2017 SONS FPF - Part 1: Early Experiences

Transition into UC Berkeley
Academic and Personal Development
Goals and Aspirations
Berkeley Plans
Future Plans and Aspirations
High School Experiences

Transition into UC Berkeley

Please rate the start of your Berkeley experience by completing the following statement. Overall, I am off to ...

Response	Number	Percent
a great start	152	22%
a very good start	199	29%
a good start	241	35%
just an OK start	84	12%
not a good start	14	2%

As you begin your academic career at UC Berkeley, what is your level of agreement or disagreement with the statements below.

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Somewhat disagree	Somewhat agree	Agree	Strongly agree
I feel valued as an individual on this campus	27	34	55	192	251	110
	4%	5%	8%	29%	38%	16%
I am proud to be a student at this campus	18	6	9	76	246	309
	3%	1%	1%	11%	37%	47%
This institution values students' opinions	23	20	33	148	270	172
	4%	3%	5%	22%	41%	26%
Academic dishonesty is a problem on this campus	89	239	149	85	59	44
	13%	36%	22%	13%	9%	7%
I feel that I belong at UC Berkeley	20	22	40	170	253	160
	3%	3%	6%	26%	38%	24%
This campus values diversity	21	7	24	76	219	319
	3%	1%	4%	11%	33%	48%
Diversity is important to me	15	11	6	61	212	362
	2%	2%	1%	9%	32%	54%

What is your level of agreement or disagreement with the statements below?

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Somewhat disagree	Somewhat agree	Agree	Strongly agree
Opportunities to engage in community service while a UC Berkeley student are important to me	13	12	24	131	251	195
	2%	2%	4%	21%	40%	31%
Opportunities to connect my academic work with community-based experience at UC Berkeley are important to me	11	6	26	104	255	218
	2%	1%	4%	17%	41%	35%
It's important to me to work toward goals that are larger than simply making money or acquiring prestige	11	4	18	77	229	286
	2%	1%	3%	12%	37%	46%
It's important to me to make good choices while at UC Berkeley	10	0	8	45	221	339
	2%	0%	1%	7%	36%	54%

Using the scale from 1 to 6 below, please indicate how true each of the following statements is of you.

	Not at all true of me (1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	Very true of me (6)
When I take on a new task, I make a plan with clear and measurable goals that must be reached before completion	12	32	89	185	180	128
	2%	5%	14%	30%	29%	20%
I regularly monitor how I am doing in order to gauge how well I'm progressing toward my goals	12	28	89	162	205	130
	2%	5%	14%	26%	33%	21%
I reflect on my existing commitments before I decide to take on new tasks so I don't get overwhelmed	11	23	77	141	226	147
	2%	4%	12%	23%	36%	24%
I find courses so interesting that I do more work than is required	54	100	140	156	101	75
	9%	16%	22%	25%	16%	12%
I substantially revise papers before submitting to be graded	22	49	120	153	154	127
	4%	8%	19%	25%	25%	20%

To what extent do you agree that each of the following resources has helped with your transition into UC Berkeley?

