Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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More colle advancedi By College Press Service More college freshmen have hones of obtaining advanced A 0 degrees after they get their four-year degree than ever before, and women are more likely than men to aspire to the highest possible degrees such as doctorates, according to findings in a sweeping survey of this year's freshman class. The 28th annual survey of entering college freshmen, conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California-Los Angeles, also found that competitive pressures and stress among freshmen are at all-time highs. The survey was comoleted last fall hv 220 7S7 X ? / 1 ' ' first-year students at 427 colleges and universities, and was sponsored by the American Council on Education, a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association. Sixty-five percent of the freshmen surveyed in 1993 plan to pursue a graduate degree after they finish college, the survey found. In comparison, 55 percent of the freshmen polled in 1992 and less than 50 percent of those polled in the early 1970s had indicated they wanted to pursue education beyond the fouryear degree. More importantly, researchers found that for the first time ever in the sur- < vey women were more likely ^1 1- it man men 10 seex an major \ types of advanced degrees i (master's, doctoral, medical J and law) than men; 27.3 per- 1 cent of the female first-year ] students indicated they < wanted to pursue terminal i degrees, compared with 25.8 i percent of the men. In 1967, i three times more men than women had planned to pur- : sue a doctoral, medical or i law degree (26.7 percent vs. ] 8.5 percent). ) LLtW1_ _t _ 1 % io ciose sucn a wiae gap in a relatively short span of two decades is truly remark- i able," said UCLA professor Congratulate ge freshmi degrees, si Alexander W Astin, director of the survey. The comprehensive survey does not draw conclusions from the volumes of data garnered from public and private two- and four-year institutions, but rather shows statistical trends among first-year students. Financial security after graduation appears to be the motivation in obtaining advanced degrees, the survey r 1 n A iouna. seventy-live percent of the respondents said that a "very important" reason for attending college is "to be able to make more money" More than four out of five (82.1 percent, compared with 78.5 percent last year) said that going to college is important so they can get a "better job." Money is also an important reason why the incoming freshman class selected their institution ? 32 percent said that an important reason they picked their college was low tuition or because they were offered financial assistance. Nearly 4U percent said cnances are good they will get a job to help out with college expenses. The percentage of students working full time rose to its highest level ? 5.6 percent ? since the question was introduced in 108? "These findings suggest that the students may be more interested in graduate degrees because they feel that advanced training will give them a competitive edge in their quest for jobs and financial security," Astin said. "It is also significant that the percentage of freshmen who expect to be satisfied with their college experience reached its lowest point in the history of the survey" Nearly nan (48 percent) said they expected to be satisfied with college, compared with 50.4 percent last fear and 64.7 percent in 1970. Among other findings of the survey: Competitive pressures ons to the Cla en seeking jrvey says and stress are at record levels. Record number of stuj ? ?i? ?. ucius arc maKing multiple applications ? 70.3 percent ? and 22.2 percent of the freshmen applied to four or more colleges, a record. 'A record of other findings suggest that students are feeling increasingly stressed," Astin said. A high number of respondents (23 2 percent, compared with 16 percent in 1985) said they "feel over whelmed by all I have to do," and 9 4 percent said they frequendy "felt depressed." Ratings on emotional and physical health hit all-time lows, with the percentage of students missing classes because of sickness reached an all-time high. The study 1.1 * i cues proDiems at nome as possible reasons for these trends; 3.7 percent of the students said that their fathers were unemployed, and 25.1 percent said their parents are either separated or divorced. In terms of social issues and political attitudes, about half the students defined themselves as being to the left or right of the political center Students rlaimino tn be "middle of the road" dipped to 49 9 percent for the first time since 1972, down from 53 percent last year and 60 percent in 1980. Those who considered themselves conservative increased 2.6 percentage points to 22.9 percent, the highest share reported since the question was first asked in 1970. The percentage who considered themselves left of center was 27.2 percent. uuppuil IVJ lWgOilZL illdlljuana increased to 28.2 percent, and student support for legislation to outlaw homosexuality declined for the sixth year in a row to a low of 36.2 percent. Eightyone percent of the students support greater efforts to control handguns, and a greater number of students ? 84.4 percent ? support greater governmental efforts to reduce pollution. iss of 1994. Inwersmyl i n ???% VrnXJ-r^ Mary Ann Odom \/ xr 11 i i ou nnany maae 1 are so proud of yoi Love, Jules and W. I n Iver silly* I laroiina Ugfe: Rudy A. Carbaugh After years of hard 1 the Lord, you've rea long goal. We are s< Love, Mom & Dad Shannon J. Doyle We are very proud ( Love, Mom and Ds BH HJ r w ? UllU DUV/111 11^1 jJBkI A. v M YT i i t! We love you and a! 1964-1994 law 1 work and trusting ched your life o proud of you. Ek mm * )f you! id and Princess ni ill (IMiriV CA w