Life on campus: here's a look at the major trends and how one student is handling college life

Careers and Colleges, March-April, 2004 by Don Rauf

Coed dorms. Study groups at 4 a.m. Pitching in with community projects. Courses via computer. Meetings with professors. Today's colleges are complex, highly active petri dishes of academic and social activity. This fall, about 1.6 million new high school graduates are expected to kick off their first year at college. As more high school students head to college they can expect a rewarding but challenging whirlwind of experiences.

Today's institutions of higher learning provide a diverse cultural atmosphere. Although about 70 percent of the college-bound are white, increasingly students are from African-American, Asian-American, Latino, and other backgrounds. And these students are interacting outside of their ethnic groups. According to the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which recently polled more than 200,000 undergraduates, more than 80 percent of all freshmen report having serious conversations with students of a different race or ethnicity from their own.

While 30 years ago men dominated the student body, a recent report by the Center for the Study of Opportunity, in Washington, DC, shows that less than 45 percent of today's college under graduates are men. The American Council on Education (ACE) backs up the findings, but adds that the enrollment decline is predominantly among low-income and minority male students.

"There is not a generalized education crisis among men," says Jacqueline King, director of ACE's Center for Policy Analysis. "However, there are pockets of real problems."

WHAT MAKES YOUR CLASSMATES TICK?

When it comes to values, today's freshmen put the "importance of raising a family" at the top of the list, according to an annual survey of 276,449 new college freshmen, conducted by UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute. About 75 percent of both first-year men and women put this at the top of their life goal's list; financial success is the second highest priority.

While men and women both have their sights set on family and financial success, they spend their time differently. Women tend to spend more time than men studying, doing volunteer work, participating in student organizations, and tending to housework or childcare responsibilities. Men, on the other hand spend more time than women exercising of playing sports, watching television, partying or playing video games.

Both sexes do share one common problem: stress. "All students feel more competition," says the survey's director, UCLA assistant education professor Linda J. Sax. "They're applying to more colleges; they're worried about having to work during college. That can be overwhelming."

Even with their stressful schedules, freshmen are increasingly interested in politics. About 34 percent of students (compared to 28.1 percent in 2000) say they are "keeping up with political affairs." While the current rate of political interest remains far lower than the high of 60.3 percent reported in 1966, this upswing reflects events that have reignited America's interest in politics: the war in Iraq, the events of September 11, 2001, and the upcoming election.

In regard to social issues, more than half of all freshman consider themselves "middle-of-the-road," with 24 percent declaring themselves liberal and 21 percent labeling themselves as conservative. On social issues, more than three-quarters say the federal government should do more to control the sale of handguns; and 60 percent support gay marriages. However, a high number (38.4 percent) endorsed more military spending. While drinking is still a problem, it is less popular, as is cigarette smoking. (Only 6 percent reported being frequent smokers.)

TODAY'S ACTIVE, TECHNO-SAVVY FRESHMAN

College students are very involved. Two-thirds of seniors participated in community service, according to the NSSE, and more than one-third participated in a community-based project as part of a course. The UCLA study found that about 83 percent of freshmen reported "frequent or occasional volunteer work."

In addition to volunteering, many freshmen work to pay for their tuition. The number of students who say they will have to work to pay for college is at a record high of 47 percent. Still, students may be more interested in their computers than anything else. The UCLA survey reports that 82 percent of first-year students regularly use a computer--that's up 10 percent from three years ago. Computer use, however, may be detracting from studies. The number of freshmen reporting that they study six of more hours a week is at a record low (18.7 percent).

THE ACADEMIC CHALLENGE

The NSSE also found that many students were studying less than they should. About two-fifths of respondents said they spend 10 or fewer hours per week preparing for class, which is far less time than what the faculty members say is needed. Although many educators agree that substantive interactions between student and professor are key to learning, 41 percent of first-year students never discussed ideas from their classes or readings with a faculty member outside of class.