A Profile Of 1997 Entering First-Year
Students: Marketing Research
This report presents marketing research information 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. Marketing research concerns the experiences
new students had with the application process and also examines
those factors students considered influential in their decision
to attend NC State.
Number Of Colleges Applied To
| Number of colleges applied to (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
| One | 26.3
| 21.3 | 29.7
| 16.2 | 28.5
| 15.4 |
| Two | 25.0
| 23.1 | 26.2
| 19.1 | 25.5
| 28.7 |
| Three | 23.1
| 25.4 | 21.6
| 29.5 | 22.2
| 23.6 |
| Four | 13.0
| 14.5 | 12.0
| 17.3 | 12.2
| 15.4 |
| Five or more | 12.6
| 15.6 | 10.5
| 17.9 | 11.5
| 16.9 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Factors Influencing Decision To Attend Nc State
(5= "Very strong influence," 1= "Very weak influence")
| Mean and Std. Dev. | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
| Academic reputation ++ | 3.99
| 4.02 | 3.97
| 4.20 | 3.96
| 3.94 |
| 0.83 |
0.82 | 0.83
| 0.90 | 0.81
| 0.84 |
| Cost ++ | 3.15
| 3.15 | 3.15
| 3.05 | 3.14
| 3.42 |
| 1.18 |
1.20 | 1.17
| 1.27 | 1.16
| 1.22 |
| Location +, ++ | 3.53
| 3.68 | 3.43
| 3.68 | 3.50
| 3.70 |
| 1.10 |
1.08 | 1.10
| 1.08 | 1.10
| 1.09 |
| Size +, ++ | 2.72
| 2.83 | 2.64
| 3.07 | 2.67
| 2.71 |
| 1.07 |
1.07 | 1.06
| 1.09 | 1.05
| 1.10 |
| Availability of program | 3.74
| 3.75 | 3.74
| 3.86 | 3.72
| 3.79 |
| 1.11 |
1.14 | 1.10
| 1.08 | 1.12
| 1.06 |
| Recommended by friend, family, etc. | 3.26
| 3.29 | 3.24
| 3.28 | 3.26
| 3.23 |
| 1.20 |
1.24 | 1.18
| 1.27 | 1.20
| 1.14 |
| Number of hours transferred/credited ++ |
2.10 | 2.12
| 2.09 | 2.34
| 2.05 | 2.27
|
| 1.01 |
1.04 | 0.99
| 1.04 | 1.00
| 1.03 |
| Level of support for my intended major ++ |
3.68 | 3.63
| 3.71 | 3.88
| 3.66 | 3.52
|
| 1.16 |
1.20 | 1.14
| 1.12 | 1.17
| 1.16 |
| Facilities and resources available ++ | 3.64
| 3.66 | 3.62
| 3.78 | 3.63
| 3.51 |
| 0.99 |
1.01 | 0.98
| 1.01 | 0.99
| 1.05 |
| Scholarships/financial aid available ++ |
2.83 | 2.90
| 2.78 | 3.58
| 2.70 | 3.08
|
| 1.33 |
1.36 | 1.30
| 1.31 | 1.29
| 1.37 |
| Campus visit prior to orientation +, ++ |
3.18 | 3.35
| 3.06 | 3.45
| 3.16 | 3.04
|
| 1.21 |
1.22 | 1.18
| 1.25 | 1.20
| 1.19 |
| Contact with a current student + | 3.05
| 3.21 | 2.95
| 3.16 | 3.04
| 2.99 |
| 1.22 |
1.24 | 1.19
| 1.27 | 1.21
| 1.20 |
| Contact with a faculty or staff member |
2.47 | 2.55
| 2.41 | 2.70
| 2.44 | 2.43
|
| 1.22 |
1.26 | 1.19
| 1.33 | 1.20
| 1.14 |
| Contact with a graduate ++ | 2.73
| 2.77 | 2.71
| 2.74 | 2.77
| 2.24 |
| 1.28 |
1.34 | 1.25
| 1.39 | 1.27
| 1.22 |
| Letter from someone other than Admissions ++
| 2.20 | 2.24
| 2.17 | 2.71
| 2.11 | 2.29
|
| 1.15 |
1.19 | 1.12
| 1.22 | 1.11
| 1.15 |
| Attendance at a College Fair ++ | 2.16
| 2.18 | 2.15
| 2.63 | 2.08
| 2.31 |
| 1.07 |
1.07 | 1.07
| 1.19 | 1.03
| 1.15 |
| Publications from NC State ++ | 2.27
| 2.32 | 2.24
| 2.71 | 2.20
| 2.36 |
| 1.05 |
1.07 | 1.04
| 1.14 | 1.02
| 1.03 |
| Extracurricular opportunities ++ | 2.82
| 2.82 | 2.81
| 3.03 | 2.80
| 2.66 |
| 1.18 |
1.21 | 1.17
| 1.28 | 1.17
| 1.08 |
| Other | 4.24
| 4.42 | 4.13
| 3.73 | 4.31
| 4.15 |
| 1.13 |
1.02 | 1.18
| 1.43 | 1.07
| 1.21 |
+Gender: p < 0.01; ++Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Most Influential Factor In Decision To Attend Nc State
| Most influential factor (%) | All
| Female | Male
| Af. Am. | White
| Other |
| Academic reputation | 21.9
| 19.8 | 23.3
| 34.2 | 20.1
| 24.2 |
| Cost | 5.7 |
5.4 | 5.9
| 5.2 | 5.5
| 9.8 |
| Location | 10.7
| 12.3 | 9.7
| 10.3 | 10.9
| 9.8 |
| Size | 0.5 |
0.8 | 0.4
| 0.3 | 0.6
| 0 |
| Availability of program | 14.9
| 12.9 | 16.2
| 8.6 | 15.6
| 16.5 |
| Recommended by friend, family, etc. | 5.8
| 7.7 | 4.4
| 5.2 | 5.7
| 7.7 |
