Abstract
In the spring of 2003, two hundred and six freshmen completed a nineteen item supplemental survey, which evaluated their social and academic experiences in their Core colloquium. Students also responded to a sociometric nomination measure that asked them to circle the names of all of the students that they studied with during the semester. Students? responses to the supplemental survey indicated that they sought out academic support from their peers. This self-report data was validated by the data obtained using the sociometric nomination measure. Students? endorsement of the peer support items on the supplemental survey correlated positively with their number of reciprocal study partners. The results also showed that students? tended to select as study partners individuals who were similar to them. Chi-square analyses showed that individuals were significantly more likely to select same-race versus other-race study partners.They were also significantly more likely to select same-gender versus opposite-gender partners. Finally, a correlational analysis showed that students? Spring GPA was positively associated with the Spring GPA of their study partners.This latter finding suggests that students chose study partners that reflect their level of academic engagement.
