Fall Freshman Survey


	2006 Fall Freshman Survey
Page 1 of 5

Pre-MIT Experiences

We are interested in learning about some of the experiences (both in and out of school) that you had before coming to MIT. Prior to coming here, did you create or build something in any of the following areas? If you have done more than one activity in an area, answer about the one that was most important to you.

1a. The Arts. A short story, play, set of poems, paintings, sculpture or other artistic product (but not something that was primarily based on computer media).
Yes
No

1b. (If Yes) Did you:
Follow an outline and/or detailed instructions provided by someone else?
    OR
Create your own artistic product or make your own major modifications to the outline or instructions provided by someone else?

1c. (If Yes) Did you work on your own or with others? (Check only one response)
On my own, not in a class or program with others
On my own, in a class or program with others who were working on similar projects or activities
Worked with others on a shared project or activity

2a. Structural. A construction in wood, metal, stone, or other material that performs a practical function.
Yes
No

2b. (If Yes) Did you:
Follow a detailed design and/or detailed instructions provided by someone else?
    OR
Create your own design or make your own major modifications to the design or instructions provided by someone else?

2c. (If Yes) Did you work on your own or with others? (Check only one response)
On my own, not in a class or program with others
On my own, in a class or program with others who were working on similar projects or activities
Worked with others on a shared project or activity

3a. Electrical. An electrical circuit packaged for practical use.
Yes
No

3b. (If Yes) Did you:
Follow a detailed design and/or detailed instructions provided by someone else?
    OR
Create your own design or make your own major modifications to the design or instructions provided by someone else?

3c. (If Yes) Did you work on your own or with others? (Check only one response)
On my own, not in a class or program with others
On my own, in a class or program with others who were working on similar projects or activities
Worked with others on a shared project or activity

4a. Computer Programming Language (other than computer media). A working program with a practical use.
Yes
No

4b. (If Yes) Did you:
Follow a detailed design and/or detailed instructions provided by someone else?
    OR
Create your own design or make your own major modifications to the design or instructions provided by someone else?

4c. (If Yes) Did you work on your own or with others? (Check only one response)
On my own, not in a class or program with others
On my own, in a class or program with others who were working on similar projects or activities
Worked with others on a shared project or activity

5a. Computer Media Arts. Creating or combining media material into a complete product.
Yes
No

5b. (If Yes) Did you:
Follow a detailed design and/or detailed instructions provided by someone else?
    OR
Create your own design or make your own major modifications to the design or instructions provided by someone else?

5c. (If Yes) Did you work on your own or with others? (Check only one response)
On my own, not in a class or program with others
On my own, in a class or program with others who were working on similar projects or activities
Worked with others on a shared project or activity

6a. Mechanical. An assembly of working parts that performed a function. The project could have included significant improvements in an existing system like engine performance.
Yes
No

6b. (If Yes) Did you:
Follow a detailed design and/or detailed instructions provided by someone else?
    OR
Create your own design or make your own major modifications to the design or instructions provided by someone else?

6c. (If Yes) Did you work on your own or with others? (Check only one response)
On my own, not in a class or program with others
On my own, in a class or program with others who were working on similar projects or activities
Worked with others on a shared project or activity

7. During high school, how much experience did you have participating in the following types of group activities?

No Experience A Slight Amount of Experience Some Experience A Moderate Amount of Experience A Great Deal of Experience

a. Athletic teams (soccer, baseball, rowing, etc.)

b. Debate team, math team, or other academic team

c. Music, theater group, student newspaper, or literary magazine, etc.

d. Public, community service, or political projects

e. Long-term projects (more than 1 mo.) with an educational focus where you had to cooperate with team members to reach a common goal

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Expectations about Freshman Year

8. The statements below reflect the variety of expectations about the freshman year that students may have when they enter MIT. How IMPORTANT is it to you that the following things happen during your freshman year?

Not Very Important
1 2 Somewhat Important
3 4 Very Important
5

a. My freshman classes will be more exciting than my high school classes.

b. I'll be challenged intellectually.

c. I'll be able to study things I feel passionate about.

d. My classes will stimulate my interests in new areas.

e. I'll be so interested in some of the subjects I study that I'll want to do more than the required work.

f. What I learn during freshman year will expose me to new ways of thinking.

g. I'll have opportunities for hands-on activities (lab work, project-based experiences, etc).

h. I'll be able to explore my intellectual interests.

i. I'll conduct experiments and/or projects using scientific methods.

j. I'll be involved in a research project.

k. My classes will teach me how to be a good problem-solver.

l. My classes will help me see connections between what I'm learning in school and "real world" problems and issues.