	N/A; DID NOT USE THIS SERVICE	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Somewhat disagree	Somewhat agree	Agree	Strongly agree
Golden Bear Orientation (GBO, Aug 15-22)	0	18	31	42	128	205	167
	0%	3%	5%	7%	22%	35%	28%
Getting Your Bearings activities - (e.g., Calapalooza, open houses, ASUC events, Aug 23 - Sep 9)	0	9	32	66	188	184	91
	0%	2%	6%	12%	33%	32%	16%
www orientation berkeley edu	0	14	44	61	139	127	62
	0%	3%	10%	14%	31%	28%	14%
Cal Student Central (120 Sproul one-stop shop)	0	13	35	55	124	131	86
	0%	3%	8%	12%	28%	30%	19%
Cal Central (Student portal information dashboard)	0	6	15	22	147	232	178
	0%	1%	3%	4%	25%	39%	30%
Golden Bear Advising (bCourses: "Welcome to GBA," "Tools for Searching and Planning," "College Info and Advising," "Enrollment, Adjustment, and Next Steps," mid-May to mid-July)	0	11	22	44	182	224	116
	0%	2%	4%	7%	30%	37%	19%
Golden Bear Prep (bCourses about university traditions, campus and Bay Area, diversity & inclusion, wellness, and first-year, mid-July to mid-August)	0	14	32	75	175	196	97
	0%	2%	5%	13%	30%	33%	17%
Freshmen Edge (Summer Sessions)	0	5	4	11	27	25	33
	0%	5%	4%	11%	26%	24%	31%
Global Edge	0	4	3	15	26	24	26
	0%	4%	3%	15%	27%	25%	27%
Fall Program for Freshmen	0	18	22	54	136	187	187
	0%	3%	4%	9%	23%	31%	31%
Summer Bridge	0	8	5	12	22	28	34
	0%	7%	5%	11%	20%	26%	31%
CE3 Transfer Student Center	0	7	4	12	23	20	27
	0%	8%	4%	13%	25%	22%	29%
CE3 Undocumented Student Program - (Academic Counselors, Dreamers Resource Center, Legal Support, etc.)	0	5	2	13	22	26	30
	0%	5%	2%	13%	22%	27%	31%
CE3 Educational Opportunity Program - (Academic counseling, fee waivers, etc. Serving first-generation, low-income, or historically underrepresented students)	0	5	5	14	40	39	48
	0%	3%	3%	9%	27%	26%	32%
Other CE3 Programs - (Berkeley Hope Scholars, Cal Veteran Services Center, Re-entry Student Program, Student Parent Center)	0	4	3	12	25	23	29
	0%	4%	3%	13%	26%	24%	30%

(...continued) To what extent do you agree that each of the following resources has helped with your transition into UC Berkeley?

	N/A; DID NOT USE THIS SERVICE	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Somewhat disagree	Somewhat agree	Agree	Strongly agree
Berkeley International Office	0	3	6	9	41	51	29
	0%	2%	4%	7%	30%	37%	21%
Academic Achievement Program Center (Includes Posse, McNair, Miller, & Sage Scholars Programs, Cal NERDS)	0	2	9	8	28	26	27
	0%	2%	9%	8%	28%	26%	27%
Athletic Study Center	0	2	9	7	22	22	25
	0%	2%	10%	8%	25%	25%	29%
Disabled Students Program	0	2	9	9	24	21	31
	0%	2%	9%	9%	25%	22%	32%
Gender Equity Resource Center (LGBTQ, Women/Men, Sexual/Relationship Violence Advocacy & Education)	0	3	5	9	30	30	31
	0%	3%	5%	8%	28%	28%	29%
Multicultural Student Development (African American Student Development, Asian Pacific American Student Development, Chicanx Latinx Student Development, Multicultural Community Center, Multicultural Immigrant Student Program, Native American Student Development)	0	2	4	10	34	36	39
	0%	2%	3%	8%	27%	29%	31%
A Multicultural Recruitment & Retention Center (e.g., Black Recruitment & Retention Center, Raza Recruitment & Retention Center)	0	3	5	11	30	27	32
	0%	3%	5%	10%	28%	25%	30%
Student Learning Center	0	5	6	16	67	111	74
	0%	2%	2%	6%	24%	40%	27%
Residence Hall Staff (Resident Directors, Resident Assistants, Theme Program Advisors)	0	14	19	25	150	147	88
	0%	3%	4%	6%	34%	33%	20%
Residential Education (Res. Ed.) (Includes Tutoring, Resident Faculty Programs, Academic Support)	0	8	13	19	54	67	51
	0%	4%	6%	9%	26%	32%	24%
Another Berkeley student	0	4	9	8	116	203	206
	0%	1%	2%	2%	21%	37%	38%
A family member	0	7	11	23	130	151	126
	0%	2%	3%	5%	29%	34%	28%
A UC Berkeley major or departmental advisor	0	10	11	31	101	93	65
	0%	3%	4%	10%	33%	30%	21%
A UC Berkeley College advisor (e.g., Letters & Science, Natural Resources)	0	12	11	29	116	131	81
	0%	3%	3%	8%	31%	35%	21%
A 98 or 198 course for new students	0	3	7	14	38	27	29
	0%	3%	6%	12%	32%	23%	25%

Please share with us any additional information regarding your transition into UC Berkeley, and the resources you found helpful, particularly those not asked about above:

[Contact OPA for more information]

Academic and Personal Development

Please rate your current level of proficiency in the following areas.

