A Profile of Freshmen at 4-Year Colleges, Fall 2012
More than two-thirds of college students expressed confidence in their overall academic ability, though less than half considered themselves above average in mathematical or writing skills. They planned to rely most heavily on their parents and scholarships and other aid to pay for their education, and more than 85 percent expected to graduate within four years.
| WHO THEY ARE | |
| Race and ethnicity (more than one identification allowed) | |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 2.6% |
| Asian-American/Asian | 10.7% |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 1.2% |
| African-American/black | 11.5% |
| Mexican-American/Chicano | 7.7% |
| Puerto Rican | 1.6% |
| Other Latino | 5.2% |
| White/Caucasian | 69.7% |
| Other | 3.5% |
| Parents’ educational level (college degree or higher) | |
| Father | 53.0% |
| Mother | 56.2% |
| First generation in college | |
| Yes | 19.5% |
| No | 80.5% |
| Best estimate of parents’ income | |
| Less than $25,000 | 14.6% |
| $25,000 to $49,999 | 16.7% |
| $50,000 to 74,999 | 18.2% |
| $75,000 to $99,999 | 13.0% |
| $100,000 to $149,999 | 17.1% |
| $150,000 to $199,999 | 8.1% |
| $200,000 or more | 12.4% |
| Political views | |
| Far left | 2.8% |
| Liberal | 26.8% |
| Middle of the road | 47.5% |
| Conservative | 21.1% |
| Far right | 1.8% |
| HOW PREPARED THEY ARE | |
| High school attended | |
| Public school (not charter or magnet) | 76.8% |
| Public charter school | 2.8% |
| Public magnet school | 3.3% |
| Private religious/parochial school | 10.7% |
| Private independent college-prep school | 5.8% |
| Home school | 0.7% |
| Subjects studied in high school | |
| English (4 years) | 97.9% |
| Mathematics (3 years) | 98.9% |
| Foreign language (2 years) | 92.8% |
| Physical science (2 years) | 61.4% |
| Biological science (2 years) | 50.6% |
| History/American government (1 year) | 98.9% |
| Computer science (1/2 year) | 54.4% |
| Arts and/or music (1 year) | 83.0% |
| Time spent on selected activities during a typical week during last year of high school | |
| Studying/homework | |
| Less than one hour | 12.8% |
| 1 to 5 hours | 48.8% |
| 6 to 20 hours | 34.3% |
| Over 20 hours | 4.1% |
| Working (for pay) | |
| Less than one hour | 45.7% |
| 1 to 5 hours | 13.3% |
| 6 to 20 hours | 30.6% |
| Over 20 hours | 10.3% |
| Household/child-care duties | |
| Less than one hour | 39.6% |
| 1 to 5 hours | 48.9% |
| 6 to 20 hours | 9.9% |
| Over 20 hours | 1.5% |
| Reading for pleasure | |
| Less than one hour | 52.9% |
| 1 to 5 hours | 36.6% |
| 6 to 20 hours | 9.4% |
| Over 20 hours | 1.1% |
| Selected activities done ‘frequently’ or ‘occasionally’ in past year | |
| Tutored another student | 59.3% |
| Drank beer | 33.4% |
| Drank wine or liquor | 39.2% |
| Came late to class | 53.8% |
| Skipped school/class | 27.3% |
| Fell asleep in class | 46.5% |
| Failed to complete homework on time | 52.0% |
| Qualities in which student evaluates self as ‘highest 10 percent’ or ‘above average’ | |
| Academic ability | 69.0% |
| Creativity | 53.4% |
| Emotional health | 51.5% |
| Leadership ability | 61.1% |
| Mathematical ability | 44.8% |
| Writing ability | 46.3% |
| Ability to see the world from someone else’s perspective | 67.2% |
| Tolerance of others with different beliefs | 73.0% |
| Openness to having my own views challenged | 54.0% |
| Ability to discuss and negotiate controversial issues | 63.2% |
| Ability to work cooperatively with diverse people | 79.6% |
| HOW THEY PICKED A COLLEGE | |
