At the end of their first week on campus, all freshmen were expected to own up to how academically inclined they were in high school.

The freshmen had to answer survey questions about how many hours they studied and how many activities they participated in during their senior year of high school, among other things.

“We’re just trying to get a feel for how academically prepared they are when they come in,” said Stephanie Booth, associate provost for academic quality improvement.

Indiana University officially launched the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement this year, and Kent State is one of the colleges participating across the country. Results will be out in about six weeks.

Booth said the survey may show problems students face coming into college, letting the university develop initiatives to help students make the transition to Kent State and also to make sure they eventually graduate.

“Once we have more information about students, hopefully they (the university) can intervene before there’s a major problem,” Booth said.

Ella Tachovsky, freshman fashion design major, said she wasn’t sure if she would be academically and socially prepared for college because she was home-schooled, but feels better now she’s gotten to know people at Kent State.

She said it’s too early for her to tell how hard the work will be.

“I think it’s going to get overwhelming because that’s what everyone says,” she said.

On the other hand, freshman nursing major Whitney Thompson said she feels well prepared for college because she went to an academically challenging high school and took honors classes.

Thompson plans to graduate from Kent State and eventually become a nurse anesthetist.

“We’ll see how it goes,” she said.

Some of the information from each student’s responses will be given to his or her academic adviser.

“We’re looking for any way that we can help individuals be successful here,” Booth said.

Contact academics reporter Kiera Manion-Fischer at [email protected].