	Very poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very good	Excellent
Analytical and critical thinking skills	6	11	57	225	203	97
	1%	2%	10%	38%	34%	16%
Ability to be clear and effective when writing	5	17	95	220	175	84
	1%	3%	16%	37%	29%	14%
Ability to read and comprehend academic material	6	10	68	220	207	86
	1%	2%	11%	37%	35%	14%
Understanding of a specific field of study	5	7	76	225	187	93
	1%	1%	13%	38%	32%	16%
Quantitative (mathematical and statistical) skills	7	31	118	196	156	88
	1%	5%	20%	33%	26%	15%
Oral communication skills	6	16	89	192	170	121
	1%	3%	15%	32%	29%	20%
Ability to understand international perspectives (economic, political, social, cultural)	3	7	78	176	206	128
	1%	1%	13%	29%	34%	21%
Leadership skills	5	23	78	181	177	130
	1%	4%	13%	31%	30%	22%
Ability to suspend judgment based on cultural differences when interacting with others	4	7	43	154	220	169
	1%	1%	7%	26%	37%	28%
Ability to work with people from other cultures	3	2	29	116	219	229
	1%	0%	5%	19%	37%	38%
Ability to collaborate (e.g., team participation, group work) well with others	3	2	45	143	217	185
	1%	0%	8%	24%	37%	31%

	Very poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very good	Excellent
Library and online information research skills (e.g., finding books, articles, evaluating information sources)	10	32	123	213	142	79
	2%	5%	21%	36%	24%	13%
Ability to design, conduct, and evaluate research	9	36	151	207	124	72
	2%	6%	25%	35%	21%	12%
Ability to prepare and make a presentation	5	11	72	196	192	121
	1%	2%	12%	33%	32%	20%
Interpersonal skills	6	16	86	172	175	143
	1%	3%	14%	29%	29%	24%
Linguistic and cultural competency in at least one language other than my own	24	62	111	136	133	132
	4%	10%	19%	23%	22%	22%

As a beginning UC Berkeley student, how would you rate your competencies below?

	Very poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Very good	Excellent
Portraying information in ways that make it easier to interpret	3	9	85	238	178	80
	1%	2%	14%	40%	30%	14%
Drawing insights based on quantitative analysis of data	3	12	95	246	167	69
	1%	2%	16%	42%	28%	12%
Making qualified conclusions based on quantitative data	4	9	91	240	181	67
	1%	2%	15%	41%	31%	11%
Ability to apply theories or methods from one discipline to another	4	4	101	229	170	84
	1%	1%	17%	39%	29%	14%
Ability to explore complex issues in original ways	4	14	106	224	158	85
	1%	2%	18%	38%	27%	14%

Goals and Aspirations

Indicate how important each of the following college goals is to you:

	Not important	Somewhat important	Very important
Finding direction for my life	9	82	504
	2%	14%	85%
Become an innovative thinker	7	133	454
	1%	22%	76%
Discover what kind of person I really want to be	10	85	500
	2%	14%	84%
Develop a personal code of values and ethics	28	142	424
	5%	24%	71%
Prepare for graduate or professional school	44	162	388
	7%	27%	65%
Obtain the skills I need to pursue my chosen career	8	77	507
	1%	13%	86%
Obtain the skills I need to function in the international arena	38	204	349
	6%	35%	59%

While attending UC Berkeley, how often would you like to...

