A study comparing differences in student background, educational plans and preferences, and college impressions between new freshmen students entering spring semester, 1984, and new freshmen students entering fall semester, 1984, at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if any differences in goals, needs, preferences, and college impressions existed between first and second semester entering University of Wisconsin-La Crosse freshmen for spring and fall semesters of 1984. Students who enrolled for the first time spring semester 1984, and were full-time students comprised Group I. Students who enrolled for the first time fall semester 1984, and were full-time comprised Group II. The sample size of Group I and Group II were 38 and 175, respectively. The survey instrument used in this study was the "Entering Student Survey" designed by the American College Testing Program. The Chi-square technique was used to determine if any differences existed between Group I and Group II on all surveyed variables. Significant differences (p<.05) were found between the two groups in all sections of the instrument. Statistically significant differences existed between Group I and Group II in the following categories: age, marital status, college residence, number of work hours per week subjects planned to be employed, high school grade point average, and high school rank, subjects' reasons for continuing an education after high school, their sources of funding, their choice of extracurricular activities, their rating of statements concerning their decision to attend this particular college, when their decision was made to attend college, and their source of information about this particular college.