Further, a near-record 49.5 percent of freshmen expect to make at least a B average in college, compared to 48.4 percent last year and a low of 32.7 percent when this question was first asked in 1972. While a record high 75.3 percent of freshmen performed volunteer work during their last year in high school, students' long-term goals for social activism are on the decline. Attitudes about race also reflect a declining social consciousness. Drinking and smoking on the decline Today's freshmen report the lowest level of beer drinking in the history of the Freshman Survey. Similarly, the percent who drink wine or liquor frequently or occasionally has declined to 53.8 percent, from 54.9 percent in 1998 and a high of 66.7 percent when this question was first introduced in 1987.
Students also express a growing interest in the arts and humanities.
Preventing students from dropping out . Four critical years . Minorities in American higher education . The philosophy and practice of assessment and evaluation in higher education . Four critical years revisited .