	Never	Rarely	Occasionally	Somewhat often	Often	Very often
Advocate for ideas or solutions that you believe in but may be unpopular or risky	16	67	148	139	132	90
	3%	11%	25%	24%	22%	15%
Work with others on tasks that may at first seem difficult or even impossible	4	18	90	165	201	107
	1%	3%	15%	28%	34%	18%
Initiate and develop interactions with students who are different (e.g. culturally, ethnically, socioeconomically, politically)	5	4	47	105	232	197
	1%	1%	8%	18%	39%	33%
Interact with students from a country or state outside your own in social settings (e.g., in clubs or student organizations, or in informal settings)	6	2	37	93	205	247
	1%	0%	6%	16%	35%	42%
Develop a friendship with a student from a country or state outside of your own	5	5	29	82	210	259
	1%	1%	5%	14%	36%	44%
Attend lectures, symposia, workshops or conferences on international/global topics	11	30	91	130	165	162
	2%	5%	15%	22%	28%	28%
Attend a performance with an international/global focus	15	42	102	120	170	141
	3%	7%	17%	20%	29%	24%

What are your values and beliefs with regards to your interaction with other students while attending UC Berkeley? Please tell us your level of agreement with the following statements:

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Somewhat disagree	Somewhat agree	Agree	Strongly agree
I believe that exposure to students from other states and countries will help me interact effectively with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures	4	2	9	62	200	310
	1%	0%	2%	11%	34%	53%
I believe that exposure to students from other states and countries will help me be more open to and understanding of different opinions and points of view	6	2	8	66	183	315
	1%	0%	1%	11%	32%	54%

How important to you are the following aspects of being an undergraduate at a research university like UC Berkeley?

	Not important at all	Not very important	Somewhat important	Important	Very important	Essential
Learning about faculty research	3	32	87	158	159	147
	1%	6%	15%	27%	27%	25%
Having courses with faculty members who refer to their own research as part of the class	4	42	96	176	152	116
	1%	7%	16%	30%	26%	20%
Learning research methods	2	17	59	145	183	179
	0%	3%	10%	25%	31%	31%
Assisting faculty members in their research, for pay or as a volunteer	5	21	61	134	180	183
	1%	4%	10%	23%	31%	31%
Pursuing your own research	6	31	92	130	157	169
	1%	5%	16%	22%	27%	29%
Working with a faculty member on a project with an international/global theme	10	41	78	173	150	135
	2%	7%	13%	30%	26%	23%
Presenting a paper at a symposium or conference or participating in a panel on international / global topics	17	60	118	156	135	100
	3%	10%	20%	27%	23%	17%

Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements in terms of yourself. Answer only those items that apply to you.

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Somewhat disagree	Somewhat agree	Agree	Strongly agree
I feel free to express my political beliefs on campus	21	29	42	124	216	152
	4%	5%	7%	21%	37%	26%
I feel free to express my religious beliefs on campus	7	17	31	118	243	157
	1%	3%	5%	21%	42%	27%
Students of my race/ethnicity are respected on this campus	7	9	18	109	257	181
	1%	2%	3%	19%	44%	31%
Students of my socio-economic status are respected on this campus	9	7	17	106	265	176
	2%	1%	3%	18%	46%	30%
Students of my gender are respected on this campus	4	3	16	89	264	204
	1%	1%	3%	15%	46%	35%
Students of my religious beliefs are respected on this campus	4	9	19	115	258	165
	1%	2%	3%	20%	45%	29%
Students of my political beliefs are respected on this campus	18	21	29	99	229	184
	3%	4%	5%	17%	40%	32%
Students of my sexual orientation are respected on this campus	3	3	8	77	237	251
	1%	1%	1%	13%	41%	43%
Students of my immigration background are respected on this campus	7	2	12	84	246	215
	1%	0%	2%	15%	44%	38%
Students with a physical, psychological, or learning disability like mine are respected on this campus	4	6	21	87	238	192
	1%	1%	4%	16%	43%	35%

Please select your level of agreement with this statement: The university has the responsibility to provide equal access to safe and secure venues for guest speakers of all viewpoints - even if the ideas are found offensive by some or conflict with the values held by the UC Berkeley community.

