Chartwells College Student Survey
By Jennifer Porter
Per my recent blog posting, GoliathJobs is very interested in the trends taking place among Gen-Xers and Gen-Ys (or “Millennials,” born between 1983 - 1994). They are radically different then the generations that preceded them. Below please find the results of the Chartwell College Student Survey last year. This relates quite closely to the Gen-Y influence:
Millennials at College
Millennials agree that they face greater pressures than prior generations of collegians.
Eighty-five percent say that having a college degree is more important today than it was for their parents’ generation. They agree (69 to 6 percent) that the college application process is more stressful today than it was for their parents’ generation, and they agree (58 to 8 percent) percent that college is more academically challenging today. They agree (64 to 11 percent) that today’s young people spend more time planning for the future than their parents’ generation did at the same age.
Today’s students are thinking financially during the college application process. Their top three criteria in choosing a college are the final cost of attendance (82 percent) probable levels of student debt (70 percent) and the earnings capabilities of graduates (62 percent). These financial priorities reflect Millennials’ overall concern about the rising cost of college. Forty percent say that paying for college will be a very or extremely difficult financial burden for them, and over half say that their debt burden will affect their career choices. On average, students expect to acquire debts of nearly $20,000.
Nonetheless, this generation of students remains career-oriented and confident about their futures. Nearly nine out of ten feel at least somewhat confident that their future earnings will be enough to justify the cost of college. Nearly five out of six say they are attending college to prepare for a specific career and to earn a higher salary, and they overwhelmingly agree (97 percent) that colleges should play a significant role in helping students find jobs.
The Generation X factor
To the extent that students are aware of a long-term trend, an overwhelming majority believe that today’s parents are more involved in helping their children succeed than the parents of their parents’ generation.
Children of Gen-X parents (that is, parents born after 1960) expressed an even stronger sense than children of Boomers that their parents were highly involved in their lives and likely to intervene frequently. These students were more likely to say that their parents helped them choose their academic majors and individual courses. They also had higher expectations that parents would intervene when they encounter problems at school, from unfair grades to class attendance issues, and (especially) with housing problems.
Millennials with Gen-X parents feel a greater desire to achieve, and more intense pressure in the college application process. They were nearly twice as likely as students with Boomer parents to apply to five or more colleges. They were also much more likely to go to school less than one hour drive away from home, implying greater family closeness.
The Gender Divide The priorities of male collegians were more social than those of their female counterparts. More males said they attended college to meet new people, have fun socially, and become well-rounded people. Nearly three times as many males rated finding a potential spouse or life-partner as a very important reason for attending college. Considerably more males than females considered the alumni network as an important inducement for enrolling—something colleges can consider as they develop strategies to attract and retain more male students.
Highlights from the Datatel College Parent Survey:
The Hands-on Parent
Parents are continuing to stay protectively involved in the lives of their Millennial offspring even after they leave home. They report talking on the phone with their collegiate children an average of three to four times a week, and welcoming them home for visits seven or eight times each school year. Three quarters of the parents surveyed said that they were involved in their children’s choice of academic major, and nearly 70 percent said they had some involvement in their children’s specific course choices.
This has not always been the case with college students and their parents. Parents agree by four to one that they are more involved in helping their children succeed at college than their own parents’ generation was, and, by two to one, they agree that they spend more time with their collegiate children then their parents spent with them at that age.
The particularly close Millennial-parent bond is fueling high expectations from parents for an active—even invasive—relationship with the colleges and universities their children attend. Parents said they would be extremely likely to intervene on behalf of their children when facing a variety of problems, from poor quality housing and food to unfair pay at a campus job to problems with class attendance and substance abuse. They overwhelmingly agree that colleges should allow them direct access to their children’s grades, attendance records, health records, disciplinary records, and class schedules.
The Generation X Factor
Even more than Boomer parents, Gen-X parents expressed an intense involvement in their children’s lives and decisions. Half (49 percent) of all Gen Xers said that they began planning for their children’s college education when the kids were in elementary school or younger, while only 38 percent of Boomer parents said the same. Gen-X parents played more active roles in developing the list of colleges from which their children would choose.
Gen-X parents communicate with their college-age children far more often than Boomer parents do. Boomers report that they communicate with their sons and daughters in college an average of 8.2 times per week—for Gen-X parents, the average number of weekly contacts jumps to 11.8.
Gen-X parents are also likely to insist on greater transparency from their children’s colleges. Both generations of parents agreed that colleges should allow them to see their children’s grades, attendance records, health records, and other information. Two-thirds (67 percent) of Gen Xers said this was important, versus 48 percent of Boomers.
Gen-X parents have a greater focus on practical employment issues for their collegiate kids. More of them considered the earning capabilities of graduates when evaluating a college, and more cited “preparing for a specific career” and “earning a higher salary” as important reasons for their children to attend college. Virtually all (98 percent) of Gen Xers with children currently in college think schools should help students find jobs that relate to their major or their field, compared to only 79 percent of Boomers.
(Source: Chartwells College Student Survey, Datatels College Parent Survey)
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