strong infl. % 11.0 11.6 10.6 18.6 10.1 11.1
4: Strong influence % 22.4 25.3 19.9 20.0 22.5 24.2
3: Moderate infl. % 33.0 33.8 32.3 35.7 32.9 30.6
2: Weak influence % 20.5 17.7 22.7 13.9 21.6 17.8
1: Very weak infl. % 13.1 11.6 14.4 11.9 12.9 16.3
Total N 3476 1581 1895 345 2788 343

Availability of program NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 3.74 3.71 3.76 3.81 3.73 3.68
5: Very strong infl. % 31.6 31.2 31.9 36.8 31.2 29.8
4: Strong influence % 28.9 28.7 29.1 26.5 29.1 30.1
3: Moderate infl. % 25.9 25.2 26.4 24.4 26.2 24.6
2: Weak influence % 8.9 10.1 7.9 6.2 9.1 9.6
1: Very weak infl. % 4.8 4.8 4.7 6.2 4.5 5.8
Total N 3489 1559 1930 340 2807 342

Recommended NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 3.36 3.38 3.34 3.32 3.38 3.27
5: Very strong infl. % 21.7 21.8 21.6 23.8 21.6 20.2
4: Strong influence % 27.6 28.4 26.9 24.1 28.1 27.2
3: Moderate infl. % 26.4 26.4 26.3 25.9 26.8 23.6
2: Weak influence % 13.8 12.9 14.5 12.8 13.4 17.5
1: Very weak infl. % 10.6 10.5 10.6 13.4 10.1 11.5
Total N 3302 1487 1815 320 2651 331

Number of hours transferred/credited NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 2.18 2.17 2.19 2.31 2.14 2.36
5: Very strong infl. % 4.3 4.1 4.4 6.5 3.9 5.1
4: Strong influence % 8.0 7.9 8.1 4.5 8.3 9.2
3: Moderate infl. % 25.2 25.1 25.3 33.3 23.4 31.3
2: Weak influence % 26.6 26.3 26.9 25.4 27.0 25.3
1: Very weak infl. % 35.9 36.5 35.4 30.3 37.5 29.0
Total N 2039 923 1116 201 1621 217

Level of support for my intended major NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 3.68 3.53 3.80 3.82 3.68 3.54
5: Very strong infl. % 30.8 26.8 33.9 33.4 31.6 21.7
4: Strong influence % 29.7 27.8 31.2 33.4 28.6 35.1
3: Moderate infl. % 23.4 25.5 21.7 21.4 23.3 25.9
2: Weak influence % 9.0 11.3 7.2 5.6 9.3 10.1
1: Very weak infl. % 7.1 8.5 6.0 6.2 7.2 7.1
Total N 3403 1505 1898 341 2726 336

Facilities and resources available NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 3.56 3.54 3.57 3.84 3.54 3.42
5: Very strong infl. % 21.0 21.8 20.3 33.8 20.2 14.7
4: Strong influence % 33.6 30.8 35.8 31.8 33.6 35.4
3: Moderate infl. % 30.2 31.5 29.2 23.1 30.7 32.9
2: Weak influence % 10.6 11.6 9.8 6.6 11.1 11.0
1: Very weak infl. % 4.6 4.3 4.9 4.6 4.5 5.9
Total N 3542 1580 1962 346 2843 353

Scholarships/financial aid available NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 2.82 2.90 2.75 3.69 2.67 2.97
5: Very strong infl. % 16.6 18.6 14.9 38.8 13.1 18.0
4: Strong influence % 15.4 16.1 14.9 21.2 14.4 17.3
3: Moderate infl. % 23.7 23.1 24.1 18.8 24.0 26.8
2: Weak influence % 21.7 20.9 22.4 12.1 23.4 19.3
1: Very weak infl. % 22.6 21.3 23.7 9.1 25.1 18.6
Total N 2947 1320 1627 340 2312 295

Campus visit prior to orientation NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 3.13 3.25 3.02 3.23 3.11 3.17
5: Very strong infl. % 13.5 17.3 10.4 19.6 12.9 13.2
4: Strong influence % 26.2 27.7 25.0 21.5 26.6 27.6
3: Moderate infl. % 32.6 30.2 34.7 34.4 32.4 33.1
2: Weak influence % 14.6 12.8 16.2 11.1 15.0 14.8
1: Very weak infl. % 13.0 12.0 13.8 13.3 13.1 11.3
Total N 2944 1337 1607 270 2417 257

Contact with a current student NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 3.05 3.17 2.95 2.98 3.06 3.00
5: Very strong infl. % 14.6 17.8 11.9 15.6 14.6 13.4
4: Strong influence % 23.7 25.5 22.2 18.0 24.2 25.2
3: Moderate infl. % 29.6 27.1 31.7 34.0 29.5 26.0
2: Weak influence % 16.5 15.9 17.0 14.1 16.5 18.9
1: Very weak infl. % 15.6 13.8 17.1 18.4 15.2 16.5
Total N 2729 1245 1484 256 2219 254

