Career maturity : a study of Ball State University Honors College freshman students as compared to non-honors freshman students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the career maturity of freshmen honors students to non-honors freshmen students at Ball State University. The evidence suggests that honors students may have a more difficult time choosing a major and making career decisions, two career developmental tasks that define career maturity. This study looked at residential freshmen students at Ball State University during the spring 2002 semester. Two stratified samples were chosen from two honors residence halls on campus. The project consisted of 351 freshmen living in the two residence halls and yielded a response rate of 282 students, for a response rate of 80.3%. In response to the research question, two sub-groups were defined. The first sub-group consisted of 123 non-honors students, and the second group consisted of 159 freshmen that were members of the Honors College. After comparing the two groups on the data that were collected from the survey instrument, it was found that there was no difference between the career maturity patterns of honors and non-honors freshmen students.