Not Very Important
1 2 Somewhat Important
3 4 Very Important
5

m. What I learn will help me determine how I can use my skills to make a difference in the world.

n. My teachers will be exciting and engaging.

o. I'll be able to talk to faculty outside of class about my interests.

p. Some faculty will know me well enough to write a good letter of recommendation for me.

q. Faculty will be encouraging and helpful.

r. I expect to collaborate and learn from other students.

s. I'll talk about concepts and ideas with other students who are as excited about these things as I am.

t. The connections I form will make me feel that I belong to a close-knit community.

u. I'll have an opportunity during freshman year to explore different majors.

v. Freshman year will give me good preparation for the academic work of sophomore year.

w. By the end of freshman year, I'll feel confident about my choice of major.

x. I'll be able to maintain a balance between my academic work and other aspects of my life.

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Teamwork

9. Students come to MIT with different teamwork experiences. Please tell us your attitudes about working in teams by indicating how much you disagree or agree with each of the following statements:

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Disagree nor Agree Agree Strongly Agree

a. I work best when I work with people who are among my best friends.

b. Good teams divide up tasks so each individual can do his/her part alone.

c. Individuals working alone are the source of most major innovations.

d. I like working in a group that solves problems together.

e. Teams usually have someone who just goes along for a free ride.

f. I prefer to work on a team when I'm the leader.

g. It's fun when team members keep building and improving on each other's ideas.

h. It bothers me when the quality of my work is judged by what the team does.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Disagree nor Agree Agree Strongly Agree

i. Being on a team is a lot of work for not much reward.

j. Teams come up with more creative ideas than individuals working alone.

k. Team leaders get all the credit for a team's success.

l. I come up with my best ideas when I don't have to work with others.

m. Teams can usually do a better job on big tasks than individuals.

n. It's not often that a team pulls together on a task.

o. Individuals are more creative than teams.

p. Some projects lend themselves better to teams than others.

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Ways of Learning

MIT students have different ways of learning. Please tell us how likely you would be to do the following:

10. When you find something in your academic work that is really interesting, how likely are you to: Not Very Likely
1 2 Somewhat Likely
3 4 Very Likely
5

a. Take some time right away to look into it more deeply?

b. Write down your questions or ideas with the intention of looking into them in the future?

c. Come back to it when you have time and spend an hour or more exploring it further?

11. When there is something you don't understand in a textbook or in your class notes, how likely are you to: Not Very Likely
1 2 Somewhat Likely
3 4 Very Likely
5

a. Keep notes on what you don’t understand?

b. Look for other resources to help you understand it (e.g., web, textbooks, etc.)?

c. Ask another student about his/her understanding of the problem?

d. Find an instructor to discuss your questions with?

12. When you encounter difficult material in your studies, how likely are you to: Not Very Likely
1 2 Somewhat Likely
3 4 Very Likely
5

a. Spend substantial time working on it alone before asking others about it?

b. Wait until you can talk to other students to work it out?

c. Wait until you can contact an instructor who can explain it to you?

d. Skip it and hope it won’t appear on the next test?

13. If you handed in some homework problems and you got everything right, but you see there is something you still don't understand, how likely are you to: Not Very Likely
1 2 Somewhat Likely
3 4 Very Likely
5

a. Let it go and hope you'll be able to come back to it later on?

b. Make a mental note to be on the alert for an opportunity to ask someone about it?

c. Go back and study on your own to understand it?

d. Ask other students about it to gain a better understanding?

e. Ask an instructor about it?

14. Given a project with a month or more to complete, how likely are you to: Not Very Likely
1 2 Somewhat Likely
3 4 Very Likely
5

a. Set up a schedule with milestones to complete?

b. Spend some time thinking about its goals before starting to work on it?

c. Try to identify ahead of time what the hardest part will be?

d. Have all the basic work for the project completed two days or more ahead of time?

15. When you are assigned a really complex project that can be approached from many different angles, how likely are you to: Not Very Likely
1 2 Somewhat Likely
3 4 Very Likely
5

a. Take some time to analyze the nature of the project objectives before starting to work on it?

b. Decide on an approach and start working on it right away?

c. Focus on one approach and stick with it unless you hit a dead end?

d. Develop a couple of approaches and then analyze which would be the best?

e. Break the project up into smaller sections and work on one section at a time?

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Future Plans

16. At this point in time, what major are you most interested in?

(Regarding the major listed above)
How confident are you that this will be the right major for you?
Not confident at all/ Don't know enough yet
Slightly confident
Somewhat confident
Confident
Very confident

17. If you are uncertain about the major listed above and are trying to choose between two majors, what is the other major you are thinking about?

18. What is the highest academic degree you think you might obtain at MIT or elsewhere:
Bachelor's degree
Master's degree
Ph.D.
Professional master's degree (MBA, MSW, etc.)
Medical degree
Law degree
Professional doctorate (EdD., DDiv.)
Other

Click FINISH to save your entries on this page and finish this survey.

