Influenced by the college’s location, value, and small-campus atmosphere, most new Carroll Community College students applied to Carroll and no other college or university. Carroll was the only college applied to for 81 percent of the 228 students completing surveys at new student orientation in August.

Though especially true for part-time students, 92 percent of whom applied nowhere else, Carroll was the only college application destination for 78 percent of the full-time students as well. For the minority that did apply elsewhere, Towson University, the University of Maryland at College Park, Villa Julie College, and Salisbury University were most frequently mentioned.

The top three reasons students gave for choosing to attend Carroll were its location near their home or work, the value represented by its relatively low tuition, and the fact that family, friends, or co-workers had attended. Other reasons cited by a third or more of the students included the college’s small-campus atmosphere, small classes, and availability of academic support services such as free tutoring.

Nearly three-fourths of the full-time students intend to earn an Associate’s degree at Carroll, a goal shared by 62 percent of the part-time students. Fully 87 percent of the respondents plan to transfer to a four-year college or university—91 percent of the full-timers and 75 percent of the part-timers.

The new students were asked what sources of information about the college they had seen or used. For the first time in this annual survey, the college website was most frequently mentioned, with half the students citing it. The class schedules (47 percent) and other direct mail (43 percent) were the next most-often cited sources of information about the college. Other sources cited by a fourth or more of the respondents included brochures in high school guidance offices, billboards, and the college’s new television commercial.

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