North Carolina State University
2006 First-Year Student Survey:
Executive Summary

Survey Methods

NC State conducted its annual survey of entering first-year students during New Student Orientation sessions held in July and early August 2006.

The survey response rate was 85.6 percent (N=4,015 of 4,693). 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. While high school grade point averages were slightly higher among survey respondents than among first-year students as a whole, there were no differences in the standardized achievement test scores of the two groups.

Student Background

Nearly two-thirds of all survey respondents reported that they will be receiving some form of financial aid (63.6%) . Respondents most commonly reported receiving aid based on "financial need" (38.4%), followed by aid based on "academic ability" (34.1%). Substantially more African American students expected to receive financial aid than whites or non-African American minorities (88.2% vs. 60.6% and 67.6%, respectively). African American respondents were much more likely than non-African American minorities and twice as likely as whites to expect aid based on "financial need" (68.9% vs. 44.2% and 34.5%, respectively).

More than one-third of respondents reported a family income over $100,000 per year (35.7%). African American respondents were about twice as likely as non-African American minorities and more than 5 times as likely as whites to report a family income of $25,000 or less (27.2% vs. 13.7% and 4.6%, respectively).

A majority of respondents reported that their father/male guardian had received a 4-year baccalaureate degree or higher (e.g., M.S., Ph.D.) degree (61.1%). This figure was slightly lower for mothers/female guardians (57.3%). Less than 10 percent of respondents (8.1%) are first generation college students, with no parent/guardian having ever attended college. Another 21 percent reported having one parent/guardian with some college experience, but no degree.

Close to two-thirds of first-year students (63.6%) reported having four or more household members currently supported by parents/guardians. Two-thirds reported being the only household dependent currently enrolled in college (66.2%) and another 29 percent reported two household dependents in college.

Respondents most commonly reported coming to NC State from a "moderate size city" (29.7%), or a "small town" (24.0%). Equal numbers hail from a "rural area" (15.5%), a "large city" (14.7%), or an "urban area" (16.1%).

Respondents most frequently selected Baptist (26.1%) as their religious preference, followed by Catholic (15.0%) and United Methodist (13.7%). About 16 percent of respondents reported that they had no religious preference.

More than one-third of respondents reported that they play a musical instrument (36.2%) and about one-fifth reported recent participation in a choral group (20.6%). Women were more likely than men (27.5% vs. 14.9%) and African Americans more likely than whites and non-African Americans (28.9% vs. 20.2% and 17.0%, respectively) to report participation in a choral group.

More than forty percent of respondents reported being "well prepared" for college by their high school (42.3%). Slightly fewer respondents reported being "well prepared" for college by their own efforts (38.7%). Respondents were almost twice as likely to report being "poorly prepared" by their high school (9.5%) as they were to report being "poorly prepared" by their own efforts (5.0%). African American respondents were less likely than white and non-African American minority respondents to feel that they had been "well prepared" by their high school (34.5% vs. 43.1% and 43.1%). College of Design respondents were most likely to say they were well prepared for college by their high school (50.0%) and their own efforts (56.1%), while and Natural Resources respondents least likely to say they were "well prepared" by their high school (30.6%) and their own efforts (25.0%).

Nearly all respondents (95.9%) reported that they will bring a desktop computer (6.0%), a laptop (82.8%), or both a desktop and a laptop (7.1%) to campus. Among those bringing a personal computer to campus, the vast majority will be able to connect to the Internet (93.1%).

Slightly more than one-fifth of respondents (23.1%) said they would not be seeking employment after graduation, most likely indicating their intention to attend graduate or professional school. Among those who will be seeking employment after graduation, respondents were twice as likely to report that they will seek employment "anywhere" than to report that they will seek work "in North Carolina only" (43.0% vs. 21.3%).

One-third or more respondents in the Colleges of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (43.2%), Humanities and Social Sciences (39.6%), and Design (32.9%) reported that they will not seek employment after graduation. This figure is a low of 2 percent among respondents in the College of Natural Resources. Of respondents who will be seeking employment after graduation, those in the Colleges of Design (58.5%), Humanities and Social Sciences (49.8%), and Textiles (49.5%) were most likely to report that after graduation they will seek employment "anywhere." Respondents in the College of Education (57.0%) were most likely and those in the College of Design (13.2%) were least likely to report that they will seek employment "in North Carolina only."