	No Experience	A Slight Amount of Experience	Some Experience	A Moderate Amount of Experience	A Great Deal of Experience
a. Athletic teams (soccer, baseball, rowing, etc.)
b. Debate team, math team, or other academic team
c. Music, theater group, student newspaper, or literary magazine, etc.
d. Public, community service, or political projects
e. Long-term projects (more than 1 mo.) with an educational focus where you had to cooperate with team members to reach a common goal

	Not Very Important 1	2	Somewhat Important 3	4	Very Important 5
a. My freshman classes will be more exciting than my high school classes.
b. I'll be challenged intellectually.
c. I'll be able to study things I feel passionate about.
d. My classes will stimulate my interests in new areas.
e. I'll be so interested in some of the subjects I study that I'll want to do more than the required work.
f. What I learn during freshman year will expose me to new ways of thinking.
g. I'll have opportunities for hands-on activities (lab work, project-based experiences, etc).
h. I'll be able to explore my intellectual interests.
i. I'll conduct experiments and/or projects using scientific methods.
j. I'll be involved in a research project.
k. My classes will teach me how to be a good problem-solver.
l. My classes will help me see connections between what I'm learning in school and "real world" problems and issues.
	Not Very Important 1	2	Somewhat Important 3	4	Very Important 5
m. What I learn will help me determine how I can use my skills to make a difference in the world.
n. My teachers will be exciting and engaging.
o. I'll be able to talk to faculty outside of class about my interests.
p. Some faculty will know me well enough to write a good letter of recommendation for me.
q. Faculty will be encouraging and helpful.
r. I expect to collaborate and learn from other students.
s. I'll talk about concepts and ideas with other students who are as excited about these things as I am.
t. The connections I form will make me feel that I belong to a close-knit community.
u. I'll have an opportunity during freshman year to explore different majors.
v. Freshman year will give me good preparation for the academic work of sophomore year.
w. By the end of freshman year, I'll feel confident about my choice of major.
x. I'll be able to maintain a balance between my academic work and other aspects of my life.

	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neither Disagree nor Agree	Agree	Strongly Agree
a. I work best when I work with people who are among my best friends.
b. Good teams divide up tasks so each individual can do his/her part alone.
c. Individuals working alone are the source of most major innovations.
d. I like working in a group that solves problems together.
e. Teams usually have someone who just goes along for a free ride.
f. I prefer to work on a team when I'm the leader.
g. It's fun when team members keep building and improving on each other's ideas.
h. It bothers me when the quality of my work is judged by what the team does.
	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neither Disagree nor Agree	Agree	Strongly Agree
i. Being on a team is a lot of work for not much reward.
j. Teams come up with more creative ideas than individuals working alone.
k. Team leaders get all the credit for a team's success.
l. I come up with my best ideas when I don't have to work with others.
m. Teams can usually do a better job on big tasks than individuals.
n. It's not often that a team pulls together on a task.
o. Individuals are more creative than teams.
p. Some projects lend themselves better to teams than others.

10. When you find something in your academic work that is really interesting, how likely are you to:	Not Very Likely 1	2	Somewhat Likely 3	4	Very Likely 5
a. Take some time right away to look into it more deeply?
b. Write down your questions or ideas with the intention of looking into them in the future?
c. Come back to it when you have time and spend an hour or more exploring it further?

11. When there is something you don't understand in a textbook or in your class notes, how likely are you to:	Not Very Likely 1	2	Somewhat Likely 3	4	Very Likely 5
a. Keep notes on what you don’t understand?
b. Look for other resources to help you understand it (e.g., web, textbooks, etc.)?
c. Ask another student about his/her understanding of the problem?
d. Find an instructor to discuss your questions with?

12. When you encounter difficult material in your studies, how likely are you to:	Not Very Likely 1	2	Somewhat Likely 3	4	Very Likely 5
a. Spend substantial time working on it alone before asking others about it?
b. Wait until you can talk to other students to work it out?
c. Wait until you can contact an instructor who can explain it to you?
d. Skip it and hope it won’t appear on the next test?

13. If you handed in some homework problems and you got everything right, but you see there is something you still don't understand, how likely are you to:	Not Very Likely 1	2	Somewhat Likely 3	4	Very Likely 5
a. Let it go and hope you'll be able to come back to it later on?
b. Make a mental note to be on the alert for an opportunity to ask someone about it?
c. Go back and study on your own to understand it?
d. Ask other students about it to gain a better understanding?
e. Ask an instructor about it?

14. Given a project with a month or more to complete, how likely are you to:	Not Very Likely 1	2	Somewhat Likely 3	4	Very Likely 5
a. Set up a schedule with milestones to complete?
b. Spend some time thinking about its goals before starting to work on it?
c. Try to identify ahead of time what the hardest part will be?
d. Have all the basic work for the project completed two days or more ahead of time?

15. When you are assigned a really complex project that can be approached from many different angles, how likely are you to:	Not Very Likely 1	2	Somewhat Likely 3	4	Very Likely 5
a. Take some time to analyze the nature of the project objectives before starting to work on it?
b. Decide on an approach and start working on it right away?
c. Focus on one approach and stick with it unless you hit a dead end?
d. Develop a couple of approaches and then analyze which would be the best?
e. Break the project up into smaller sections and work on one section at a time?