A Profile Of 1997 Entering First-Year
Students: Educational Intent And Interests
This report presents educational intent and interests from the
1997 entering first-year students at NC State. It is based on
their responses to the survey given to new students during summer
and fall orientation. Educational intent and interests concern
students' majors, course load, and extra-curricular interests.
Certainty Of College Major
Certainty of college major (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Very uncertain | 5.8
| 6.7 | 5.1
| 3.8 | 5.9
| 6.7 |
Uncertain | 25.5
| 26.8 | 24.6
| 20.1 | 26.1
| 26.4 |
Certain | 42.7
| 40.2 | 44.4
| 44.2 | 42.2
| 47.2 |
Very certain | 26.0
| 26.3 | 25.9
| 32.0 | 25.7
| 19.7 |
Primary Goal For Attending NC State
Primary goal for attending NC State (%) |
All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
Bach./certificate only | 8.3
| 6.1 | 9.9
| 6.1 | 8.6
| 8.3 |
Bach. for school preparation | 52.5
| 61.1 | 46.7
| 56.8 | 51.4
| 58.5 |
Bach. for career preparation | 33.4
| 29.5 | 36.1
| 31.3 | 34.0
| 30.1 |
Improve for current profession | 3.2
| 1.7 | 4.2
| 4.1 | 3.2
| 1.0 |
Courses for personal interest | 0.7
| 0.2 | 1.1
| 0.6 | 0.7
| 0.5 |
Other | 1.9
| 1.6 | 2.1
| 1.2 | 2.0
| 1.6 |
Gender: p < 0.01
Highest Level Of Education Planned
Highest level of education planned (%) |
All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
Certificate | 2.2
| 0.5 | 3.3
| 0 | 2.6
| 0.5 |
Bachelors degree | 27.1
| 22.4 | 30.2
| 18.9 | 28.7
| 19.6 |
Masters degree | 43.3
| 41.3 | 44.6
| 45.6 | 42.8
| 45.9 |
Doctoral degree | 14.3
| 14.9 | 14.0
| 26.0 | 12.5
| 18.0 |
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine | 5.3
| 10.3 | 2.0
| 1.8 | 5.9
| 3.6 |
Other professional degree | 7.6
| 10.7 | 5.6
| 7.7 | 7.3
| 11.9 |
Do not intend to complete a degree | 0.2
| 0.1 | 0.3
| 0 | 0.2
| 0.5 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Length Of Time Intended To Complete Bachelor's Degree
Length of time intended to complete bachelors degree (%)
| All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
Less than 4 years | 3.8
| 3.5 | 4.0
| 2.9 | 3.7
| 6.2 |
4 years | 65.4
| 70.6 | 62.0
| 57.5 | 66.2
| 69.6 |
4 1/2 years | 11.9
| 10.8 | 12.7
| 16.1 | 11.7
| 7.7 |
5 years | 14.4
| 11.6 | 16.3
| 19.5 | 14.0
| 10.8 |
5 1/2 years | 1.2
| 0.9 | 1.4
| 2.3 | 1.0
| 2.1 |
6 or more years | 0.9
| 0.8 | 1.0
| 1.1 | 0.9
| 0.5 |
Will not complete Bachelors | 2.3
| 1.8 | 2.6
| 0.6 | 2.4
| 3.1 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
First Semester Enrollment Status
First semester enrollment status (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Less than 12 credit hours of classes | 0.2
| 0.2 | 0.2
| 0.6 | 0.2
| 0.5 |
12-14 credit hours of classes | 12.8
| 11.9 | 13.3
| 20.2 | 11.9
| 10.4 |
15 credit hours of classes or more | 87.0
| 87.9 | 86.4
| 79.3 | 87.9
| 89.1 |
Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Reasons For Enrolling For Less Than 15 Credit Hours During
First Semester
Will need to work (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 2.0
| 1.7 | 2.2
| 4.6 | 1.7
| 1.5 |
No | 98.0
| 98.3 | 97.8
| 95.4 | 98.3
| 98.5 |
Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Course not available (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 6.4
| 5.8 | 6.8
| 3.7 | 6.6
| 7.7 |
No | 93.6
| 94.2 | 93.2
| 96.3 | 93.4
| 92.3 |
Want to make better grades (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 6.2
| 6.4 | 6.0
| 10.0 | 5.7
| 5.6 |
No | 93.8
| 93.6 | 94.0
| 90.0 | 94.3
| 94.4 |
Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Advisor recommended lighter load (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 2.6
| 2.3 | 2.8
| 6.6 | 2.1
| 3.1 |
No | 97.4
| 97.7 | 97.2
| 93.4 | 97.9
