92% of College Freshmen Are Optimistic About Their Lives, Poll Finds

Less than half of the respondents — 48 percent — said they’re optimistic about the United States

The pandemic, a not-so-distant recession and a politically polarized America notwithstanding, first-year college students are overwhelmingly optimistic about their future, even if they’re less confident about the direction of the country and the world, a new poll found.

A whopping 92 percent of the freshmen — attending either two-year or four-year institutions — say they’re optimistic about their personal lives, including 28 percent who are “super” optimistic, according to the online NBC News/Generation Lab poll of 1,108 incoming students conducted Aug. 18-19 nationwide.

Another 92 percent think they’ll get the job they want after they graduate, 88 percent definitely or probably plan to get married, and nearly 4 in 5 plan to have children. 

Less than half of the respondents — 48 percent — said they’re optimistic about the United States, however, while 60 percent are optimistic about the world. 

Read the full story on NBCNews.com here. 

Contact Us