1998 First Year Student Survey:
Gender and Racial/Ethnic Comparisons
of Students' Evaluation of the Application Process
(Report No. 5)

This report focuses on gender and racial/ethnic differences in respondents� experiences with the application process and factors influencing their decision to attend NC State. Survey results for all respondents are provided in "1998 First Year Student Survey: All Respondents." For information about the survey and analysis methods see "1998 First Year Student Survey: Introduction, Methods, and Student Demographic Profile."

Number of Schools Applied To | Contacts During the Admissions Process | Factors Influencing Attendance Decision | Importance of First Year College in decision to attend NCSU | Most Influential Factor | Satisfaction with Admissions

Highlights

Men and women reported different experiences with NC State's application process. Women applied to more schools than men, and were more likely than men to be "very satisfied" with various aspects of the NC State admissions process. Female respondents also gave higher ratings than males to the influence of factors such as campus location, size, and to a campus visit prior to orientation in their decision to attend NC State. And, women were more likely than men to say that acceptance into the First Year College program was important in their decision.

African American respondents applied to a greater number of schools than did either whites or other minorities. They also rated the availability of scholarships and financial aid, attendance at a College fair, letters from outside the admissions office, and publications from NC State as more important in their decision-making process than whites and other minorities did. On the other hand, African Americans were less likely than white or other minority respondents to say the cost of NC State was influential in their decision to attend the university.

Number of Schools to Which Respondents Applied (Table 5-1)

Male respondents applied to significantly fewer schools than females. One-third of men (33.6%) applied to only NC State, compared to less than one-fourth of women (23.5%). Almost 30 percent of women (29.4%) applied to four or more schools including NC State, compared to 19.5 percent of the men.

There were also racial/ethnic differences in the number of schools to which respondents applied. White respondents were most likely to have applied only to NC State (31.7%), followed by non-African American minorities (22.7%). Half as many African American as white respondents applied only to NC State (16.0%). One-third of African Americans (33.3%) applied to four or more schools, compared to 22.0 percent of whites and 27.5 percent of other minorities.

NC State Contacts with Respondent During the Admissions Process (Table 5-2)

There were few gender or racial/ethnic differences between respondents in the type of contact they had with NC State during the admissions process. African American respondents (26.1%) were more likely than either white (18.6%) or other minority respondents (15.2%) to say they received a call from an NC State faculty or staff member, and less likely to say they received a call from a current student (9.6%, 13.8%, and 15.7% respectively).

Factors Influencing Decision to Attend NC State

Average influence (Table 5-3)
There were few meaningful gender differences in the average influence various factors had in respondents� decisions to attend NC State, and there were no meaningful differences in the rank orderings of the factors� average influence on male and female respondents� decision-making process. Female respondents' ratings were higher than males' for:

• Location
• Size
• Scholarships/financial aid available
• Campus visit prior to orientation
• Contact with current student
• Publications from NC State University
• Acceptance into First Year College (for students admitted to the FYC)

Cost was significantly less influential in the decision of African Americans to attend NC State than it was for either whites or other minority respondents. (However, as noted in the report on gender and racial/ethnic differences in background characteristics, African American respondents were much more likely than either whites or other minorities to expect financial aid.) On the other hand, African American respondents' ratings were higher than those of whites or other minorities for:

• Academic reputation
• Scholarships/financial aid available
• Campus visit prior to orientation
• Letter for someone other than Admissions Office
• Attendance at a College Fair
• Publications from NC State

• Acceptance into First Year College (for students admitted to the FYC)

The level of support for their intended major and the facilities and resources available had more influence on African Americans� decision-making process than on other minorities, and the number of Advance Placement hours credited had more influence on African Americans' decisions than on those of white respondents.

There were also some noteworthy racial/ethnic differences in the rank ordering of the factors' average influence on respondents� decision to attend NC State. Specifically, while scholarships/financial aid received the 6^th highest average influence rating from African American respondents, it ranked 11^th for whites. And, cost, which ranked 6^th for other minorities and 7^th for whites, ranked 11^th for African Americans.

Importance of Being Accepted into First Year College (FYC) (Table 5-4)

Among students who were admitted to the First Year College, FYC admission was more important to women than to men in their decision to attend NC State. 44.0 percent of women accepted into FYC compared to 34.2 percent of men said that admission to the program was either "very important" or "important" in their decision-making process. Similarly, African Americans admitted to FYC were more likely than either whites or other minorities to say admission to the program played an important role in their decision to attend NC State. A majority of African Americans respondents in FYC (53.8%) said admission was "important" or "very important" in their decision, compared to 37.5 of other minorities and 36.2 percent of whites.

Most Influential Factor (Table 5-5)

The academic reputation of NC State was most often reported as the key factor influencing the decision to attend NC State, regardless of the respondents' gender or race/ethnicity. However, men (26.8%) were more likely than women (20.7%) to say this. African Americans (33.2%) and other minorities (27.9%) were also more likely than whites (22.9%) to say academic reputation was the most important factor. African Americans (12.6%) were about 3 times more likely than either whites (3.6%) or other minorities (4.8%) to say that scholarships/financial aid available was the most important factor.

Satisfaction with Admissions (Tables 5-6, 5-7 and 5-8)

Regardless of gender or racial/ethnic group, the majority of respondents� are "very" or "moderately satisfied with the NC State's admission process. Women were more likely than men to be "very satisfied" with the university admissions process (50.3% vs 38.5%), and with the departmental admissions process (48.8% vs 37.9%). There were no systematic racial/ethnic differences in satisfaction with the admissions process.

Posted: August, 1999

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