Response	Number	Percent
Strongly disagree	54	9%
Disagree	30	5%
Somewhat disagree	43	7%
Somewhat agree	113	19%
Agree	175	30%
Strongly agree	170	29%

Please select your level of agreement with the following statements:

Overall, I feel comfortable with the climate for diversity and inclusiveness at UC Berkeley.

Response	Number	Percent
Strongly disagree	21	4%
Disagree	10	2%
Somewhat disagree	33	6%
Somewhat agree	117	20%
Agree	250	43%
Strongly agree	154	26%

Overall, I feel comfortable with the climate for diversity and inclusiveness in my major.

Response	Number	Percent
Strongly disagree	23	6%
Disagree	15	4%
Somewhat disagree	26	7%
Somewhat agree	75	19%
Agree	156	40%
Strongly agree	95	24%
N/A - I don't have a declared major	7	-

Overall, I feel comfortable with the climate for diversity and inclusiveness in my classes.

Response	Number	Percent
Strongly disagree	27	5%
Disagree	11	2%
Somewhat disagree	29	5%
Somewhat agree	104	18%
Agree	265	46%
Strongly agree	147	25%

Your Berkeley Plans

If you were assured admittance to any major, what major would you choose?

Response	Number	Percent
African American Studies	1	0%
Anthropology	1	0%
Applied Mathematics	16	3%
Architecture	2	0%
Art	1	0%
Asian Studies	1	0%
Asian Studies - China	1	0%
Astrophysics	7	1%
BioE/MSE Joint Major	5	1%
Bioengineering	3	1%
Business Administration	90	16%
Chemical Biology	1	0%
Chemical Engineering	1	0%
Chemistry	4	1%
Chemistry (L&S)	4	1%
Cognitive Science	18	3%
Computer Science (L&S)	54	9%
Conserv & Resource Stds	2	0%
EECS/MSE Joint Major	4	1%
EECS/NE Joint Major	1	0%
Economics	28	5%
Electrical Eng & Comp Sci	6	1%
Eng Math & Statistics	1	0%
English	11	2%
Environ Econ & Policy	1	0%
Environ Econ & Policy (L&S)	1	0%
Environmental Earth Science	1	0%
Environmental Sciences	3	1%
Gender & Womens Studies	1	0%
Genetics & Plant Biology	1	0%
Geography	2	0%
Global Studies	5	1%
History	4	1%
Industrial Eng & Ops Rsch	1	0%
Integrative Biology	8	1%
L&S Computer Science	4	1%
L&S Legal Studies	1	0%
L&S Public Health	1	0%
Legal Studies (L&S)	2	0%
Linguistics	4	1%
MCB-Biochem & Mol Biol	13	2%
MCB-Cell & Dev Biology	12	2%
MCB-Genetics	11	2%
MCB-Immunology	16	3%
MCB-Neurobiology	30	5%
Marine Science	3	1%
Mathematics	10	2%
Mechanical Engineering	1	0%
Media Studies	8	1%
Molecular Environ Biology	1	0%
Music	2	0%
Nutritional Sci-Dietetics	2	0%
Ops Research & Mgmt Sci (L&S)	2	0%
Peace & Conflict Studies	1	0%
Philosophy	1	0%
Physics	12	2%
Planetary Science	3	1%
Political Economy	5	1%
Political Science	29	5%
Psychology	21	4%
Public Health (L&S)	21	4%
Social Welfare (L&S)	6	1%
Society and Environment	3	1%
Sociology	5	1%
Spanish-Spanish Lang & Lit	1	0%
Statistics	9	2%
Urban Studies	1	0%
Other, Not listed	4	1%
NOT CURRENTLY KNOWN	44	8%

Is that the major with which you expect to graduate?

Response	Number	Percent
Yes	464	82%
No	102	18%

IF NO: In which major do you expect to graduate?

