Porter, Oscar F. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF PRIVATE BLACK COLLEGE FRESHMEN: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF BLACK LEADERSHIP IN AMERICA. United Negro College Fund, Inc., New York, N.Y. Feb 1987. 8 p UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND RESEARCH REPORT, v11 n1 Feb 1987. (ED280354)

The characteristics and experiences of college freshmen who entered private black colleges in 1976 and 1985 were compared, based on data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program's "The American Freshman: National Norms." Attention was focused on socioeconomic status (SES), academic preparation and confidence, reasons for attending college, financing an education, majors and careers, and important objectives and values. Findings include: the typical private historically-black college and university freshman had higher SES than the 1976 freshman; the percentage of 1985 freshmen with high school grade point averages of "B" or higher was significantly lower than their 1976 counterparts; the 1976 group of black freshmen had a greater concern about financing college than the 1985 group; business had increased significantly as a major and as a career expectation, and there has been a major revival of interest in engineering; for the 1985 group, the most important life object was to be well-off financially; and belief in personal popularity, leadership ability, and social self-confidence showed considerable growth since 1976. (SW)