NC State conducted its annual survey of entering first-year students during the summer of 2012. After attending New Student Orientation students were e-mailed an invitation to complete the survey online. At the start of the Fall semester students who had not attended orientation were also invited to participate.

The survey response rate was 53.1 percent (N=2,322 of 4,374). Due to their high response rates, women are overrepresented among survey respondents. Students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are also slightly overrepresented. There are no significant racial/ethnic differences between the first-year population and survey respondents.

40 percent of incoming first year students said they come from a small town (28.1%) or rural area (12.2%), while 17 percent come from an urban area.

Over 70 percent of first-year students reported coming from a household consisting of four or more people (72.9%). Close to two-thirds reported being the only household dependent currently enrolled in college (65.1%) and another 30 percent reported two household dependents in college.

40 percent of respondents reported a family income of more than $100,000 per year. African American respondents were 5 times more likely than white respondents to report a family income of $30,000 or less (24.7% vs. 5.1%).

A majority of respondents reported that their father/male guardian and/or mothers/female guardians had received a 4-year baccalaureate degree or higher (e.g., M.S., Ph.D.) (61.9% and 63.9%). Only 6 percent of respondents are first generation college students, with neither parent/guardian having ever attended college. Hispanic respondents were most likely (20.0%) and white respondents were least likely (4.1%) to report being a first generation college student.

The vast majority of respondents reported that they planned to bring a laptop computer to campus (97.4%) with less than 10 percent planning to bring a desktop computer (6.5%). Nearly all respondents (99.0%) say they will be bringing a cell phone and/or smartphone to campus.

12 percent of respondents reported that NC State was the only school to which they applied while 30 percent said they had applied to five or more colleges including NC State. Men were more likely than women (15.7% vs. 9.3%) and Whites (13.1%) were more likely than Hispanics (11.0%), African Americans (8.9%), and Asian Americans (7.0%) to report having applied only to NC State. Respondents in the College of Engineering (17.9%) were most likely and those in the College of Design (4.1%) were least likely to report having applied only to NC State. Over two-thirds of respondents said that NC State was their first (57.1%) or only choice (10.2%) among colleges to attend.

The vast majority of respondents were "moderately" or "very satisfied" with university (95.4%) and departmental (95.3%) admissions processes. One-half 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 (50.8%). Respondents were more likely to report having received a call from a current student (22.6%) than from a faculty/staff member (12.9%) or NC State alumni (6.2%).

Students were most likely to rate the level of support for their intended major (45.9%), the academic reputation of NC State (45.0%), and the availability of program of study (44.6%) as having a "very strong influence" in their decision to attend NC State. When asked to identify the single most influential factor in their decision to attend NC State, students most commonly reported academic reputation (23.3%) and level of support for intended major (18.6%). 16 percent of respondents considered the financial aspect of attending NC State critical in their decision-making, saying that either cost (8.3%), scholarships/financial aid available (6.6%), or the Pack Promise Program (1.0%) was the most influential factor in their decision to attend NC State.

66 percent of respondents said they had used NC State's Virtual Advising Center website. Those in the College of Textiles and College of Education were most likely to have used the website (80.2% and 76.0%). The majority of all users, regardless of College, were pleased with the website, giving it a rating of "excellent" (25.0%) or "good" (58.0%).

83 percent of students said they had submitted the FAFSA. Students reported receiving financial aid in the form of grants and scholarships (64.8%), loans (48.3%), and other (VA benefits, ROTC, gifts from family other than parents, etc.) (13.6%). 23 percent of students reported that they received no financial aid at all.

The vast majority of respondents said they would cover their educational expenses, at least in part, using family resources (parents, relative, spouse, etc.) (90.8%). 40 percent of incoming students reported that family resources would cover $10,000 or more of their first year expenses. 71 percent of respondents said they would use their own resources (savings from work, other income) to help cover educational expenses, although the majority of these students said they themselves would be contributing less than $1,000 towards their expenses (42.9%).

72 percent of respondents reported that they would rely on some form of aid that does not need to be repaid to help cover educational expenses. Almost a fourth of those students receiving grants or scholarships said they would be getting $10,000 or more from such funding to put towards expenses (24.1%). About half of respondents reported relying on aid that must be repaid as a financial resource (53.7%). 17 percent of respondents said that they would be taking out $6,000 or more in loans that must be repaid to cover their first year expenses.

Over half of incoming students said they felt "very well prepared" for college by they own efforts (52.7%) or by their high school (52.8%). However, 7 percent said they were "not very well prepared" for college by their high school.

10 percent of respondents indicated they had participated in one or more of four different pre-college programs: Educational Talent Search, Upward Bound, GEAR UP, or Early College.

Respondents were asked to rate their current level of development and their perception of the importance of each of 35 knowledge, skills, and personal development goals NC State has for an undergraduate education. Respondents consistently gave higher ratings to the importance of the goals than to their current level of development of the goals. However, it is important to point out that large majorities of students believe the individual goals are important, and also believe that they have already developed them to a reasonable degree. Each of the goals received an average "importance" rating of at least 3.2 on a 4-point scale, with the exception of capacity to engage with/respond to creative works and evaluate their significance which received an average rating of 2.98. 23 of the 35 knowledge, skills, and personal development goals received an average "current development" rating of 3.0 or better on a 4-point scale.

