Ah, Freshmen

UCLA charted 40 years of incoming Freshman. This is a summary of a summary of what they found (with no attention to proper documentation given).

• today’s freshmen are the most well-off since at least 35 years ago— with median incomes 60 percent above the national average, as compared to 46 percent above average in 1971
• students state that they would participate in community service
• being a community leader is rated higher than previous years
• raising a family is the number one goal
• number two is being well-off
• number three is helping others
• 1971: 90.9 percent of first-time freshmen were white; 2007: 76.5 percent white.
• Blacks have “reached their numerical peak and, due to various factors, have slowly decreased their share of the freshman population.”
• More non-religious affiliations
• 2/3 socialize with those outside their ethnic group
• Women have closed the academic gap in math, but not in computer or physical science
• More students are getting A’s than ever before (24.1%)