Boys, girls split over reasons for choosing colleges

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:00 JST, August 29, 2021

Boys tend to focus on whether they will be able to pass the entrance exam when choosing which colleges to apply to, while girls are concerned about whether schools are related to their future career path, according to a government survey of 19-year-olds.

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has been conducting an annual survey of children born in 2001. In the survey conducted last year, potential college students were asked about their situation as it related to higher education.

Of 25,504 respondents aged 19 years old, a total of 13,061, or 51.2%, went on to college, while 3,553, or 13.9%, had taken a job.

With multiple answers allowed as to why they chose to apply to certain schools, 39.1% of the boys, the largest group, said because they “were likely to pass the entrance exam,” while 49.0% of the girls answered that the colleges were related to the job they want to get in the future.

The survey also found that as many as 21.5% of those who chose a school because they were likely to pass the entrance exams were dissatisfied with their choice. The percentage of dissatisfied students who chose their school “because a friend had chosen it” was 18.3%.

On the other hand, 93.9% of those who chose their school because they were interested in the curriculum were satisfied with their choice. The percentage of satisfied students who chose their school based on the entrance exam being more difficult than other schools was 93.1%.

As many as 94.3% of those who chose their school because they liked the school’s atmosphere also were satisfied with their choice.

Out of those who hoped to enroll in national or public universities as their first choice at the age of 18 — the third year of high school — 54.1% went to those universities and 39.3% to private universities at the age of 19, followed by 2.7% who entered junior or technical colleges, and 2.9% who entered special training or other colleges.

Of those who chose private universities as their first choice, 93.3% went on to private universities, while 1.5% entered national or public universities.

In response to the survey, the ministry said it is important to provide guidance that give students a specific image of what to expect after going to college.