Volume 5, Issue 3
January 29, 2003
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Technology Update: The Use of Technologies in College Choice

How has access to the Web changed since StudentPoll first began reporting its findings on the use of technologies by college-bound high school students?
In our premier issue on technology, published in 1996, 31 percent of the 500 prospective college students surveyed reported having access to the Internet at home or at school. Since then, Internet access has steadily increased, rising to 72 percent in 1997, 82 percent in 1998, 94 percent in 2000, and 99 percent today. Specifically, our study found that 94 percent have access to the Internet at home while 79 percent have Internet access at school.

Do students spend more time on the Internet today than they did a few years ago?
No. Frequency of Internet use on a weekly basis does not seem to have changed much since the findings from our technology study were published back in 2000. In 2000, our study found that on average students spent around 7.3 hours a week on the Internet. In our most recent study, students spent, on average, 6.6 hours a week on the Internet for email and other purposes.

What are the primary reasons students use the Internet? How has this changed?
Sending and receiving email has supplanted research and homework as the primary reason students use the Internet in 2002 compared to our 2000 study.

What sections or features on college web sites were most valuable to students in the college decision-making process? Has this changed any since it was first explored?
Academic content and cost-related information remain the most important kinds of information students seek on college web sites. When StudentPoll surveyed prospective college students in 2000 (the first time we asked this question), 60 percent rated academic content - information on courses and majors and academic programs - as very important in their college decisions. This holds true today. In our latest study, 69 percent of those who indicated they had visited college web sites reported that information on courses or majors and academic programs (69 and 62 percent respectively) were very important to them.

Is the online application now preferred by most students? When they applied to colleges, did students use a paper, online or some other application? How has application use and preference changed over time?
While student preference for online applications has increased dramatically since 1996, in the last two years this predilection has remained virtually unchanged. To provide some perspective, in 1996, 11 percent of students surveyed by StudentPoll reported a preference for an online application. By 2000, that figure had climbed to 43 percent of students, yet remained virtually unchanged in 2002 at 45 percent.