Dear Time Reader: More than half of all U.S. college students (actually 56%) read TIME regularly, and we are just as interested in them as they are in us. Recently, TIME'S Market Research Department undertook a series of surveys on this year's crop of TIME-reading college students, particularly seniors. I thought that you might be interested in what we found out about their attitudes and plans for the future.

Most of the TIME-reading seniors are in a hurry to marry, raise families and settle down. They want at least two children and 92% plan to own their homes in the near future. If they have their way, most of them will settle in the suburbs; only 3% want to live in a large city.

The surveys showed that 32% of the seniors have had scholarships and 72% have earned at least part of their college expenses. Five out of ten plan to take graduate work. (The figure for all U.S. college students who go on to take a graduate degree is two out of ten.) A little over half of the college men starting their careers this year are going into business. Slightly less than half are entering professional fields--medicine, dentistry, law, education, etc.

Three-fourths of the seniors' parents are in business or industry, and of these, 60% are on the executive level. We discovered that the students tend to follow the parental pattern: more than half the TIME-reading seniors planning business careers expect to become major executives with considerable responsibility. Only a few indicated that they would be content with a minor role and limited authority. Of the seniors aiming for business or industry, most have some definite ideas about the type of company they want to work for after graduation.

Almost half said they would rather work for a large nationally known concern than a small company. About a quarter want to have their own business.

Furthermore, 82% of the seniors said they wanted their jobs to provide real satisfaction, not merely financial support. Only a few were willing to settle for a "comfortable" position, i.e., a job where the work would be routine, adequately paid, and offer plenty of time for personal achievement outside the office.

In almost every case the students plan to become active members of their communities. More than half of the seniors now belong to off-campus clubs and work with outside organizations. Six out of ten attend church regularly, and, in addition to local charities, eight out of ten contributed to a national fund-raising campaign in the past year.

A surprising 64% of the seniors, however, felt that giving money was not enough. When they graduate, they reported, they intend to take an active part in supporting community causes and civic issues.

In one of the final questions we asked our college subscribers to name the one issue they considered of paramount importance to them as responsible citizens. Their answers ranged from civil rights through morality in government, the need for better education. U.S. foreign policy; but most of the replies had one common denominator: the concern over world peace and the control of Communism.

Cordially yours,

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