Response	Number	Percent
African American Studies	4	4%
Ancnt Egypt/NE Art & Archae	1	1%
Applied Mathematics	4	4%
Asian Studies - Japan	1	1%
BioE/MSE Joint Major	1	1%
Bioengineering	1	1%
Business Administration	3	3%
Chemistry (L&S)	2	2%
Cognitive Science	2	2%
Comparative Literature	1	1%
Computer Science (L&S)	11	11%
Economics	12	12%
English	1	1%
Global Studies	2	2%
History	1	1%
Integrative Biology	1	1%
L&S Computer Science	1	1%
L&S Legal Studies	1	1%
L&S Public Health	1	1%
Legal Studies (L&S)	2	2%
MCB-Biochem & Mol Biol	2	2%
MCB-Cell & Dev Biology	1	1%
MCB-Immunology	1	1%
MCB-Neurobiology	1	1%
Mathematics	3	3%
Media Studies	3	3%
Physics	3	3%
Political Economy	2	2%
Political Science	3	3%
Psychology	2	2%
Public Health (L&S)	4	4%
Sociology	1	1%
Statistics	4	4%
NOT CURRENTLY KNOWN	18	18%

Please select the top 3 factors in deciding on your major.

First:

Response	Number	Percent
Intellectual curiosity in the subject	354	62%
Leads to a high paying job	57	10%
Prepares me for a fulfilling career	96	17%
Parental desires	7	1%
Allows time for other activities	0	0%
Provides international opportunities	13	2%
Prestige	4	1%
Prepares me for graduate/professional school	33	6%
Other (please specify) [Contact OPA for more information]	8	1%

Second:

Response	Number	Percent
Intellectual curiosity in the subject	86	15%
Leads to a high paying job	100	18%
Prepares me for a fulfilling career	207	37%
Parental desires	21	4%
Allows time for other activities	10	2%
Provides international opportunities	41	7%
Prestige	14	3%
Prepares me for graduate/professional school	82	15%
Other (please specify) [Contact OPA for more information[	5	1%

Third:

Response	Number	Percent
Intellectual curiosity in the subject	51	9%
Leads to a high paying job	105	19%
Prepares me for a fulfilling career	114	20%
Parental desires	24	4%
Allows time for other activities	32	6%
Provides international opportunities	64	11%
Prestige	50	9%
Prepares me for graduate/professional school	101	18%
Other (please specify) [Contact OPA for more information	21	4%

DATA SCIENCE is a new field of study that blends statistical and computational thinking to draw conclusions from data about the real world. Berkeley is creating new courses and planning a Data Science major and minor. Compared to the major, the minor would be available to students with a broader range of prerequisites.

It if were possible to major in Data Science at Berkeley, how likely is it that you would want to major in it?

Response	Number	Percent
Very unlikely	191	33%
Somewhat unlikely	91	16%
Neither unlikely nor likely	122	21%
Somewhat likely	109	19%
Very likely	66	11%

If it were possible to minor in Data Science at Berkeley, how likely is it that you would want to minor in it?

Response	Number	Percent
Very unlikely	156	27%
Somewhat unlikely	77	13%
Neither unlikely nor likely	98	17%
Somewhat likely	137	24%
Very likely	110	19%

Please indicate how much you agree or disagree that the following factors influenced your decision to choose UC Berkeley: UC Berkeley would...

	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Somewhat disagree	Somewhat agree	Agree	Strongly agree
Challenge and/or change my perspective	11	22	26	123	231	160
	2%	4%	5%	22%	40%	28%
Prepare me to succeed in a career	5	3	2	49	218	295
	1%	1%	0%	9%	38%	52%
Prepare me to build a better life for myself and/or my family	4	1	8	65	230	265
	1%	0%	1%	11%	40%	46%
Teach me to interact effectively with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures	10	11	16	98	210	228
	2%	2%	3%	17%	37%	40%
Prepare me to make a difference in this world	5	6	14	84	204	259
	1%	1%	2%	15%	36%	45%
Allow me to create own field of study (combine disciplines, create own major, etc.)	21	41	71	140	165	135
	4%	7%	12%	24%	29%	24%
Prepare me to get the job I desire	6	7	9	73	218	258
	1%	1%	2%	13%	38%	45%
Help increase my social consciousness (e.g., be more aware of diversity in people and issues; doing things for the public good)	12	10	22	97	207	225
	2%	2%	4%	17%	36%	39%
Help me to be more open to and understanding of different opinions and points of view (e.g., openness, freedom)	13	11	21	87	213	228
	2%	2%	4%	15%	37%	40%

