New Beloit College Midset List Shows The Realities of Today's Students

January 8, 2007 - 0 Comment(s)

Each year, Tom McBride and Ron Nief from Beloit College in Wisconsin release the Beloit College Mindset List. This list is not only interesting and informative, but it also provides a valuable look at “the cultural touchstones that have shaped the lives of today’s first-year students.�?

If you haven’t seen the 2006 list yet, I encourage you to take a few minutes and have a look. McBride summarizes the characteristics of this year’s incoming class as:

“a generation that has always been ‘connected’ and is used to things happening in ‘real time,’ like live satellite coverage of revolutions and wars, instant messaging and movies on demand. They expect solutions for every problem, from baldness to diseased organs. To the chagrin of teachers and parents, they’ve developed their own generational means of communication.�?

This description, and a review of the list, illustrates the dramatic changes in the ways in which students communicate. Most notably:

#8. They are wireless, yet always connected.
# 20. Text messaging is their email.

This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve read about the rise of connectivity and text messaging—evidence of this seems to be everywhere these days. What the findings do provide is a “reality check�? –- each year, students gets more connected and more mobile, and we better deal with it.

As the trend continues, it’ll be very interesting to see how much of their lives (academic and social) get integrated into their mobile lifestyles. One thing’s for sure – 2007 is going to be interesting!