The pandemic, a not-so-distant recession and a politically polarized America notwithstanding, first-year college students are overwhelmingly optimistic about their future, even if they’re less confident about the direction of the country and the world, a new poll found.
A whopping 92 percent of the freshmen — attending either two-year or four-year institutions — say they’re optimistic about their personal lives, including 28 percent who are “super” optimistic, according to the online NBC News/Generation Lab poll of 1,108 incoming students conducted Aug. 18-19 nationwide.
Another 92 percent think they’ll get the job they want after they graduate, 88 percent definitely or probably plan to get married, and nearly 4 in 5 plan to have children.
Less than half of the respondents — 48 percent — said they’re optimistic about the United States, however, while 60 percent are optimistic about the world.
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