Why do you go to college?
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Every year since 1966, the UCLA School of Education has
surveyed nearly a quarter of a million first-year college
students. A comparison of the results suggests that in
some ways, the college-aged Boomers of the late 1960s
were not much different from Millennials in 2009. Then
as now, the great majority regarded themselves as
“middle-of-the-road” in politics. Both groups also over-
estimated their academic worth: More than two-thirds
considered themselves to be among the top 10 percent
of their peers academically.
But the past forty years have witnessed a wideninggulf between Boomers (born from 1946 to 1964) and
Millennials (born after 1980). One example relates to
life goals. According to the survey, when Boomers
were in their freshman year of college, about three-
fourths believed that “acquiring a meaningful philoso-
phy of life” was “essential” or “very important.” Only
a third attached similar importance to “being well off
financially.” But sixty years later the percentages had
been nearly reversed. Over three-fourths of the
Millennials entering college in 2009 believed that
“being well off financially” was “essential” or “very
important” while only a third thought it equally
important to acquire “a meaningful philosophy of