NC State conducted its annual survey of entering first-year students during New Student Orientation sessions held in July and early August 2007.

The survey response rate was 91.9 percent (N=4,510 of 4,906). There were no significant differences between the first-year students actually enrolled at NC State and those responding to the survey in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, academic unit, and academic performance measures.

More than 60 percent of all survey respondents reported that they will be receiving some form of financial aid (62.0%) . Respondents most commonly reported receiving aid based on "financial need" (37.5%), followed by aid based on "academic ability" (31.4%). Substantially more African American students expected to receive financial aid than whites or non-African American minorities (89.2% vs. 58.9% and 61.7%, 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" (66.9% vs. 44.8% and 33.2%, respectively).

More than one-third of respondents reported a family income over $100,000 per year (39.2%). 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 (22.0% vs. 11.2% and 4.2%, 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 (62.1%). This figure was slightly lower for mothers/female guardians (59.3%). Less than 10 percent of respondents (6.9%) are first generation college students, with no parent/guardian having ever attended college. Another 20 percent reported having one parent/guardian with some college experience, but no degree.

Close to two-thirds of first-year students (63.9%) reported having four or more household members currently supported by parents/guardians. Two-thirds reported being the only household dependent currently enrolled in college (65.8%) and another 30 percent reported two household dependents in college.

Respondents were most likely to report coming to NC State from a "moderate size city" (30.3%) and least likely from a "rural area" (13.1%). Respondents were equally likely to report coming from either a "large city" (15.8%) or an "urban area" (15.9%).

The most commonly selected religious preference was Baptist (27.0%), followed by United Methodist (14.5%) and Catholic (14.4%). About 17 percent of respondents reported that they had no religious preference.

More than one-third of respondents reported that they play a musical instrument (35.1%) and close to one-fifth reported recent participation in a choral group (19.3%). While men were more likely than women to report that they play a musical instrument (38.6% vs. 30.7%, respectively), women were much more likely than men to report participation in a choral group (25.7% vs. 14.1%). African Americans were much more likely than both whites and non-African American minorities to report participation in a choral group (32.7% vs. 17.8% and 18.9%, respectively).

More than 40 percent of respondents reported being "well prepared" for college by their high school (43.2%). Slightly fewer respondents reported being "well prepared" for college by their own efforts (40.2%). Respondents were twice as likely to report being "poorly prepared" by their high school (8.7%) than by their own efforts (4.5%). African American respondents (38.2%) were less likely than white respondents (43.1%), who were in turn less likely than non-African American minority respondents (47.9%), to feel that they had been "well prepared" by their high school. College of Design respondents were most likely (50.7%) and College of Natural Resources respondents (31.7%) were least likely to say they were "well prepared" by their high school. Respondents in the College of Design were most likely, while those in the Colleges of Education and Natural Resources were least likely to report that they were "well prepared" by their own efforts (49.3%, 31.8%, and 32.0%, respectively).

A very small minority of respondents reported participating in either Educational Talent Search (3.1%) or Upward Bound (1.3%), both of which are pre-college programs. African American respondents were more likely than white and non-African American minority respondents to have participated in both Educational Talent Search and Upward Bound. College of Education respondents were more likely than respondents in other colleges to have participated in Educational Talent Search, while those in the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences were more likely to have participated in Upward Bound.

The vast majority of respondents (96.1%) reported that they will bring either a desktop computer (2.7%), a laptop computer (88.1%), or both a desktop and a laptop (5.3%) to campus. African American respondents were much less likely than both white and non-African American minority respondents to say they will bring a computer to campus in the fall (80.9% vs. 97.9% and 94.9%, respectively).

One-third of respondents (33.4%) 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 in the USA" than to report that they will seek work "in North Carolina only" (44.1% vs. 21.4%). Another one-third of respondents said that location was not important in their job search.

A majority of respondents in the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences (58.6%) and Physical and Mathematical Sciences (52.8%) reported that they will not seek employment after graduation. This figure is a low of 5 percent among respondents in the College of Education. Among respondents who will seek employment after graduation, those in the Colleges of Design (55.6%) and Textiles (51.3%) were most likely to say that location was not important in their job search. Respondents in the College of Education (57.3%) were most likely and those in the College of Textiles (11.5%) and Design (13.0%) least likely to say that they would seek employment in "North Carolina only".

A majority of respondents applied to "three or more colleges" including NC State (62.8%). Less than one-fifth reported having applied "only to NC State"(16.7%). Respondents in the College of Engineering (24.9%) were most likely and those in Humanities and Social Sciences respondents (6.2%) least likely to report having applied "only to NC State."