| Number of colleges applied to, in addition to the one where enrolled | |
| None | 13.1% |
| 1 to 5 | 59.5% |
| 6 to 10 | 22.7% |
| 11 or more | 4.8% |
| Accepted by first-choice college | |
| Yes | 76.7% |
| No | 23.3% |
| Preference status of college where enrolled | |
| 1st choice | 59.3% |
| 2nd choice | 25.9% |
| 3rd choice | 9.3% |
| Less than 3rd choice | 5.5% |
| Number of miles from college to permanent home | |
| 5 or less | 5.4% |
| 6 to 10 | 7.0% |
| 11 to 50 | 26.3% |
| 51 to 100 | 15.2% |
| 101 to 500 | 31.6% |
| Over 500 | 14.5% |
| Opinion on whether the current economic situation significantly affected college choice | |
| Agree strongly | 24.0% |
| Agree somewhat | 42.6% |
| Disagree somewhat | 19.7% |
| Disagree strongly | 13.7% |
| Reasons deemed ‘very important’ in deciding to go to college | |
| To be able to get a better job | 87.9% |
| To gain a general education and appreciation of ideas | 72.8% |
| To make me a more cultured person | 50.6% |
| To be able to make more money | 74.6% |
| To learn more about things that interest me | 82.5% |
| To get training for a specific career | 79.3% |
| To prepare myself for graduate or professional school | 61.9% |
| EXPECTATIONS FOR COLLEGE AND THE FUTURE | |
| Planned living arrangements for fall term | |
| With my family or other relatives | 17.2% |
| Other private home, apartment, or room | 2.8% |
| College residence hall | 76.1% |
| Fraternity or sorority house | 0.7% |
| Other campus student housing | 2.8% |
| Other | 0.3% |
| Self-defined professional-school aspirations | |
| Pre-med | 19.3% |
| Pre-law | 6.3% |
| Probable major | |
| Arts and humanities | 12.2% |
| Biological science | 12.9% |
| Business | 14.4% |
| Education | 5.8% |
| Engineering | 10.3% |
| Health professions | 14.0% |
| Math and computer science | 3.1% |
| Physical science | 2.5% |
| Social science | 11.1% |
| Other majors | 5.6% |
| Undecided | 8.1% |
| Expected sources for first year’s educational expenses (room, board, tuition, and fees) | |
| Family resources (parents, relatives, spouse, etc.) | |
| Less than $1,000 | 32.8% |
| $1,000 to $9,999 | 35.1% |
| $10,000 or more | 32.1% |
| My own resources (savings from work, work-study, other income) | |
| Less than $1,000 | 64.3% |
| $1,000 to $9,999 | 33.0% |
| $10,000 or more | 2.6% |
| Aid that need not be repaid (grants, scholarships, military funds, etc.) | |
| Less than $1,000 | 34.1% |
| $1,000 to $9,999 | 36.5% |
| $10,000 or more | 29.4% |
| Aid that must be repaid (loans, etc.) | |
| Less than $1,000 | 51.7% |
| $1,000 to $9,999 | 35.2% |
| $10,000 or more | 13.1% |
| Number of years student expects to take to finish degree at current college | |
| 3 or fewer | 2.6% |
| 4 | 84.3% |
| 5 | 8.6% |
| 6 or more | 2.7% |
| Not planning to graduate from current college | 1.8% |
| Highest academic degree planned | |
| None | 0.6% |
| Vocational certificate | 0.1% |
| Associate (A.A. or equivalent) | 0.4% |
| Bachelor’s degree (B.A., B.S., etc.) | 21.7% |
| Master’s degree (M.A., M.S., etc.) | 41.8% |
| Ph.D. or Ed.D. | 19.4% |
| M.D., D.O., D.D.S., D.V.M. (medical) | 10.4% |
| J.D. (law) | 4.0% |
| B.D. or M.Div. (divinity) | 0.3% |
| Other | 1.3% |
Note: Survey results were obtained from nearly 200,000 first-time full-time students entering 283 four-year colleges in 2012, and were statistically weighted to represent the entire group of entering freshmen. Percentages may not add up to 100 because of rounding.
Source: Higher Education Research Institute, U. of California at Los Angeles
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