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A Profile of Freshmen at 4-Year Colleges, Fall 2017

Almanac 2019
August 18, 2019

More than half of freshmen in the fall of 2017 said their belief that graduates got good jobs was a “very important” reason for choosing their particular institution. Being able to get a better job was identified as a very important reason for attending college by nearly 85 percent of freshmen. Biological and life sciences and business were the most popular intended majors for freshmen, with more than a fifth planning to be pre-med. More than 60 percent estimated they had a “very good chance” of voting in a state, local, or national election while in college, and just over 40 percent of freshmen identified their political views as “middle of the road.”

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More than half of freshmen in the fall of 2017 said their belief that graduates got good jobs was a “very important” reason for choosing their particular institution. Being able to get a better job was identified as a very important reason for attending college by nearly 85 percent of freshmen. Biological and life sciences and business were the most popular intended majors for freshmen, with more than a fifth planning to be pre-med. More than 60 percent estimated they had a “very good chance” of voting in a state, local, or national election while in college, and just over 40 percent of freshmen identified their political views as “middle of the road.”

Who they are


Race and ethnicity (more than one identification allowed)
African-American/black 14.3%
American Indian/Alaska Native 1.9%
East Asian (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese) 6.0%
Filipino 2.1%
Southeast Asian (e.g., Cambodian, Vietnamese, Hmong) 1.9%
South Asian (e.g., Indian, Pakistani, Nepalese, Sri Lankan) 3.7%
Other Asian 0.6%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.6%
Mexican-American/Chicano 6.9%
Puerto Rican 2.7%
Other Latino 7.0%
White/Caucasian 66.1%
Other 2.2%
Family educational background
Neither parent attended college (first-generation student) 17.7%
Parent/Guardian 1 is college graduate 61.1%
Parent/Guardian 2 is college graduate 57.4%
Most-common occupations for Parent/Guardian 1
Business manager/executive 6.0%
Engineer 5.3%
Homemaker/stay-at-home parent 5.1%
Business owner/entrepreneur 4.9%
Skilled trades (e.g. plumber, electrician, construction) 4.4%
Most-common occupations for Parent/Guardian 2
Homemaker/stay-at-home parent 11.4%
Skilled trades (e.g. plumber, electrician, construction) 4.7%
Business owner/entrepreneur 4.0%
Business manager/executive 3.8%
Engineer 3.4%
Registered nurse 3.4%
Sales/marketing 3.4%
Best estimate of parents’ total income in previous year
Less than $25,000 11.6%
$25,000 to $59,999 18.4%
$60,000 to $99,999 22.0%
$100,000 to $199,999 30.4%
$200,000 or more 17.5%
Students’ political views
Far left 4.0%
Liberal 32.2%
Middle of the road 41.4%
Conservative 20.4%
Far right 2.0%
Sexual orientation or gender identity
Heterosexual/straight 90.7%
Gay 1.2%
Lesbian 0.9%
Bisexual 5.0%
Queer 0.7%
Transgender 0.5%
Other 1.5%
Religious preference
Roman Catholic 23.5%
Baptist 7.0%
Church of Christ 5.7%
Methodist 2.8%
Lutheran 2.2%
Presbyterian 2.1%
Other Christian 17.0%
Jewish 2.5%
Muslim 2.4%
Hindu 1.6%
Buddhist 1.1%
Other religion 1.9%
Agnostic 8.7%
Atheist 5.9%
None 15.6%
Average grade in high school
A 57.4%
B 39.6%
C 3.1%
Number of Advanced Placement courses taken in high school
Not offered at my high school 6.9%
None 17.2%
1 to 4 45.3%
5 to 9 25.6%
10 to 14 4.6%
15 or more 0.5%
Most-common activities on which they spent more than 10 hours a week during the last year of high school
Socializing with friends 31.8%
Exercise or sports 31.3%
Working (for pay) 31.2%
Using social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) 29.5%
Studying/homework 23.1%