Future Plans and Aspirations

What do you anticipate you will be doing within a year after you graduate?

Response	Number	Percent
Be self-employed	13	2%
Enroll in graduate or professional school	261	46%
Join Peace Corps	10	2%
Join armed forces	1	0%
Paid internship	17	3%
Study or work abroad	15	3%
Take a year off (travel/gap year, etc.)	23	4%
Unpaid internship/volunteer	4	1%
Work full-time	143	25%
Work part-time	10	2%
Other	2	0%
I have no idea at this point	74	13%

In what career field do you hope to eventually work after you've completed your education?

Response	Number	Percent
Architecture	1	0%
Business/Finance	111	19%
Communications/Arts/Entertainment	24	4%
Education/Teaching	19	3%
Electrical Engineering/Computers	51	9%
Engineering	16	3%
Environmental/Natural Resources	8	1%
Government/Nonprofit/Social Services	38	7%
Law	46	8%
Research	36	6%
Medicine	107	19%
Other Health-Related Field	24	4%
Other [Contact OPA for more information]	20	4%
I have no idea whatsoever	69	12%

What is the HIGHEST academic degree or credential that you plan to eventually earn?

Response	Number	Percent
Academic master's (MA, MS, etc.)	64	11%
Bachelor's degree (BA, BS, etc.)	50	9%
Business master's (MBA)	90	16%
Doctorate (PhD, EdD, etc.)	88	15%
Law degree (LLB or JD)	48	8%
Medical doctor (MD)	63	11%
Medical doctorate other than MD (DO, DDS, DVM, etc.)	10	2%
Multiple doctoral degrees (MD/PhD)	35	6%
Other professional master's (MEd, MPP, MPH, MFA, MLIS, MSN, MSW, M.ARCH, etc.)	19	3%
Teaching credential	2	0%
Other, Not listed	0	0%
I don't know yet	104	18%

High School Experiences

Thinking back over your senior year coursework, how often were you REQUIRED to do the following?

	Never	Rarely	Occasionally	Somewhat often	Often	Very often
Recognize or recall specific facts, terms and concepts	36	5	28	83	164	145
	8%	1%	6%	18%	36%	32%
Explain methods, ideas, or concepts and use them to solve problems	36	6	27	96	154	139
	8%	1%	6%	21%	34%	30%
Break down material into component parts or arguments into assumptions to see the basis for different outcomes and conclusions	39	17	37	100	154	112
	9%	4%	8%	22%	34%	24%
Judge the value of information, ideas, actions, and conclusions based on the soundness of sources, methods and reasoning	41	15	31	95	160	117
	9%	3%	7%	21%	35%	26%
Create or generate new ideas, products or ways of understanding	40	22	44	87	153	110
	9%	5%	10%	19%	34%	24%

Thinking back on your senior year, how often did you do each of the following?

	Never	Rarely	Occasionally	Somewhat often	Often	Very often
Used facts and examples to support your viewpoint	38	2	21	66	162	159
	9%	0%	5%	15%	36%	36%
Incorporated ideas or concepts from different courses when completing assignments	41	11	36	94	154	113
	9%	2%	8%	21%	34%	25%
Examined how others gathered and interpreted data and assessed the soundness of their conclusions	41	11	37	88	164	109
	9%	2%	8%	20%	36%	24%
Reconsidered your own position on a topic after assessing the arguments of others	39	9	29	92	165	116
	9%	2%	6%	20%	37%	26%

back to top                Part 2: Background