NC State conducted its annual survey of entering first-year students during New Student Orientation sessions held in July and early August 2008.

The survey response rate was 88.1 percent (N=4,234 of 4,804). Survey respondents were representative of the first-year student population in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, college of enrollment, and academic preparation measures.

Two-thirds of all survey respondents reported that they will be receiving some form of financial aid (66.6%) . Respondents most commonly reported receiving aid based on "financial need" (42.5%), followed by aid based on "academic ability" (30.1%). Substantially more African American students expected to receive financial aid than whites or non-African American minorities (93.1% vs. 63.5% and 68.5%, respectively). African American respondents were much more likely than non-African American minorities and almost twice as likely as whites to expect aid based on "financial need" (75.1% vs. 50.5% and 37.9%, respectively).

About 40 percent of respondents reported a family income over $100,000 per year (39.6%). African American respondents were much more likely than non-African American minorities and more than 4 times as likely as whites to report a family income of $25,000 or less (28.1% vs. 17.6% and 6.1%, 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 (61.5%). This figure was slightly lower for mothers/female guardians (59.8%). Less than 10 percent of respondents (7.3%) 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 (63.8%) reported having four or more household members currently supported by parents/guardians. Two-thirds reported being the only household dependent currently enrolled in college (66.6%) and another 28 percent reported two household dependents in college.

Respondents most commonly reported coming to NC State from a "moderate size city" (30.9%), or a "small town" (26.1%). Equal numbers hail from "rural areas" (14.4%), "large cities" (14.3%), and "urban areas" (14.3%).

Baptist (25.7%) was the most frequently selected religious preference, followed by United Methodist (14.4%) and Catholic (14.3%). 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 (37.3%) and more than one-fifth reported recent participation in a choral group (22.3%). Women were more likely than men (26.9% vs. 18.4%) and African Americans more likely than whites and non-African Americans (38.5% vs. 21.1% and 19.6%, respectively) to report participation in a choral group.

Respondents were equally likely to report being "well prepared" by their own efforts (46.5%) as they were to report being "well prepared" by their high school (46.2%). However, they were twice as likely to report being "poorly prepared" by their high school as they were to report being "poorly prepared" by their own efforts (7.8% vs. 3.6%, respectively). African American respondents were more likely than white and non-African American minority respondents to feel that they had been "poorly prepared" by their high school (12.8% vs. 7.3% and 7.2%).

Nearly all respondents (97.2%) reported that they planned to bring a desktop computer (1.8%), a laptop (91.2%), or both a desktop and a laptop (4.2%) to campus. African American respondents were much less likely than white and non-African American minority respondents to say planned to bring a computer of any kind to campus (85.0% vs. 98.7% and 96.1%, respectively).

Slightly more than one-fifth of respondents (21.6%) 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 much more likely to report that they will seek employment "anywhere" or "anywhere in the United States" than to report that they will seek work "in North Carolina only" (37.2% and 40.5% vs. 21.2%). Respondents in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences were most likely (44.4%) and those in the College of Education least likely (7.4%) to report that they will not seek employment after graduation. Of respondents who will be seeking employment after graduation, respondents in the Colleges of Design (53.4%), Textiles (46.2%), and Physical and Mathematical Sciences (43.9%) were most likely to report that after graduation they will seek employment "anywhere." Respondents in the College of Education (67.0%) were most likely and those in the College of Design (6.9%) were least likely to report that they will seek employment "in North Carolina only."

Close to two-thirds of respondents applied to "three or more colleges" including NC State (64.2%). Less than one-fifth reported having applied "only to NC State" (14.3%). Men were more likely than women (17.6% vs. 10.5%) and whites were more likely than African Americans and non-African Americans (15.9% vs. 7.4% and 8.6%, respectively) to report having applied "only to NC State." Respondents in the Colleges of Engineering (23.2%) were most likely and those in the College of Design (5.3%) least likely to report having applied "only to NC State."

