2023 National First-Year Students and Their Motivation to Complete College Report

This report provides insights into the challenges and factors affecting first-year students' motivation and success as they enter college, including the significant mental toll from the pandemic and economic uncertainty. The findings in this report are taken from data collected in 2022 from nearly 80,000 student records of first- and second-year students who completed an assessment in the RNL Retention Management System (RMS), a suite of three early-alert assessments that measure non-cognitive indicators in students. Key findings about incoming first-year students include: (1) nearly 30 percent of students question whether college is worth it; (2) three-quarters of incoming students want to meet new friends at college; (3) about 1 in 6 incoming students want to talk with a counselor; (4) two-thirds of students want help selecting an educational plan that will help them get a good job; and (5) nearly all entering students are committed to college. [For "2021 National First-Year Students and Their Motivation to Complete College Report," see ED614951.]