1998 First Year Student Survey:
Gender and Racial/Ethnic Comparisons
of Educational Intent and Interests
(Report No. 6)

This report explores gender and racial/ethnic differences in respondents� plans for their first year at NC State and their education in general. 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."

Goals and Objectives at NC State | Time to Complete Degree | Intended Highest Level of Education | Certainty of College Major | First Semester Enrollment Status | First Semester Employment Plans | Interest in Co-Curricular Activities

Highlights

Female respondents to the First Year Student Survey were less certain of their college major than were male respondents. The women, however, had higher educational aspirations than men, and were more likely to expect to finish their bachelor's degree within four years. There were no gender differences in the number of credit hours men and women planned on taking their first semester, nor in their first semester employment plans. Interest in co-curricular activities and programs varied widely by gender. Overall, more women than men were interested in participating in the various activities. Athletic activities were generally the only ones for which men expressed a greater interest than women.

African Americans were more certain of their major than either whites or other minorities, but less likely to expect to finish their degree within four years. African Americans were also, however, more likely than others to plan on being employed more than 20 hours per week their first semester. White respondents were more likely than either African American or other minority respondents to plan on getting only a bachelors degree. Finally, there were widespread racial/ethnic differences in interest in co-curricular programs and activities, with African Americans generally expressing more interest than whites and other minorities in those focusing on campus leadership.

Primary Objective (Table 6-1)

A majority of women (62.6%) reported their primary objective for attending NC State was to obtain a bachelor's degree in preparation for graduate or professional school. Men were less likely than women to have stated further education as their primary objective (47.3%), and more likely than women to say their goal was to get a bachelor's degree in preparation for a career (34.2% vs 28.3%).

Non-African American respondents were more likely than whites or African American respondents to have said their primary objective was to obtain a degree in preparation for graduate or professional school (71.8%, 52.3% and 52.8% respectively), and less likely as preparation for a career (19.9%, 32.1% and 37.0%).

Amount of Time to Complete Degree (Table 6-2)

Over two-thirds (67.2%) of the respondents expected to complete their undergraduate education in four years. More than three-fourths of the women (76.8%) expected to take four years or less, compared to 65 percent of men. Among the three racial/ethnic groups, non-African American minority respondents were most likely to expect to finish in four years or less (79.2%), followed by whites (71.6%), and African Americans (61.9%).

Intended Highest Level of Education (Table 6-3)

Men were more likely than women to say the highest level of education they expected to obtain was a bachelors degree (28.8% vs 20.2). Women were four times more likely than men to say they expected to receive a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (8.9% vs 2.0%).

African American and other minority respondents were more likely than whites to plan to continue on for a doctoral degree (22.6%, 23.7%, and 13.8%). Whites were more likely than either African American or other minority respondents to intend to get only a bachelors degree (27.1%, 16.2% and 16.4%).

College Major (Table 6-4)

Male respondents were more likely than female respondents to be "certain" or "very certain" of their college major when asked during the Orientation session (70.5% vs 65.4%). African Americans were more likely than whites or other minority respondents say they were "very certain" about their major (32.9%, 25.5% and 26.9% respectively).

Course Load (Table 6-5)

There were no gender or racial/ethnic differences in the number of credits for which respondents planned to enroll during their first semester at NC State. Slightly less than 90 percent of all students planned on taking a full course load.

Reasons for Less Than 15 Credit Hours (Table 6-6)

Women and men generally gave similar reasons for taking less than 15 credit hours, though women were more likely than men to say that courses they wanted are unavailable (43.2% vs. 35.3%). African American and other minority respondents were more likely than whites to say they need to work (27.0%, 28.6%, and 11.8%). Conversely, white respondents were more likely than African American and other minorities to say that courses they wanted are unavailable (37.5%, 21.6%, and 28.6%).

First Semester Employment Plans (Table 6-7)

There were no gender differences in the first semester employment plans of respondents. However, African American respondents were more likely than either other whites or other minorities to say they planned on working 20 or more hours per week during their first semester at NC State (10.8%, 4.4%, and 6.4%).

Expressed Interest (Table 6-8)

There were pronounced gender differences in interest in co-curricular programs and activities at NC State, with much more widespread interest expressed by women than men. Sizeable numbers of women appear to want to be involved in many activities, while men express more limited interest. For example, at least one-third of the women expressed an interest in each of 8 activities. For only 2 activities did less than 10 percent of the women express an interest. In comparison, 11 different activities asked about appealed to 10 percent or fewer men. At least one-third of the men expressed an interest in each of only four activities.

Men and women expressed similar levels of interest for only two of the 27 activities asked about (outdoor adventures and ROTC). Men were more interested than women in intramurals, the co-op program, club sports, indoor recreation, and informal recreation. Noticeably more women than men were interested in the other 20 activities listed.

Compared to these widespread gender differences, there was little racial/ethnic variation in the numbers of people interested in the various activities. One-third or more African Americans expressed an interest in each of 7 activities, one-third or more other minority respondents expressed an interest in each of 5 activities, and one-third or more whites in each of 4 activities.

The actual activities in which respondents were interested in participating, however, varied noticeably by race/ethnicity. African Americans were more likely than whites or other minorities to express an interest in activities related to campus leadership, such as student government, residence hall council, the Student Leadership Development Program, planning programs and services for children and families, and Union Activities Board programs and activities, as well as ROTC, social fraternities/sororities, and activities related to gender and healthy lifestyles issues. Along with non-African American respondents, African Americans were also more interested than whites in participating in the co-op program, and as performers in music and dance programs.

Non-African American minority respondents were more likely than whites or African Americans to express an interest in volunteer services, and in attending the theater and art exhibits. Non-African American minorities and white respondents were more likely than African Americans to be interested in intramurals, club sports, informal recreation, and the Study Abroad/National Student Exchange programs. The only activity for which white respondents expressed more interest than either African Americans or other minority respondents was outdoor adventures.

Rank Order of Expressed Interest in Co-curricular Activities and Programs (Table 6-9)

The ten most popular activities were similar for women and men, with only slight differences in the rank order of expressed interest. The activities with the largest differences in appeal to women and men were informal recreation and the Student Dance Company. Informal recreation was the 10th most popular activity for men, but was 24th for women. The Student Dance Company, the activity in which the fewest number of men expressed an interest, ranked 19th for women.

There were widespread racial/ethnic differences in the rank orders of expressed interest in the activities. Outdoor adventures was the 2nd most popular activity for whites, and ranked 6th for non-African Americans, but was 15th for African Americans. Club sports was the 5th most popular activity for whites and non-African Americans, but ranked 16th for African Americans. Attending the theater ranked 9th for whites, 8th for non-African Americans, and 20th for African Americans. Informal recreation ranked 12th for whites, 16th for non-African Americans, and 24th for African Americans. Finally, attending art exhibits, which ranked 13th for whites and 12th for non-African Americans ranked second-to-last (26th) for African Americans.

On the other hand, several activities were ranked noticeably higher by African Americans than by whites and other minorities. Union Activities Board programs ranked 7th for African Americans, but was 22nd for other minorities and second-to-last (26th) for whites. Interest in the Residence Hall Council ranked 9th for African Americans, and 19th for both whites and other minorities. And, activities related to gender issues, which ranked 14th for African Americans, was 23rd for other minorities and 25th for whites.

Posted: August, 1999

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