Close to 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 (65.2%). Respondents were equally likely to report having received a call from a faculty/staff member (19.1%) as they were to report a call from a current NCSU student (19.1%). Considerably fewer respondents reported having received calls from NCSU graduates (8.1%). Women (70.1%) were more likely than men (61.2%) to report having received a letter from someone at NC State other than the Admissions Office. African American respondents were more likely than non-African American respondents and twice as likely as white respondents to report having received a call from NCSU faculty/staff during the admissions process (34.7% vs. 20.2%, and 17.2%, respectively).

One-fourth or more respondents in the Colleges of Design (30.9%), Natural Resources (30.2%), and Education (24.6%) reported having received a call from NCSU faculty/staff during the admissions process. Respondents in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (13.2%) were least likely to report such faculty/staff contact. One-fourth or more respondents in Education (40.8%), Natural Resources (26.2%), Management (31.0%), and First-Year College (26.9%) reported that they received a call from a current NCSU student.

Academic reputation (24.4%) 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 (18.6%) and availability of program (13.3%).

The vast majority of respondents were "moderately" or "very satisfied" with university (93.9%) and departmental (93.4%) admissions processes. Women were more likely than men to report being "very satisfied" with university (56.7% vs. 46.4%) and departmental (57.3% vs. 45.2%) admissions processes.

Relatively fewer respondents (72.8%) reported being "moderately" (44.4%) or "very satisfied" (28.4%) 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 (39.5% vs. 26.8% and 28.2%, respectively).

Among respondents taking less than 15 credit hours, the most common reason reported for taking fewer hours was "want to make better grades" (43.6%). One-fifth of respondents gave "need to work" as a reason for enrolling in fewer than 15 credit hours.

Close to 50 percent of respondents in the Colleges of Humanities and Social Sciences (49.1%) and Engineering (48.7%) reported "want to make better grades" as a reason for taking fewer hours. Design respondents were much more likely than others to report "advice of advisor" as a reason for taking fewer hours.

The vast majority of respondents reported that their highest intended level of education was a Master's degree or higher (73.9%). Women were slightly more likely than men (78.3% vs. 70.2%) and African American and non-African American minority respondents were much more likely than whites (84.8% and 82.4% vs. 71.5%, 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 (11.0% vs. 6.3%) and five times as likely to report that they intend to obtain a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree (7.6% vs. 1.4%). 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 22.4% vs. 11.8%, respectively) or a medical degree (13.1% and 13.5% vs. 7.2%, respectively).

More than three-fourths of respondents in the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences (87.7%), Physical and Mathematical Sciences (80.8%), Education (80.5%), and Humanities and Social Sciences (78.1%) reported that they intend to obtain a Master's degree or higher. Respondents in the Colleges of Textiles (45.1%), Natural Resources (43.2%), and Design (40.3%) were more likely than respondents in other colleges to report the baccalaureate as their highest intended level of education.

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" (57.0%). Women were more likely than men (64.5% vs. 50.8%) and African American and non-African American minority respondents were more likely than whites (65.3% and 66.5% vs. 54.7%, 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 (35.3% vs. 25.9%) and white respondents were more likely than African American and non-African American minority respondents (32.9% vs. 24.9% and 23.1%, respectively) to report that their primary goal or objective is to "obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for a career."

As compared to respondents in other colleges, those in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (80.0%) were more likely to report that their primary goal or objective for attending NC State was to "prepare for graduate/professional school." Respondents in the Colleges of 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.

About 70 percent of respondents said they were "certain" (43.7%) or "very certain" (28.0%) of their choice of college major. African American respondents were more likely than white and non-African American minority respondents to say they were "very certain" of their choice of college major (35.7% vs. 27.4% and 26.1%,respectively). As compared to respondents in other colleges, Design respondents were much more likely to say they were "very certain" of their choice of major (67.6%). One-fourth or more respondents in the Colleges of Humanities and Social Sciences (29.8%), Management (27.2%), Textiles (26.5%), and Natural Resources (25.4%) reported being either "uncertain" or "very uncertain" of their choice of major.

A majority of respondents reported that they do not intend to work during their first semester at NC State (63.5%). African American and non-African American respondents were more likely than whites to report that they plan to work during their first semester (46.2% and 42.1% vs. 34.6%, respectively). 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 (22.4%). Among respondents who plan to work during their first semester, the vast majority said they would work less than 20 hours per week (83.0%).

From a list of 27 co-curricular activities and programs, respondents indicated greatest interest in study abroad/student exchange (50.5%), intramurals (47.6%), and club sports (46.0%). 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 volunteer services, fitness/wellness, and craft center programs, while men were more interested than women in intramurals, club sports, co-op programs, and ROTC. Racial/ethnic differences in interest in the various activities were somewhat less widespread.

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.

Current development ratings tended to be higher for personal development and world view goals than for general education goals and 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, time management 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 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.