Contact with a faculty or staff member NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 2.38 2.38 2.38 2.75 2.31 2.54
5: Very strong infl. % 7.4 7.7 7.2 14.9 6.5 6.2
4: Strong influence % 12.2 11.8 12.4 10.6 11.5 19.8
3: Moderate infl. % 23.8 22.7 24.7 33.7 22.3 24.3
2: Weak influence % 24.1 26.5 22.2 15.9 25.7 20.9
1: Very weak infl. % 32.5 31.3 33.4 25.0 34.0 28.8
Total N 1826 805 1021 208 1441 177

Contact with a graduate NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 2.72 2.75 2.70 2.62 2.76 2.44
5: Very strong infl. % 13.1 14.0 12.4 12.6 13.5 9.4
4: Strong influence % 16.7 15.6 17.6 15.8 17.4 11.1
3: Moderate infl. % 25.3 26.5 24.3 24.0 25.5 24.0
2: Weak influence % 18.9 19.2 18.7 16.4 18.5 25.1
1: Very weak infl. % 26.0 24.8 27.0 31.1 25.1 30.4
Total N 2090 903 1187 183 1736 171

Letter from outside Admissions Office NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 2.07 2.06 2.07 2.52 1.98 2.17
5: Very strong infl. % 3.8 3.5 4.1 8.4 3.0 4.8
4: Strong influence % 8.3 8.7 8.0 14.8 7.4 7.4
3: Moderate infl. % 20.3 19.9 20.6 26.2 18.7 25.4
2: Weak influence % 25.9 26.5 25.3 21.9 26.7 24.9
1: Very weak infl. % 41.7 41.4 41.9 28.7 44.3 37.6
Total N 1877 855 1022 237 1451 189

Attendance at a College Fair NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 2.20 2.25 2.17 2.62 2.12 2.35
5: Very strong infl. % 3.5 2.9 4.0 5.6 3.1 4.7
4: Strong influence % 9.4 11.1 8.2 17.8 7.8 12.6
3: Moderate infl. % 27.0 28.9 25.5 33.8 25.6 29.8
2: Weak influence % 23.8 22.2 25.1 17.8 25.3 18.8
1: Very weak infl. % 36.2 34.9 37.3 24.9 38.2 34.0
Total N 1864 823 1041 213 1460 191

Publications from NC State NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 2.25 2.29 2.23 2.67 2.18 2.42
5: Very strong infl. % 3.0 2.9 3.0 7.3 2.4 3.0
4: Strong influence % 10.1 11.2 9.1 18.1 8.5 14.6
3: Moderate infl. % 27.5 27.5 27.5 29.6 26.9 30.0
2: Weak influence % 28.4 28.5 28.2 23.8 29.3 26.2
1: Very weak infl. % 31.1 29.9 32.1 21.2 33.0 26.2
Total N 2397 1114 1283 260 1904 233

Extracurricular opportunities NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 2.91 2.92 2.91 3.31 2.86 2.97
5: Very strong infl. % 11.1 12.0 10.3 21.6 10.0 9.8
4: Strong influence % 21.4 21.0 21.8 23.3 20.5 26.8
3: Moderate infl. % 31.9 31.2 32.5 32.1 32.1 29.8
2: Weak influence % 19.1 18.4 19.7 10.5 20.4 17.3
1: Very weak infl. % 16.5 17.3 15.8 12.5 17.0 16.3
Total N 3040 1404 1636 296 2449 295

Campus recreation programs NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 2.76 2.72 2.79 3.04 2.72 2.82
5: Very strong infl. % 8.7 8.4 8.9 15.6 8.0 8.0
4: Strong influence % 18.7 18.2 19.1 21.8 17.6 24.0
3: Moderate infl. % 31.9 31.3 32.4 30.1 32.5 28.2
2: Weak influence % 21.2 21.2 21.3 16.6 21.8 21.3
1: Very weak infl. % 19.5 20.9 18.3 15.9 20.1 18.5
Total N 2939 1318 1621 289 2363 287

Other NCSU Women Men AfAm White Other
Mean 4.03 4.26 3.89 3.78 4.09 3.98
5: Very strong infl. % 57.4 68.2 50.6 51.7 58.4 57.8
4: Strong influence % 13.7 12.1 14.7 10.0 14.5 13.3
3: Moderate infl. % 14.5 7.0 19.1 18.3 13.9 13.3
2: Weak influence % 3.9 3.2 4.4 5.0 4.3 .
1: Very weak infl. % 10.5 9.6 11.2 15.0 8.9 15.6
Total N 408 157 251 60 303 45
Back to Means by Gender/Ethnicity for Survey Item #5
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For more information on the 2005 First-Year Student Survey contact:
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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