This document reports survey data on gender and racial/ethnic differences in the respondents' experiences with the application process and factors influencing their decision to attend NC State. Survey results for all respondents are provided in "1999 First-Year Student Survey: All Respondents." For information about the survey and analysis methods see "1999 First-Year Student Survey: Introduction, Methods, and Student Demographic Profile."

Number of Schools Applied To | Contacts During the Admissions Process | Factors Influencing Attendance Decision | Most Influential Factor | Satisfaction with Admissions

Number of Schools to Which Respondents Applied

	Percent Applying to
Number of schools	All	Female	Male	Af. Am.	White	Other
One (NC State Only)	28.7%	21.2%	34.0%	18.5%	30.1%	23.6%
Two	23.9%	24.3%	23.6%	21.5%	24.1%	25.1%
Three	22.5%	24.2%	21.3%	30.2%	21.7%	22.1%
Four	13.1%	15.3%	11.6%	14.0%	12.9%	14.9%
Five or more	11.8%	14.9%	9.5%	15.8%	11.2%	14.4%
Total (N)	3050	1278	1772	265	2590	195

Survey item #1: Number of College Applied To (exact wording)
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Contacts During the Admissions Process

	Percent Saying Yes
Type of Contact	All	Female	Male	Af. Am.	White	Other
Received call from faculty/staff	19.0%	19.4%	18.7%	25.8%	17.8%	26.4%
Received call from current student	18.2%	18.3%	18.2%	29.2%	17.1%	17.8%
Received call from NCSU graduate	7.8%	7.2%	8.3%	8.2%	7.9%	6.1%
Received letter from outside Admissions	74.2%	74.4%	74.0%	76.4%	74.1%	71.6%

Survey items #2 and #3: Contacts During the Admissions Process (exact wording)
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Factors Influencing Decision to Attend NC State

	Mean
	Scale: 1="very weak influence," 2="weak influence," 3="moderate influence," 4="strong influence"
Factor	All	Female	Male	White	Af. Am.	Other
Academic reputation (N=3055)	4.10	4.14	4.07	4.08	4.28	4.01
Availability of program (N=2964)	3.88	3.87	3.90	3.89	3.94	3.73
Level of support for my intended major (N=2888)	3.83	3.76	3.89	3.83	3.90	3.76
Facilities and resources available (N=3009)	3.75	3.78	3.73	3.75	3.95	3.58
Location (N=3037)	3.58	3.78	3.44	3.55	3.85	3.56
Acceptance into the First Year College (N=602)	3.43	3.59	3.30	3.45	3.47	3.03
Recommended by friend, etc. (N=2852)	3.37	3.43	3.32	3.38	3.20	3.46
Cost (N=2975)	3.27	3.21	3.30	3.26	3.21	3.45
Campus visit prior to orientation (N=2552)	3.25	3.44	3.11	3.26	3.43	2.88
Contact with a current student (N=2408)	3.10	3.28	2.97	3.12	3.17	2.82
Extracurricular opportunities (N=2733)	2.93	3.01	2.86	2.91	3.18	2.75
Size (N=2965)	2.89	3.08	2.76	2.88	3.09	2.81
Scholarships/financial aid available (N=2473)	2.80	2.95	2.70	2.72	3.38	3.05
Contact with a graduate (N=1738)	2.74	2.80	2.70	2.76	2.69	2.51
Contact with a faculty or staff member (N=1679)	2.48	2.62	2.39	2.46	2.78	2.42
Publications from NC State (N=2414)	2.30	2.39	2.22	2.27	2.57	2.29
Number of AP hours credited (N=1496)	2.21	2.24	2.18	2.18	2.41	2.30
Letter from outside admissions (N=2004)	2.16	2.24	2.10	2.12	2.50	2.21
Attendance at a college fair (N=1511)	2.12	2.20	2.07	2.08	2.46	2.29
Other (N=244)	4.54	4.59	4.50	4.55	4.43	4.62

Frequency Distributions: Gender/Ethnicity
Survey item #4: Factors Influencing Decision to Attend (exact wording)
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Most Important Factor Influencing Decision to Attend NC State