What influenced their choice of college


Number of colleges applied to, in addition to the one where enrolled
None 10.8%
1 to 5 53.1%
6 to 10 28.6%
11 or more 7.4%
Accepted by first-choice college
Yes 75.8%
No 24.2%
Preference status of college where enrolled
1st choice 57.1%
2nd choice 26.6%
3rd choice 10.0%
Below 3rd choice 6.2%
Number of miles from college to permanent home
10 or less 12.6%
11 to 50 29.3%
51 to 100 15.3%
101 to 500 25.1%
Over 500 17.6%
Top reasons deemed “very important” in deciding to go to college
To be able to get a better job 84.9%
To learn more about things that interest me 83.6%
To get training for a specific career 78.0%
To gain a general education and appreciation of ideas 75.9%
To be able to make more money 71.8%
Top reasons deemed “very important” for choosing this particular college
Very good academic reputation 65.6%
College’s graduates get good jobs 55.7%
Good reputation for social and extracurricular activities 51.1%
Offer of financial assistance 48.7%
Cost of attendance 48.4%
Financial aid received
Merit-based grants or scholarships 55.4%
Need-based grants or scholarships 37.5%
Pell Grant 28.9%
Work-study 21.6%
Military grants 5.4%

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Expectations for college and the future


Intended major, by broad field
Arts and humanities 8.8%
Biological and life sciences 15.5%
Business 13.8%
Education 4.4%
Engineering 11.5%
Health professions 11.7%
Math and computer science 6.2%
Physical science 2.7%
Social science 11.0%
Other majors 5.3%
Undecided 7.8%
Professional-school aspirations
Pre-med 20.7%
Pre-law 6.6%
Expected resources to pay first year’s educational expenses (room, board, tuition, and fees)
Family resources (parents, relatives, spouse, etc.)
Less than $3,000 47.1%
$3,000 to $9,999 19.3%
$10,000 or more 33.7%
My own resources (savings from work, work-study, other income)
Less than $3,000 81.8%
$3,000 to $9,999 14.4%
$10,000 or more 3.9%
Aid that need not be repaid (grants, scholarships, military funds, etc.)
Less than $3,000 42.9%
$3,000 to $9,999 21.2%
$10,000 or more 35.8%
Aid that must be repaid (loans, etc.)
Less than $3,000 61.8%
$3,000 to $9,999 24.0%
$10,000 or more 14.2%
Level of concern about ability to pay for college
None 33.9%
Some 54.0%
Major 12.1%
Highest academic degree planned
None 0.5%
Vocational certificate 0.2%
Associate (A.A. or equivalent) 0.7%
Bachelor’s degree (B.A., B.S., etc.) 24.2%
Master’s degree (M.A., M.S., etc.) 39.0%
J.D. (law) 4.3%
M.D., D.O., D.D.S., D.V.M. (medical) 11.8%
Ph.D. 12.4%
Professional doctorate (Ed.D., Psy.D., etc.) 6.1%
Other 0.8%
Top activities that students estimate they have a “very good chance” of doing in college
Vote in a local, state, or national election 62.9%
Participate in student clubs/groups 51.2%
Get a job to help pay for college expenses 50.7%
Communicate regularly with professors 49.0%
Participate in volunteer or community-service work 36.7%
Top objectives considered “essential” or “very important”
Being very well off financially 82.5%
Helping others who are in difficulty 78.3%
Raising a family 71.4%
Improving my understanding of other countries and cultures 61.6%
Becoming an authority in my field 56.8%

Note: Survey results are based on responses from more than 120,000 first-time, full-time students entering 168 American four-year colleges and universities in 2017. Results are statistically weighted to represent the entire group of entering freshmen. Surveys were administered during registration, freshman orientation, or the first few weeks of classes. Percentages may not add up to 100 because of rounding, because multiple choices were allowed, or because some responses were excluded. Race/ethnicity percentages exceed 100 because students were told to choose all that apply. In rankings of top choices only, categories identified as “Other” were excluded. More data can be found here. Questions or comments on the Almanac should be sent to Ruth Hammond.

Source: “The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2017.” Higher Education Research Institute, University of California at Los Angeles


To purchase a copy of the Almanac in print or as a downloadable interactive PDF, visit the Chronicle Store.

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A version of this article appeared in the August 23, 2019, issue.
Read other items in this Enrollment package.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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