North Carolina State University
2007 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 "2007 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
| Number of colleges applied to | NCSU | Women | Men | AfAm | White | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One | % | 16.7 | 13.1 | 19.7 | 13.0 | 17.6 | 13.2 |
| Two | % | 20.5 | 16.8 | 23.5 | 14.7 | 21.2 | 20.5 |
| Three | % | 25.5 | 25.7 | 25.3 | 28.4 | 25.8 | 20.7 |
| Four | % | 18.8 | 21.9 | 16.2 | 18.5 | 18.3 | 22.4 |
| Five or more | % | 18.5 | 22.4 | 15.3 | 25.4 | 17.0 | 23.2 |
| Total | N | 4401 | 1979 | 2422 | 401 | 3508 | 492 |
| Yes, had contact via: | NCSU | Women | Men | AfAm | White | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Call from faculty/staff | % | 19.1% | 18.8% | 19.4% | 34.7% | 17.2% | 20.2% |
| Call from current student | % | 19.1% | 19.9% | 18.4% | 26.8% | 18.2% | 19.4% |
| Call from graduate | % | 8.1% | 7.3% | 8.8% | 8.4% | 8.5% | 4.8% |
| Letter from outside Admissions Office | % | 65.2% | 70.1% | 61.2% | 76.7% | 64.1% | 64.3% |
| Total | N | 4415 | 1988 | 2427 | 403 | 3516 | 496 |
Back to Top Q Factors 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 | 4.10 | 4.11 | 4.09 | 4.33 | 4.09 | 3.98 |
| Availability of program | 3.84 | 3.80 | 3.88 | 3.94 | 3.85 | 3.69 |
| Cost | 3.14 | 3.07 | 3.19 | 3.21 | 3.09 | 3.41 |
| Facilities and resources available | 3.72 | 3.70 | 3.74 | 3.95 | 3.71 | 3.64 |
| Level of support for my intended major | 3.81 | 3.71 | 3.90 | 4.00 | 3.81 | 3.68 |
| Location | 3.60 | 3.69 | 3.52 | 3.72 | 3.58 | 3.62 |
| Number of hours transferred/credited | 2.24 | 2.23 | 2.24 | 2.54 | 2.17 | 2.44 |
| Recommended | 3.36 | 3.42 | 3.32 | 3.30 | 3.39 | 3.27 |
| Size | 2.97 | 3.10 | 2.86 | 3.20 | 2.95 | 2.86 |
| Acceptance into First Year College | 3.78 | 3.86 | 3.70 | 3.92 | 3.75 | 3.89 |
| Attendance at a College Fair | 2.28 | 2.34 | 2.24 | 2.78 | 2.21 | 2.31 |
| Campus recreation programs | 2.89 | 2.87 | 2.91 | 3.20 | 2.87 | 2.80 |
| Campus visit prior to orientation | 3.20 | 3.34 | 3.07 | 3.62 | 3.18 | 2.98 |
| Contact with a current student | 3.09 | 3.23 | 2.98 | 3.07 | 3.11 | 2.93 |
| Contact with a faculty or staff member | 2.42 | 2.49 | 2.37 | 2.76 | 2.38 | 2.43 |
| Contact with a graduate | 2.78 | 2.84 | 2.73 | 2.70 | 2.81 | 2.59 |
| Extracurricular opportunities | 3.03 | 3.12 | 2.97 | 3.48 | 3.00 | 2.92 |
| Letter from outside Admissions Office | 2.19 | 2.25 | 2.13 | 2.69 | 2.11 | 2.25 |
| Other | 4.04 | 4.41 | 3.80 | 4.02 | 4.11 | 3.52 |
| Publications from NC State | 2.23 | 2.25 | 2.21 | 2.73 | 2.16 | 2.27 |
| Scholarships/financial aid available | 2.94 | 3.02 | 2.87 | 3.84 | 2.78 | 3.16 |
Back to Top Q Most Influential Factor Influencing Decision to Attend NC State
| Most influential factor | NCSU | Women | Men | AfAm | White | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academic reputation | % | 24.4 | 23.0 | 25.5 | 28.1 | 23.5 | 28.5 |
| Cost | % | 4.4 | 3.7 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 7.7 |
| Location | % | 9.5 | 11.0 | 8.4 | 6.0 | 9.8 | 10.4 |
| Size | % | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 0.9 |
| Availability of program | % | 13.3 | 12.5 | 14.1 | 11.0 | 13.7 | 12.9 |
| Recommended | % | 5.6 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 2.7 | 6.1 | 4.5 |
| Number of hours transferred/credited | % | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| Level of support for my intended major | % | 18.6 | 15.4 | 21.3 | 17.0 | 19.3 | 14.7 |
| Facilities and resources available | % | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| Scholarships/financial aid available | % | 5.3 | 7.1 | 3.9 | 15.2 | 3.9 | 8.1 |
| Campus visit prior to orientation | % | 3.6 | 5.2 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 2.3 |
| Contact with a current student | % | 2.7 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 3.0 | 1.8 |
| Contact with a faculty or staff member | % | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Contact with a graduate | % | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.2 |
| Letter from someone other than admissions | % | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Attendance at a College Fair | % | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Publications from NC State | % | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Extracurricular opportunities | % | 1.2 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| Acceptance into First Year College | % | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 1.8 |
| Campus recreation programs | % | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Other | % | 2.8 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 5.1 | 2.9 | 0.9 |
| Total | N | 3993 | 1805 | 2188 | 335 | 3216 | 442 |
| Satisfaction with university admissions | NCSU | Women | Men | AfAm | White | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 3.44 | 3.50 | 3.39 | 3.46 | 3.45 | 3.36 | |
| 4: Very satisfied | % | 51.0 | 56.7 | 46.4 | 54.9 | 51.4 | 45.6 |
| 3: Moderately satisfied | % | 42.9 | 37.8 | 47.1 | 38.6 | 43.0 | 46.0 |
| 2: Moderately dissatisfied | % | 5.2 | 4.6 | 5.6 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 6.9 |
| 1: Very dissatisfied | % | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 1.4 |
| Total | N | 4385 | 1973 | 2412 | 399 | 3493 | 493 |
| Satisfaction with dept. admissions | NCSU | Women | Men | AfAm | White | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 3.43 | 3.51 | 3.37 | 3.43 | 3.45 | 3.32 | |
| 4: Very satisfied | % | 50.6 | 57.3 | 45.2 | 52.3 | 51.5 | 43.2 |
| 3: Moderately satisfied | % | 42.8 | 37.2 | 47.4 | 40.1 | 42.6 | 46.8 |
| 2: Moderately dissatisfied | % | 5.6 | 4.6 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 5.1 | 8.6 |
| 1: Very dissatisfied | % | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 1.5 |
| Total | N | 4241 | 1910 | 2331 | 384 | 3380 | 477 |
| Satisfaction with financial aid process | NCSU | Women | Men | AfAm | White | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 2.94 | 2.99 | 2.90 | 3.15 | 2.91 | 2.92 | |
| 4: Very satisfied | % | 28.4 | 30.4 | 26.7 | 39.5 | 26.8 | 28.2 |
| 3: Moderately satisfied | % | 44.4 | 44.4 | 44.5 | 41.4 | 44.7 | 45.6 |
| 2: Moderately dissatisfied | % | 20.0 | 19.0 | 20.8 | 13.3 | 21.5 | 16.4 |
| 1: Very dissatisfied | % | 7.2 | 6.2 | 8.0 | 5.8 | 7.1 | 9.7 |
| Total | N | 3348 | 1508 | 1840 | 377 | 2581 | 390 |
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: March, 2008
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