A majority 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 (59.5%). Respondents were equally likely to report having received a call from a faculty/staff member (17.0%) as they were to report a call from a current NCSU student (17.8%). Considerably fewer respondents reported having received calls from NCSU graduates (8.6%). African American respondents were more likely than white and non-African American minority respondents to report having received a call from NCSU faculty/staff (29.8% vs. 15.5%, and 17.9%, respectively) and from a current NCSU student (25.6% vs. 16.6%, and 20.2%, respectively) during the admissions process.

Academic reputation (24.1%) 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 (17.2%) and availability of program (12.3%).

The vast majority of respondents were "moderately" or "very satisfied" with university (94.4%) and departmental (93.3%) admissions processes. Relatively fewer respondents reported being "moderately" or "very satisfied" with the financial aid process (73.5%).

Close to two-thirds of respondents (64.6%) "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" (22.3%) or "good" (61.5%). Respondents in the College of Engineering (72.9%) were most likely and those in the College of Education (50.0%) were least likely to report being unaware of NC State's Virtual Advising Center website.

Among respondents taking fewer than 15 credit hours, the most common reason reported for doing so was "want to make better grades" (9.3%). African American respondents were more likely than white and non-African American respondents to report "advice of advisor" as a reason for taking fewer than 15 credit hours (4.6% vs. 2.5% and 2.5%, respectively). White respondents were less likely than African American and non-African American minority respondents to report "needing to work" as a reason for taking fewer than 15 credit hours (4.2% vs. 7.3% 7.5%, respectively).

More than 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" (57.5%). Women were more likely than men (63.4% vs. 52.4%) and African American and non-African American minority respondents were more likely than whites (63.6% and 66.2% vs. 55.6%, 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 (34.5% vs. 26.7%) and white respondents were more likely than African American and non-African American minority respondents (32.6% vs. 26.6% and 22.2%, respectively) to report that their primary goal or objective is to "obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for a career."

About three-fourths or more respondents in the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences (82.6%) and Physical and Mathematical Sciences (74.4%) 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." Respondents in the Colleges of Natural Resources (47.8%) and Textiles (48.9%) were more likely than those in other colleges to report that their primary goal or objective for attending NC State was career preparation, rather than graduate/professional school preparation.

The vast majority of respondents reported that their highest intended level of education was a Master's degree or higher (74.3%). Women were more likely than men (77.8% vs. 71.1%) and African American and non-African American minority respondents were much more likely than whites (87.5% and 83.4% vs. 71.5%, respectively) to report that they intend to obtain a Master's degree or higher. Women were twice as likely as men to report that they intend to obtain a medical degree (11.6% vs. 5.7%) and six times as likely to report that they intend to obtain a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree (10.3% vs. 1.7%). African Americans and Non-African American minorities were more likely than whites to report that they intend to obtain a doctoral degree (20.9% and 20.0% vs. 12.6%, respectively) or a medical degree (15.9% and 12.4% vs. 7.1%, respectively).

More than 80 percent of respondents in the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences (89.5%) and Physical and Mathematical Sciences (82.9%) reported that they intend to obtain a Master's degree or higher. Respondents in the Colleges of Natural Resources (44.2%) and Textiles (43.6%) 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 (31.4%).

More than 70 percent of respondents said they were "certain" (43.4%) or "very certain" (29.3%) 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 (57.9%).

The majority of respondents reported that they do not intend to work during their first semester at NC State (63.9%). Non-African American minorities (46.6%) were most likely to report that they plan to work during their first semester, as compared to 40.7 percent of African Americans and 34.2 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 (17.6%). Among respondents who plan to work during their first semester, the vast majority said they would work less than 20 hours per week (83.7%).

From a list of 27 co-curricular activities and programs, respondents indicated greatest interest in study abroad/student exchange (45.1%), club sports (41.2%), and intramurals (40.3%). 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, and fitness/wellness, 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.

For each of 41 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 world view goals of appreciating racial equity, and appreciating gender equity and the personal development goal of taking responsibility for my own behavior were among the highest rated goals in terms of both current development and importance. The personal development goals, ability to handle 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 applying scientific methods of inquiry, understanding the present as it relates to history, and writing skills.

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.