Applying to College

A majority of respondents applied to "three or more colleges" including NC State (58.4%). Less than one-fifth reported having applied "only to NC State"(17.7%). Men were more likely than women (21.8% vs. 12.7%) and whites were more likely than African Americans and non-African American minorities (19.6% vs. 8.8% and 10.7%, respectively) to report having applied "only to NC State."

Two-thirds or more respondents in the Colleges of Humanities and Social Sciences (71.6%), Design (69.2%), Education (67.3%), and Management (65.9%) applied to "three or more colleges" including NC State. College of Engineering respondents (27.5%) were most likely and Humanities and Social Sciences respondents (6.6%) were least likely to report having applied "only to NC State."

Two-thirds of respondents reported that after applying for admission to NC State they received a letter from someone at NC State other than the Admissions Office (66.1%). Respondents were equally likely to report having received a call from a faculty/staff member (16.6%) as they were to report a call from a current NCSU student (16.6%). Considerably fewer respondents reported having received calls from NCSU graduates (5.2%). African American respondents were almost twice as likely as white and non-African American minority respondents to report having received a call from NCSU faculty/staff during the admissions process (29.6% vs. 15.3%, and 15.9%, respectively).

One-fourth or more respondents in the Colleges of Natural Resources (39.8%), Design (28.0%), and Physical and Mathematical Sciences (25.2%) reported having received a call from NCSU faculty/staff during the admissions process. Respondents in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (9.3%) were least likely to report such faculty/staff contact. One-fourth or more respondents in Education (29.8%), Natural Resources (28.7%), and Management (27.2%) reported that they received a call from a current NCSU student.

Academic reputation (25.6%) was most frequently selected as the "single most influential factor" in the decision to attend NC State, followed by level of support for intended major (15.5%) and availability of program (12.6%).

The vast majority of respondents were "moderately" or "very satisfied" with university (94.5%) and departmental (93.1%) admissions processes. Women were more likely than men to report being "very satisfied" with university (57.5% vs. 48.0%) and departmental (56.1% vs. 45.1%) admissions processes.

Relatively fewer respondents (68.9%) reported being "moderately" (42.2%) or "very satisfied" (26.7%) with the university financial aid process. African American respondents were much more likely than whites and non-African American minority respondents to report that they were "very satisfied" with the financial aid process (43.0% vs. 24.5% and 26.9%, respectively).

A majority of respondents (57.8%) "did not know about" NC State's Virtual Advising Center website. Respondents who have used the Virtual Advising Center seem to be pleased with the website, with the vast majority rating it as "excellent" (24.4%) or "good" (61.4%). College of Engineering respondents were most likely (64.1% saying "did not know about") and Textiles respondents were least likely (40.3% saying "did not know about") to report being unaware of NC State's Virtual Advising Center website.

Educational Intent and Interest

The vast majority of respondents (88.1%) intended to enroll for 15 credit hours or more during their first semester. Among those taking less than 15 credit hours, the most common reason reported for taking fewer hours was "want to make better grades" (52.3%).

As compared to respondents in other colleges, those in Natural Resources were most (22.2%) likely and those in Management least likely (5.0%) to report enrolling for less than 15 credit hours. More than 60 percent of respondents in the Colleges of Management (64.3%), Natural Resources (63.6%), and Humanities and Social Sciences (61.9%) reported "want to make better grades" as a reason for taking fewer hours. Among those who were enrolling for fewer than 15 credit hours, Design respondents were much more likely than others to report course scheduling issues as reasons for taking fewer hours. More than 40 percent of Design respondents gave "unavailable courses" (42.9%) and "combination of credit hours would be too much" (42.9%) as reasons for taking less than 15 credit hours.

Eighty percent of respondents indicated that they intend to complete a degree at NC State in 4 years (76.4%) or less (4.5%). Men were twice as likely as women to report that they intend to take more than 4 years to complete a degree (23.6% vs. 11.2%). More than ninety percent of respondents in the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences (93.3%), Education (93.1%), and Humanities and Social Sciences (91.2%) said they intend to complete a degree at NC State in 4 years or less. This figure was lowest among Engineering (63.9%) and Design (64.6%) respondents.