| 96.9 |
Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Did not need more courses (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 0.5
| 0.4 | 0.5
| 0.3 | 0.5
| 0 |
No | 99.5
| 99.6 | 99.5
| 99.7 | 99.5
| 100.0 |
Participating in internship, co-op, etc. (%)
| All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
Yes | 0.1
| 0.1 | 0.1
| 0.3 | 0.0
| 0 |
No | 99.9
| 99.9 | 99.9
| 99.7 | 100.0
| 100.0 |
Combination of heavy courses (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 3.4
| 3.3 | 3.4
| 4.3 | 3.3
| 2.6 |
No | 96.6
| 96.7 | 96.6
| 95.7 | 96.7
| 97.4 |
Family responsibilities (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 0.4
| 0.3 | 0.4
| 0.6 | 0.3
| 1.0 |
No | 99.6
| 99.7 | 99.6
| 99.4 | 99.7
| 99.0 |
Other (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 1.9
| 1.8 | 2.0
| 2.3 | 2.0
| 1.0 |
No | 98.1
| 98.2 | 98.0
| 97.7 | 98.0
| 99.0 |
| | |
| | | |
Taking Majority Of Courses In Afternoon/Evening
Taking majority of courses in afternoon/evening (%)
| All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
Yes | 9.5
| 8.2 | 10.4
| 10.0 | 9.3
| 11.3 |
No | 90.5
| 91.8 | 89.6
| 90.0 | 90.7
| 88.7 |
Employment Plans During First Semester
Employment during first semester (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Do not plan to work | 68.2
| 68.9 | 67.7
| 68.7 | 68.7
| 61.2 |
Less than 20 hrs/wk | 26.6
| 26.9 | 26.5
| 24.4 | 26.4
| 33.1 |
20 or more hrs/wk | 5.2
| 4.3 | 5.8
| 6.8 | 4.9
| 5.6 |
Foreign Language Planned To Study Beyond Requirement
Foreign language planned to study beyond requirement (%)
| All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
Spanish | 59.3
| 59.2 | 59.4
| 69.9 | 58.5
| 51.0 |
French | 17.8
| 21.1 | 15.3
| 18.6 | 17.9
| 15.2 |
German | 7.3
| 7.2 | 7.4
| 1.7 | 8.2
| 6.6 |
Japanese | 4.9
| 2.7 | 6.5
| 3.8 | 4.7
| 8.6 |
Chinese | 1.1
| 0.9 | 1.3
| 0.4 | 0.5
| 9.3 |
Russian | 0.8
| 0.8 | 0.9
| 0.4 | 1.0
| 0 |
Other | 8.7
| 8.1 | 9.2
| 5.1 | 9.2
| 9.3 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Interest In NC State Co-Curricular Programs/Activities
Student Government (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 18.1
| 23.5 | 14.5
| 27.1 | 16.3
| 25.6 |
No | 81.9
| 76.5 | 85.5
| 72.9 | 83.7
| 74.4 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Student publications/media (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 13.4
| 16.4 | 11.4
| 11.1 | 13.2
| 20.0 |
No | 86.6
| 83.6 | 88.6
| 88.9 | 86.8
| 80.0 |
Gender: p < 0.01
Social Fraternity/Sorority (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 32.5
| 39.8 | 27.6
| 39.0 | 32.2
| 23.6 |
No | 67.5
| 60.2 | 72.4
| 61.0 | 67.8
| 76.4 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Volunteer Services (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 26.1
| 42.6 | 15.1
| 28.5 | 25.1
| 35.4 |
No | 73.9
| 57.4 | 84.9
| 71.5 | 74.9
| 64.6 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Co-op program (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 34.9
| 31.1 | 37.4
| 45.9 | 32.9
| 42.1 |
No | 65.1
| 68.9 | 62.6
| 54.1 | 67.1
| 57.9 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Student Leadership Development Program (%) |
All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
Yes | 12.5
| 17.5 | 9.2
| 18.8 | 11.3
| 17.4 |
No | 87.5
| 82.5 | 90.8
| 81.2 | 88.7
| 82.6 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Student Judicial Board (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 7.1
| 9.0 | 5.9
| 16.8 | 5.7
| 8.7 |
No | 92.9
| 91.0 | 94.1
| 83.2 | 94.3
| 91.3 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Music Minor, bands, choirs, etc. (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 11.6
| 14.5 | 9.7
| 16.2 | 11.2
| 8.7 |
No | 88.4
| 85.5 | 90.3
