I. Introduction

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Freshmen students enrolled in randomly-selected English 101 sections (and referred to in this report as "Mason" students) (n=271), fall 1998 New Century College students (NCC, n=184) and those enrolled in the Honors program (n=77) were surveyed during the first two weeks of the fall semester, 1998. The questionnaire, a product of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP), is a continuing longitudinal study of the American higher education system sponsored by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. In this report, responses of GMU's freshmen are compared to the responses of first-time, full-time freshmen enrolled at public universities across the U.S. (weighted n=312,116).

II. Diversity

GMU freshmen, whether enrolled in NCC, Honors or English 101 courses are more diverse than public university freshmen nationally. They are less likely to be U.S. Citizens and more likely to be non-native speakers of English.

III. Educational Background

Honors students were somewhat more likely to attend public high schools (91%) when compared to public university freshmen nationally, Mason (89%) and NCC freshmen (83%). NCC freshmen were more likely to attend denominational high schools (13%) than other freshmen.

Honors students reported the highest average high school grades with 62%, almost two-thirds, reporting an average grade of A+, A or A-. This is well above the proportion of public-university freshmen who reported that grade (44%) and 50% more than Mason freshmen (12%) and NCC freshmen (11%).

All GMU freshmen groups were considerably more likely to report that community service was required for high school graduation when compared to public university freshmen. Honors students were most likely (55%) to report such required service.

IV. What Choice was Mason?

Among public university freshmen the institution they were attending was the first choice of approximately three quarters (74%). Among students enrolled at GMU, Honors students were most likely to say it was a first choice (61%), followed by NCC (59%) and Mason freshmen (53%).

V. College Acceptances and Degrees Planned

At least one third of all freshmen received a minimum of three acceptances to other colleges, with the exception of Mason freshmen for whom about one fourth received that many acceptances.

Honors freshmen were slightly more likely (30%) than public university (24%), Mason (21%) and NCC (24%) freshmen to say that the highest degree they planned at any institution was a bachelor's (B.A. or B.S.). They were also less likely to say they planned on earning a Ph.D., Ed.D. or professional degree.

Further, Mason, NCC and Honors freshmen were more likely than public university freshmen to say that the highest degree they planned to complete at their current institution was a bachelor's degree.

Students estimated their chances of achieving certain goals during their college career. Students were most likely to say that they would earn a bachelor's degree and make at least a "B" average. All GMU students expected to be less satisfied with college than their public university counterparts.

VI. Those Reasons "Very Important" in Attending College

The top three reasons for attending college are the same among all freshmen. Only the order differs among groups. The three most important reasons for attending college are to get a better job, gain a general education and to make more money.

VII. Top Five Reasons for Attending This College/Mason

Unlike freshmen at public universities, all George Mason students listed either "low tuition" or "offered financial assistance" among their top five reasons for attending.

VIII. Mother's and Father's Educational Attainment

Fathers of all GMU freshmen are more likely to have some post-baccalaureate experience compared to public university freshmen.

Table 7. Mother's and Father's Educational Attainment

IX. Rating Academic Skills and Abilities

Ninety percent of Honors freshmen ranked their academic abilities above average or in the highest 10%. Neither Mason nor NCC freshmen listed their academic abilities within their top five skills/abilities. Instead, nearly three fourths rated cooperativeness as their strongest skill (74%) , similar to the proportion of Honors freshmen who did so.

X. Objectives Considered to Be "Very Important" or "Essential"

Given a list of 19 life objectives, all freshmen chose "being very well-off financially" as their top choice. "Raising a family" was second for all groups but NCC, where "helping others in difficulty" was the second choice.

XI. Planned Places of Residence, Fall 1998

XII. Financing College

Parents are the primary source of money to pay for college expenses for all freshmen. Public university freshmen were more likely to use savings than any GMU freshman group.

XIII. Concern About Financing College

XIV. How Students Spent Their Time During a Typical Week Last Year

Approximately one quarter to one third of all freshmen spent 16 or more hours per week working for pay last year. Between watching T.V., reading for pleasure and playing video games, all freshmen were more likely to have spent six hours or more watching T.V.

XV. Political Orientation and Views

Freshmen were most likely to describe themselves as middle of the road in political orientation. NCC and Honors freshmen were more likely to describe themselves as "liberal" compared to Mason and public university freshmen.