A partnership between UCLA Ed&IS and the American Council on Education releases this year’s report on the experiences, backgrounds, and other key factors of those entering college.
The Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA, in collaboration with the American Council on Education (ACE), has released a new report, “Understanding the Entering Class of 2024: Key Insights from The CIRP Freshman Survey 2024,” highlighting the growing diversity of first-year college students. The survey explores their experiences, backgrounds, and other key factors.
Based on survey responses from more than 24,000 students across 55 colleges and universities, the report aims to help higher education leaders, educators, researchers, and policymakers better understand incoming college freshmen and respond meaningfully to their needs, by highlighting key insights and findings that capture the depth and scope of the data.
“The UCLA School of Education and Information Studies is proud of nearly six decades of research from the HERI project, a testament to our school’s research initiatives’ enduring strength and practicality,” says Christina A. Christie, Wasserman Dean, UCLA Ed&IS. “As we approach the 60th administration of the [Cooperative Institutional Research Program] (CIRP) Freshman Survey in 2025, this long-term commitment to understanding the evolving landscape of higher education underscores the critical role of data in shaping policies and practices that support student success. The insights from this report reflect the complexity of today’s first-year students and highlight the importance of sustained, evidence-based research in creating learning environments for students.”
The report found that higher education institutions have become increasingly diverse, not only in terms of race and ethnicity but also with respect to various other parts of students’ backgrounds. For example, about 10 % of surveyed students reported that English was not their primary language; first-generation students made up more than 12 % of the overall population; and 8 % of respondents were military students.
Although more than half of survey respondents (50.8 %) identified as White, significant proportions identified as more than one race (14.8 %), Asian/Pacific Islander (14.6 %), Hispanic or Latino (11.0 %), or Black or African American (7.7 %), with smaller percentages of students who identified as other race or ethnicity and American Indian or Alaska Native (and 0.1 %, respectively.
Other key findings include:
Shifting College Choice Patterns: College application behaviors varied widely across demographic groups. For gender and sexual minority students, considerations about state politics and legislation had more weight in their college choices. Over half of all survey respondents (51.4 %) applied to seven or more institutions in addition to the one they chose to attend. The experience varies by demographic characteristics, including racial and ethnic background. Nearly seven in 10 (69.8 %) Asian/Pacific Islander students applied to seven or more institutions, compared with 43.7 % of students who selected other race or ethnicity and 45.0 % of White students.
Financial Pressures and Equity Gaps: The majority of respondents (56.4%) expressed at least some or major concern about affording college. Financial worries were particularly pronounced among Hispanic/Latino (81.4%) and Black/African American (69.6%) students. Students of color relied on need-based grants and scholarships at higher rates than their White peers.
Academic Confidence and Preparation: Women outperformed men academically before entering college but reported lower confidence in their mathematical and intellectual abilities. Understanding how students perceive and rate their own abilities is critical, as these self-assessments deeply impact their motivation, engagement, and success in college.
Women, who made up 55 % of the sample, were less likely than men to see themselves as having strong academic ability; 66.8 % of women rated their academic ability as above average or in the highest 10 %, compared with 75.8 % of men and 72.3 percent of students who identified as NB, GQ/GNC, or INL on the survey.
Mental Health and Well-Being: Mental health and well-being are impacted by different events, including global disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditional-age students in the entering class of 2024 were finishing junior high or middle school when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, so their early high school years were likely the most impacted. While The CIRP Freshman Survey does not directly measure the pandemic’s effects on mental health, its findings do shed light on emotional health. More than half of women (51.1 %) reported feeling overwhelmed, more than double the rate of men (24.1 %). At the same time, students who identified outside of the gender binary faced the most significant struggles with well-being and mental health.
Women consistently reported more emotional health challenges than men did. For example, the number of women who reported that they had frequently felt overwhelmed by all they had to do (51.1 %) and anxious (46.1 percent) during their last year in high school was more than double that of men (24.1 % and 21.1 %, respectively). A larger share of women (58.8 %) than that of men (41.9 %) reported that they had felt depressed over the past year.
Further, students who identified outside of the gender binary faced additional challenges related to identity, belonging, and well-being. It is important to note that almost half of this group (47.4 percent) identified as transgender. Nearly three-quarters of NB, GQ/GNC, or INL students indicated that they had frequently felt overwhelmed (71.5 percent) and anxious (73.4 percent) during this past year. Finally, almost all non-binary, genderqueer/gender nonconforming, or respondents whose identity was not listed, reported that they had frequently or occasionally felt depressed (91.0 percent) during their last year in high school.
As student demographics and expectations shift, data from The CIRP Freshman Survey 2024 provide essential insights for colleges and universities seeking to improve student success, foster inclusion, and address financial and mental health challenges. The findings offer a roadmap for institutional leaders to develop policies and programs that align with today’s students’ needs.
As student demographics and expectations shift, data from The CIRP Freshman Survey 2024 provide essential insights for colleges and universities seeking to improve student success, foster inclusion, and address financial and mental health challenges. The findings offer a roadmap for institutional leaders to develop policies and programs that align with today’s students’ needs.
In 2023, the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies and ACE announced a partnership to strengthen and lead HERI, administered by CRESST, a research and development center within UCLA Ed&IS. By leveraging their collaboration, ACE and UCLA Ed&IS are elevating and expanding HERI’s research and reach through ACE’s extensive capacity and expertise in faculty and presidential-level data collection and research.
HERI administers the longest-running, most comprehensive data collection of institutes of higher education, including data on more than 1,900 institutions, over 15 million students, and more than 500,000 faculty.
To read the full report: “Understanding the Entering Class of 2024: Key Insights from The CIRP Freshman Survey 2024.”
For more information on the partnership between UCLA and ACE, visit this link.