| Number of hours transferred/credited | 0.2
| 0.2 | 0.2
| 0.3 | 0.2
| 0 |
| Level of support for my intended major |
17.3 | 15.5
| 18.6 | 14.9
| 18.1 | 11.3
|
| Facilities and resources available | 3.9
| 3.4 | 4.3
| 1.7 | 4.3
| 2.6 |
| Scholarships/financial aid available | 4.2
| 4.6 | 4.0
| 6.3 | 3.6
| 8.2 |
| Campus visit prior to orientation | 5.0
| 8.2 | 2.9
| 4.3 | 5.3
| 3.6 |
| Contact with a current student | 2.8
| 2.9 | 2.8
| 2.0 | 3.0
| 1.5 |
| Contact with a faculty or staff member |
0.8 | 1.0
| 0.6 | 1.1
| 0.7 | 0.5
|
| Contact with a graduate | 1.2
| 0.7 | 1.4
| 0.3 | 1.3
| 1.0 |
| Letter from someone other than Admissions |
0.2 | 0.1
| 0.2 | 0.3
| 0.1 | 0.5
|
| Attendance at a College Fair | 0.1
| 0.1 | 0.2
| 0.6 | 0.1
| 0 |
| Publications from NC State | 0.1
| 0.2 | 0.1
| 0 | 0.1
| 0 |
| Extracurricular opportunities | 1.5
| 1.2 | 1.7
| 2.6 | 1.4
| 0.5 |
| Other | 3.2
| 3.1 | 3.2
| 1.7 | 3.4
| 2.1 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Importance Of First Year College In Decision To Attend Nc State
| Importance of First Year College in decision to attend NC State (%)
| All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
| Not important | 20.1
| 14.2 | 23.2
| 11.2 | 21.7
| 14.1 |
| Of limited importance | 11.3
| 8.4 | 12.8
| 12.2 | 11.2
| 10.9 |
| Moderately important | 21.5
| 18.1 | 23.2
| 18.4 | 21.6
| 25.0 |
| Important | 26.3
| 32.2 | 23.2
| 20.4 | 26.5
| 32.8 |
| Very important | 20.8
| 27.1 | 17.6
| 37.8 | 19.1
| 17.2 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Received Phone Calls After Applying To Nc State From:
| Received a call from an NC State faculty/staff after applying (%)
| All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
| Yes | 20.1
| 18.5 | 21.3
| 29.1 | 19.0
| 20.0 |
| No | 79.9 |
81.5 | 78.7
| 70.9 | 81.0
| 80.0 |
Ethnicity: p < 0.01
| Received a call from a current NC State student after applying (%)
| All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
| Yes | 15.2
| 13.3 | 16.4
| 14.0 | 15.2
| 16.4 |
| No | 84.8 |
86.7 | 83.6
| 86.0 | 84.8
| 83.6 |
Gender: p < 0.01
| Received a call from a graduate of NC State after applying (%)
| All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
| Yes | 6.0 |
4.0 | 7.3
| 3.1 | 6.5
| 4.6 |
| No | 94.0 |
96.0 | 92.7
| 96.9 | 93.5
| 95.4 |
Gender: p < 0.01
Received Letter From Outside Admissions Office After Applying
To Nc State
| Received letter from outside Admissions after applying to NC State (%)
| All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
| Yes | 70.7
| 70.0 | 71.1
| 78.4 | 69.2
| 77.3 |
| No | 29.3 |
30.0 | 28.9
| 21.6 | 30.8
| 22.7 |
Ethnicity: p < 0.01
Satisfaction With The Following Processes:
| Satisfaction with university admissions process (%)
| All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
| Very dissatisfied | 2.4
| 2.4 | 2.4
| 3.7 | 2.2
| 2.6 |
| Moderately dissatisfied | 9.2
| 7.8 | 10.2
| 6.6 | 9.3
| 13.0 |
| Moderately satisfied | 51.9
| 47.8 | 54.6
| 46.6 | 52.7
| 51.0 |
| Very satisfied | 36.5
| 41.9 | 32.9
| 43.1 | 35.9
| 33.3 |
Gender: p < 0.01
| Satisfaction with departmental admissions process (%)
| All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
| Very dissatisfied | 1.9
| 1.0 | 2.5
| 3.1 | 1.6
| 3.4 |
| Moderately dissatisfied | 8.5
| 6.9 | 9.6
| 10.1 | 7.9
| 13.5 |
| Moderately satisfied | 51.7
| 48.1 | 54.0
| 45.3 | 52.6
| 51.1 |
| Very satisfied | 37.9
| 44.0 | 33.8
| 41.6 | 37.9
| 32.0 |
Gender: p < 0.01; Ethnicity: p < 0.01
| Satisfaction with university fin aid process (%)
| All | Female
| Male | Af. Am.
| White | Other
|
| Very dissatisfied | 8.2
| 6.4 | 9.4
| 10.8 | 7.6
| 9.5 |
| Moderately dissatisfied | 20.2
| 19.1 | 21.0
| 18.0 | 20.5
| 21.2 |
| Moderately satisfied | 51.4
| 50.8 | 51.8
| 45.2 | 52.9
| 48.2 |
| Very satisfied | 20.2
| 23.7 | 17.8
| 25.9 | 19.0
| 21.2 |
Gender: p < 0.01