Factors Affecting the Decision to Study in the Bachelor of Science Program by First Year Undergraduate Students in the Faculty of Science, Mahidol University

Abstract

This research studied and compared factors influencing the decision making of first-year undergraduate students that selected a Bachelor of Science program in the Faculty of Science, Mahidol University. The subjects of this study were comprised of 276 first-year undergraduate students who enrolled in the Thai curriculum of the Faculty of Science, Mahidol University in the academic year 2019. The research instruments were questionnaires that were reviewed by a panel of three experts for content validity. The IOC indexes of all items were rated between 0.67 to 1.00.  The pilot survey was conducted with 30 students, who were not part of the focus group, to examine the reliability of part 2 of the questionnaire. The calculated reliability on the test on curriculum and academic reputation was 0.81 while the result of the test on pride was 0.79 and on the future expectations was 0.71. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics including frequencies, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Furthermore, inferential statistics, such as t-test and one-way ANOVA, were conducted at a statistical significance level of 0.05. The results revealed that curriculum and academic reputation, pride and future expectation were the factors that influence the decision making of the student at the highest level. The curriculum and academic reputation received the highest average value. Economical and societal factors influence the decision making at a high level. Our investigation further displayed that differences in gender, cumulative GPA and gross household monthly income did not significantly alter the decision making of students in pursuing higher study, at statistical significance level of 0.05, concerning the curriculum and academic reputation, pride, economy and society, and future expectation.