| 83.8 | 88.8
| 91.3 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Fitness (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 30.7
| 53.6 | 15.4
| 34.5 | 30.6
| 24.6 |
No | 69.3
| 46.4 | 84.6
| 65.5 | 69.4
| 75.4 |
Gender: p < 0.01
Indoor recreation (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 17.8
| 15.6 | 19.3
| 15.7 | 18.2
| 17.4 |
No | 82.2
| 84.4 | 80.7
| 84.3 | 81.8
| 82.6 |
Gender: p < 0.01
Intramurals (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 54.6
| 37.6 | 65.9
| 45.3 | 56.4
| 47.2 |
No | 45.4
| 62.4 | 34.1
| 54.7 | 43.6
| 52.8 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Club sports (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 28.3
| 20.1 | 33.8
| 16.8 | 29.6
| 32.3 |
No | 71.7
| 79.9 | 66.2
| 83.2 | 70.4
| 67.7 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Informal recreation (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 14.8
| 9.4 | 18.4
| 6.0 | 15.9
| 15.9 |
No | 85.2
| 90.6 | 81.6
| 94.0 | 84.1
| 84.1 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Outdoor recreation (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 37.6
| 35.0 | 39.4
| 7.7 | 42.6
| 25.6 |
No | 62.4
| 65.0 | 60.6
| 92.3 | 57.4
| 74.4 |
Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Healthy lifestyles issues (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 7.7
| 12.9 | 4.2
| 11.7 | 6.8
| 12.3 |
No | 92.3
| 87.1 | 95.8
| 88.3 | 93.2
| 87.7 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Student dance companies (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 5.1
| 11.3 | 0.9
| 9.1 | 4.4
| 6.7 |
No | 94.9
| 88.7 | 99.1
| 90.9 | 95.6
| 93.3 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
ROTC (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 4.5
| 2.6 | 5.8
| 8.3 | 3.9
| 6.2 |
No | 95.5
| 97.4 | 94.2
| 91.7 | 96.1
| 93.8 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Study abroad/National Student Exchange (%) |
All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
Yes | 26.6
| 38.4 | 18.8
| 24.5 | 26.7
| 29.2 |
No | 73.4
| 61.6 | 81.2
| 75.5 | 73.3
| 70.8 |
Gender: p < 0.01
Union Activities Board (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 8.2
| 11.6 | 6.0
| 33.9 | 4.3
| 15.4 |
No | 91.8
| 88.4 | 94.0
| 66.1 | 95.7
| 84.6 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Crafts Center program/classes (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 5.7
| 10.7 | 2.3
| 4.8 | 5.7
| 7.2 |
No | 94.3
| 89.3 | 97.7
| 95.2 | 94.3
| 92.8 |
Gender: p < 0.01
Theater participant as audience (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 20.0
| 28.4 | 14.4
| 14.5 | 20.4
| 23.6 |
No | 80.0
| 71.6 | 85.6
| 85.5 | 79.6
| 76.4 |
Gender: p < 0.01
Theater participant as performer (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 7.9
| 10.9 | 5.9
| 8.8 | 7.8
| 7.2 |
No | 92.1
| 89.1 | 94.1
| 91.2 | 92.2
| 92.8 |
Gender: p < 0.01
Attending art exhibitions (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 11.8
| 17.4 | 8.1
| 7.1 | 12.3
| 13.8 |
No | 88.2
| 82.6 | 91.9
| 92.9 | 87.7
| 86.2 |
Gender: p < 0.01
Performing Arts selection/booking (%) |
All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
Yes | 11.2
| 16.8 | 7.5
| 10.3 | 11.0
| 15.9 |
No | 88.8
| 83.2 | 92.5
| 89.7 | 89.0
| 84.1 |
Gender: p < 0.01
Planning programs for children and families (%)
| All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
Yes | 5.3
| 10.8 | 1.7
| 11.7 | 4.4
| 6.2 |
No | 94.7
| 89.2 | 98.3
| 88.3 | 95.6
| 93.8 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Gender issues (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
Yes | 4.5
| 8.5 | 1.9
| 12.5 | 3.2
| 8.2 |
No | 95.5
| 91.5 | 98.1
| 87.5 | 96.8
| 91.8 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01