Nearly three-fourths of the respondents reported being “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their overall college experience. 

The majority of students were satisfied with the quality of instruction they received, relevance of coursework to future career plans, amount of contact with faculty, overall sense of community among students, campus social activities, and relevance of coursework to everyday life.

Although most respondents studied and discussed their courses with other students during the first year, findings suggest that many remain disengaged from their coursework: over half “frequently” or “occasionally” came late to class; almost half turned in course assignments that did not reflect their best work or felt bored in class; and approximately one-third skipped class at least “occasionally” in the first year.

Close to one-third of the survey respondents felt intimidated by their professors in the first college year, which may help to explain why only a minority of these respondents met with faculty members during or outside of class/office hours at least once a week.

The majority of respondents felt “completely successful” in developing close friendships with other students; less than half felt similarly about understanding professors’ academic expectations and adjusting to the demands of college in general; less than a third were completely successful at utilizing campus services, developing effective study skills, managing their time effectively, or getting to know faculty. However, the vast majority of students were at least “somewhat successful” in each of these areas.

The majority of first-year students have some degree of concern about financing their college education, although less than one-third of the respondents work for pay on or off campus. Less than half of the students “frequently” felt overwhelmed, lonely or homesick, and worried about meeting new people in the first year.

Students reported mostly positive interactions with their peers since entering college. Slightly more than one-third of the respondents interacted with family members on a daily basis.

Students’ actual experiences in college often fall short of their expectations, especially with respect to changing career plans, getting a job to help pay for expenses, and participating in student clubs or groups.

When asked to assess how much they have changed since entering college, very few of the respondents felt as though their knowledge and skills declined since entering college, but many did not feel as if their knowledge and skills improved either. Areas in which students noted the most improvement included their knowledge of a particular field or discipline, their ability to make their own decisions, and their general knowledge.