	Percent Saying "Most Influential"
Factor	All	Female	Male	Af. Am.	White	Other
Academic reputation	22.5%	21.4%	23.3%	27.6%	21.8%	25.1%
Level of support for my intended major	17.0%	14.9%	18.6%	13.8%	17.5%	14.8%
Availability of program	14.6%	13.1%	15.7%	11.2%	15.0%	13.7%
Location	9.5%	11.4%	8.1%	11.6%	9.1%	12.0%
Recommended by a friend, etc.	6.1%	6.3%	6.0%	2.6%	6.5%	6.0%
Cost	5.8%	5.1%	6.4%	5.2%	5.8%	7.7%
Facilities and resources available	4.6%	4.2%	5.0%	3.9%	4.7%	4.9%
Scholarships/financial aid available	4.0%	5.0%	3.3%	6.5%	3.8%	4.4%
Campus visit prior to orientation	4.0%	5.6%	2.7%	5.2%	4.0%	1.6%
Contact with a current student	2.8%	3.8%	2.1%	1.3%	3.1%	1.6%
Acceptance into the First Year College	1.6%	1.9%	1.4%	2.6%	1.5%	1.6%
Contact with a graduate	1.0%	0.5%	1.3%	0.9%	1.0%	0.5%
Size	0.9%	1.2%	0.7%	0.0%	1.0%	1.1%
Extracurricular opportunities	0.8%	0.8%	0.8%	1.3%	0.7%	1.1%
Contact with a faculty or staff member	0.6%	0.8%	0.4%	1.7%	0.5%	0.0%
Attendance at a college fair	0.2%	0.1%	0.3%	0.9%	0.2%	0.0%
Letter from other than admissions	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.0%	0.1%	0.0%
Number of AP hours credited	0.1%	0.3%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.0%
Publications from NC State	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.4%	0.0%	0.0%
Other	3.6%	3.5%	3.7%	3.4%	3.6%	3.8%
Total (N)	2807	1191	1616	232	2392	183

Survey item #5: Most Influential Factors (exact wording)
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Satisfaction with University Admissions

Extent of Satisfaction	All	Female	Male	Af. Am.	White	Other
Very dissatisfied	1.7%	1.4%	1.9%	1.9%	1.5%	3.6%
Moderately dissatisfied	6.0%	5.3%	6.6%	6.8%	5.9%	7.1%
Moderately satisfied	47.1%	40.0%	52.2%	48.3%	46.4%	53.6%
Very satisfied	45.2%	53.3%	39.4%	43.0%	46.2%	35.7%
Total (N)	3065	1286	1779	267	2602	196

Satisfaction with Departmental Admissions

Extent of Satisfaction	All	Female	Male	Af. Am.	White	Other
Very dissatisfied	1.1%	1.1%	1.1%	2.0%	0.9%	1.6%
Moderately dissatisfied	6.3%	5.4%	7.0%	8.8%	6.0%	7.0%
Moderately satisfied	47.7%	39.9%	53.2%	43.2%	47.6%	55.1%
Very satisfied	44.9%	53.7%	38.7%	46.0%	45.5%	36.2%
Total (N)	3061	1286	1775	267	2599	195

Satisfaction with Financial Aid Process

Extent of Satisfaction	All	Female	Male	Af. Am.	White	Other
Very dissatisfied	8.8%	9.0%	8.6%	8.4%	8.4%	13.4%
Moderately dissatisfied	23.0%	21.4%	24.1%	25.5%	22.5%	24.6%
Moderately satisfied	48.0%	47.7%	48.2%	42.7%	49.5%	38.8%
Very satisfied	20.3%	22.0%	19.1%	23.4%	19.6%	23.1%
Total (N)	3059	1285	1774	267	2596	196

Survey items #6-8: Satisfaction with Admissions (exact wording)
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For more information on the 1999 First-Year Student Survey contact:
Dr. Nancy Whelchel, Associate Director for Survey Research
Office of Institutional Planning and Research
Box 7002
NCSU
Phone: (919) 515-4184
Email: Nancy_Whelchel@ncsu.edu

Posted: April, 2000

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