Unpacking Freshmen Aspirations and Expectations in Their Enrolled College Degree Programs: A Sentiment Analysis Approach

Abstract

The decision to select a college degree program plays a fundamental role in shaping students' academic and professional futures. While much research has examined the factors affecting students' choices prior to enrollment, fewer studies have explored their perceptions and expectations after they have entered their chosen programs. This study seeks to bridge this research gap by investigating the visions and aspirations of freshmen using natural language processing techniques. The textual analysis involves text tokenization, word frequency counts, visual representation of data through word clouds, and sentiment classification. The findings suggest the demand for tailored academic support and curriculum development that align with the specific aspirations of students in different disciplines. Overall, this study contributes to the growing literature on student decision-making and expectations of degree programs, while demonstrating the value of sentiment analysis as a tool for understanding students' academic trajectories.