Upon entering Houghton College, the 1996 Houghton College freshmen (N=204) were given a Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) survey. Nationwide 494 colleges and universities participate in the HERI studies. Houghton College and approximately 50 other Christian colleges are participating in this study as part of an ongoing FIPSE grant to help determine the impact Christian campuses make on the development of faith and values of their students.

Houghton College freshmen were compared with freshmen from other protestant 4-year colleges and private 4-year colleges. Below are listed selected areas in which Houghton College seniors differ from students in both the other categories.

The full report is available on an Excel spreadsheet. If you wish read the entire report, e-mail wbeardsley@houghton.edu for a copy.

After looking at the 1996 CIRP data which compares Houghton College freshmen with students from other highly selective Protestant colleges, and other Protestant colleges, several characteristics of Houghton College freshmen emerge. Houghton College freshmen tend to:

• Get better grades in high school
• More often come from traditional two parent families with less income and more children
• More likely to live 101-500 miles from college
• Show greater interest in art and music
• More often state religious affiliation/orientation as a very important reason for selecting this college
• Be born-again Christians with a stated openness to consider new insights and truths about their faith
• Consider themselves more spiritual, attend more religious services, and to be more concerned about others
• More often select probable careers that are scholar-servant oriented
• Spend more time in prayer and less time partying
• More often apply to only 1 or 2 colleges, with this college being the first choice
• More often politically conservative