Survey says…

A recent survey of 100 Quinnipiac students found that 57 percent had thought about transferring at some point in their college experience.  Many think this is due to the high cost of a college education, especially at a private institution such as Quinnipiac University.  According to Maureen Tillman of the New York Times, “parents are viewing the cost of college with a stronger lens and are becoming more assertive by telling their children that unless they take their academic experience seriously, they will not continue to pay the high costs of going away to college as opposed to commuting from home.”  In her article, Tillman quoted Mara Model, a former Quinnipiac student, who said she transferred to Temple University because she felt the QU campus was too small and isolated.

Also in the survey, students were asked “why do you think most students leave Quinnipiac?”  40 percent said financial reasons, 38 percent said dissatisfied with the social scene or didn’t fit in, 17 percent said dissatisfied with housing and/or university rules and regulations, 3 percent said academics weren’t challenging enough, and one percent choose either academics are too challenging or a family or medical situation respectively.  Allen Grove, in his article “5 Bad Reasons to Transfer,” said that challenging academics is the second highest reason people transfer – which is the opposite of what the survey at Quinnipiac showed.

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that 17 percent were dissatisfied with housing because QU is going through such dramatic housing changes for this upcoming year.  Nathalie Weinstein of the Daily Journal of Commerce wrote that “students that live on campus during their first year come back at a higher rate than students who live off campus” which is a piece of the puzzle for QUs new housing plan.

Here are the Survey Monkey results: