LEARNING TO EARN

By Margot Hornblower

Once upon a time boys and girls went to college to learn the meaning of life. They ruminated on Kierkegaard and Kant, dealt with existential dilemmas, argued over war, the Bomb and whether to protest or not to protest. "Thirty years ago," recalls Alexander Astin, a professor of education at the University of California, Los Angeles, "students were preoccupied with questions such as 'What is life all about?' and 'Who is God?'"

Once upon a time is over. A study released last week by UCLA and the American Council on Education compares the attitudes of 9 million freshmen who have answered questionnaires on 1,500 campuses over the past three decades. In 1967, 82% of entering students said it was "essential" or "very important " to "develop a meaningful philosophy of life"--making that the top goal of college freshmen. Today that objective ranks sixth, endorsed by only 42% of students. Conversely, in 1967 less than half of freshmen said that to be "very well off financially" was "essential" or "very important." Today it is their top goal, endorsed by 74%. Idealism and materialism, says Astin, who has directed the surveys since their creation, "have basically traded places."

Today there is a convergence in the goals of men and women. Three decades ago, less than half of female freshmen planned to get a graduate degree. Now nearly 68% of women plan to get higher degrees, vs. 65% of males. Thirty years ago, men were nine times more likely to want to be lawyers. Today there is less than half a percent difference. Among freshmen who want to be doctors and dentists, females outnumber males.

Feminist values are now entrenched. "It is hard to believe that in 1967 fully two-thirds of men agreed with the statement 'The activities of married women are best confined to the home and family,'" Astin remarks. Today that has dropped to 31%. But a gender gap persists: only 19% of female freshmen agree. University of South Carolina professor John Gardner, head of the National Resource Center for the Freshman Year Experience, laments that the survey also confirms how "women have taken on some of our worst habits. They smoke and drink more--binge drinking has become their problem too." Thirty years ago, male freshmen were nearly 50% more likely to be frequent smokers. Today more females than males smoke frequently--about 16%, vs. 13%. A point of divergence: only 31.9% of women, vs. 53.8% of men, agree that "if two people really like each other, it's all right for them to have sex, even if they've known each other only a very short time."

Freshmen who reported feeling "overwhelmed" nearly doubled, from 16% in 1985 to nearly 30% in 1996. As a result of such anxieties, says Gardner, "students today are practical and grade grubbing." Many scholars blame economic insecurity for the change. Says James Spring, associate admissions director at the State University of New York at Binghamton: "As a student in the '60s, I could think about my philosophy of life because I didn't worry about getting a job." Indeed, those who report a "major concern" that they will lack funds to complete college jumped from less than 9% three decades ago to 18% now. Still, there are positives. Today's freshmen, says Gardner, "hold down jobs after school and volunteer in community service as much as ever. We don't recognize their fine qualities enough."