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Results of the 2012 Senior Survey

Students value learning over grade point average
Senior measures of success, according to the 2012 Senior Survey.
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Senior measures of success, according to the 2012 Senior Survey.
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Image: Office of the Provost, Institutional Research

Earlier this semester, Institutional Research administered the sixth biennial Senior Survey to more than 1,000 fourth-year undergraduates. The survey received a 73 percent response rate.
The survey asked a broad range of questions, from satisfaction with academics and campus services to self-assessment of skills and plans for the future. A section of questions new to the survey this year asked students about their aspirations and how they measure their own success. Seniors were asked to indicate their agreement with statements such as "I measure my success by how well I live according to my values" and "I measure my success by how strong my network of family and friends is."

The statement with the highest level of agreement was "I measure my success by how much I feel I am learning," with 82 percent of respondents choosing "Agree" or "Strongly Agree." The statement with the lowest level of agreement was "I measure my success by my GPA" with 37% of students selecting Agree or Strongly Agree.

For the full results for this and prior senior surveys, please visit http://web.mit.edu/ir/surveys/senior.html

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