Just over half 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" (54.3%). Women were more likely than men (61.2% vs. 48.9%) and African American and non-African American minority respondents were more likely than whites (59.5% and 61.8% vs. 52.8%, respectively) to report that their primary goal or objective is to "obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for graduate or professional school." On the other hand, men were more likely than women (34.3% vs. 29.1%) and white respondents (33.7%) were more likely than African American and non-African American minority respondents (33.7% vs. 28.2% and 22.2%, respectively) to report that their primary goal or objective is to "obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for a career."

Three-fourths or more respondents in the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences (79.7%) and Physical and Mathematical Sciences (74.7%) reported that their primary goal or objective for attending NC State was to "prepare for graduate/professional school." Respondents in the Colleges of Education, Natural Resources, and Textiles were more likely to report that their primary goal or objective for attending NC State was career preparation, rather than graduate/professional school preparation. Respondents in the College of Engineering were equally as likely to report career preparation (41.7%) as they were to report graduate/professional school preparation (41.8%) as their objective for attending NC State.

The vast majority of respondents reported that their highest intended level of education was a Master's degree or higher (72.4%). Women were slightly more likely than men (75.0% vs. 70.1%) and African American and non-African American minority respondents were much more likely than whites (82.8% and 80.7% vs. 70.0%, respectively) to report that they intend to obtain a Master's degree or higher. Women were much more likely than men to report that they intend to obtain a medical degree (11.3% vs. 6.4%) and four times as likely to report that they intend to obtain a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree (7.6% vs. 1.9%). African Americans and Non-African American minorities were more likely than whites to report that they intend to obtain a doctoral degree (25.1% and 20.6% vs. 12.2%, respectively) or a medical degree (11.7% and 15.1% vs. 7.4%, respectively). African American respondents were more than twice as likely as both white and non-African American minority respondents to report that they intend to obtain a law degree (9.2% vs. 3.8% and 3.8%, respectively).

More than 80 percent of respondents in the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences (87.6%), Physical and Mathematical Sciences (85.5%), and Humanities and Social Sciences (80.5%) reported that they intend to obtain a Master's degree or higher. Respondents in the Colleges of Natural Resources (48.6%) and Textiles (48.0%) were more likely than respondents in other colleges to report the baccalaureate as their highest intended level of education. Physical and Mathematical Sciences respondents were much more likely than respondents in other colleges to say they planned to earn a doctoral degree (38.4%).

About 70 percent of respondents said they were "certain" (42.8%) or "very certain" (28.0%) of their choice of college major. As compared to respondents in other colleges, Design respondents were much more likely to say they were "very certain" of their choice of major (53.7%). More than one-fourth of respondents in the Colleges of Textiles (33.0%) and Humanities and Social Sciences (26.5%) reported being either "uncertain" or "very uncertain" of their choice of major.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents reported that they do not intend to work during their first semester at NC State (65.3%). Non-African American minorities (48.9%) were most likely to report that they plan to work during their first semester, as compared to 39.2 percent of African Americans and 32.3 percent of whites. Respondents in the College of Design were much less likely than respondents in other colleges to report that they plan to work during their first semester at NC State (16.7%). Among respondents who plan to work during their first semester, the vast majority said they would work less than 20 hours per week (82.4%).

From a list of 27 co-curricular activities and programs, respondents indicated greatest interest in intramurals (47.0%), study abroad/student exchange (45.6%), and club sports (44.1%). There were persistent gender differences in interest in participating in the various activities. In general, women expressed more interest than men in activities and programs related to community service, personal development, art, and diversity, while men expressed more interest than women in activities and programs related to work and recreation. For example, women were far more interested than men in study abroad, volunteer services, fitness/wellness, UAB programs/activities, and multicultural/diversity programs and activities, while men were more interested than women in intramurals, club sports, and co-op programs. Racial/ethnic differences in interest in the various activities were somewhat less widespread. As compared to white respondents, African Americans and non-African American minorities were more likely to express interest in multicultural/diversity programs and UAB programs/activities. African American respondents were more likely than their counterparts to express interest in student government, residence hall councils, student leadership development opportunities, and social fraternities/sororities, and less likely to express interest in club sports, intramurals and outdoor adventures.

Student Goals for Undergraduate Education

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 the personal development goal of taking responsibility for my own behavior and the world view goals of valuing racial equity, and valuing gender equity were among the highest rated goals in terms of both current development and importance. The personal development goals, Handling stress and time management, 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 the ability to communicate in writing, developing the ability to apply scientific principles, and understanding the present as it relates to history.

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 2006 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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