The 35 goals were grouped into three categories, representing those related to "general education" (e.g., mathematical skills, writing effectively), "personal development" (e.g., time management, ability to handle stress), and "world views" (e.g., ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds, sensitivity to racial equity). Respondents generally gave higher ratings to goals related to personal development in both level of current development and importance.

Goals that ranked high in both current development and importance include potential for success, taking responsibility for my own behavior, ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds, and working effectively as part of a team. Those goals ranking high in importance, but low in development include ability to handle stress and time management skills. Several goals central to the University's core general education curriculum received low importance and development ratings, including applying scientific methods of inquiry, writing effectively, and capacity to engage with/respond to creative works and evaluate significance.

In response to a question asking them to comment in their own words on what they are most concerned or nervous about in starting their first semester at NC State, more than a third of students mentioned issues related to their academic performance/workload (34.8%), the transition to college (19.7%), time management (16.1%), and social life (13.1%). When asked about what they were most excited about the most common responses related to social life (32.3%), personal or career development (25.7%), campus life/involvement (23.6%) and their new-found independence (16.3%).

80 percent of respondents said they were "certain" (40.5%) or "very certain" (39.7%) of their choice of college major. Respondents in the Division of Academic and Student Affairs were far more likely than others to be "uncertain" (37.9%) or "very uncertain" (12.4%) of their major. Incoming students in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences were also slightly more likely than others to say they were "uncertain" (16.3%) or "very uncertain" (8.1%) about their major. Students in the College of Design (98.0%) and College of Education (94.0%) were most likely to say that they were "certain" or "very certain" of their choice of college major.

About 88 percent of respondents said they intended to complete their bachelor's degree in 4 years or less. Those in the College of Education (93.5%) were most likely and those in the College of Engineering (77.3%) were least likely to intend to complete their degree within 4 years.

60 percent 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. Women (65.5%) were more likely than men (53.5%) to report that their primary goal or objective is to obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for graduate or professional school. Asian Americans (69.8%), African Americans (63.1%), and Hispanics (64.3%) were more likely than White respondents (59.3%) to report that their primary goal or objective is to obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for graduate or professional school. Respondents in the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences (88.2%), Physical and Mathematical Sciences (70.7%), and Humanities and Social Sciences (66.7%) were most likely to say that their primary goal or objective for attending NC State is to obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for graduate or professional school. Men (34.1%) were more likely than women (27.4%) to report that their primary goal or objective is to obtain a bachelor's degree as preparation for a career. Respondents in the Colleges of Textiles (53.1%), College of Education (46.0%), and College of Natural Resources (45.2%) were more likely than those in other colleges to report that their primary goal or objective for attending NC State was for career preparation.

Over three-fourths of respondents reported that their highest intended level of education was a Master's degree or higher (76.5%). Women (80.6%) were more likely than men (71.5%), and Asian Americans (81.0%), African Americans (83.9%), and Hispanics (80.7%) were more likely than Whites (75.0%) to report that they intend to obtain a Master's degree or higher. 93 percent of respondents in the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences reported that they intend to obtain a Master's degree or higher. Respondents in the colleges of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and Humanities and Social Sciences were much more likely than respondents in other colleges to say they planned to earn a doctoral degree (35.8% and 29.5%). Agriculture and Life Sciences respondents were much more likely than respondents in other colleges to say they planned to earn a medical degree (29.5%). Humanities and Social Sciences respondents were more likely than respondents in other colleges to say they planned to earn a law degree (8.5%).

Over one-fifth of respondents (22.2%) 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 (38.3%) or anywhere in the United States (42.2%) than to report that they will seek work in North Carolina only (19.3%). Of respondents who will be seeking employment immediately after graduation, respondents in the Colleges of Design (50.0%) and Humanities and Social Sciences (49.4%) were most likely to report that after graduation they will seek employment anywhere. Respondents in the College of Education (54.8%) were most likely to report that they will seek employment "in North Carolina only."

46 percent of incoming students reported that they intend to work either on- or off-campus during their first year at NC State. Among respondents who plan to work off-campus during their first year (22.3%), half said they would be working 10 hours or less per week (48.1%), and another 30 percent said they would be working 11 to 20 hours per week (29.4%). Similarly, among those working on-campus (one-in-three students), over half said they would be working 10 hours or less per week (57.8%), and another 37 percent said they would be working 11 to 20 hours per week.

From a list of 31 co-curricular activities and programs, respondents indicated greatest interest in study abroad/national student exchange (51.3%), fitness/wellness (45.8%), organizations/clubs related to your major (44.0%), and intramural sports (43.0%). 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 in activities and programs related to athletics, such as intramural and club sports.

Of respondents who indicated they would be interested in participating in one of the numerous religious organizations on campus, the largest number expressed an interest in Campus Crusade for Christ (14.7%).