Over 3 in 5 College Student Voters Say a Presidential Candidate’s Vibe Matters

By

Jessica Bryant

Published on October 9, 2024

Edited by

Lyss Welding

Learn more about our editorial process

61% of students also say they are more energized politically now than they were two months ago.

Credit: Jeff Swensen / Stringer / Getty Images News

Heading into the November 2024 presidential election, college students have a clear message for the candidates: good vibes only.

In a new BestColleges survey of 1,000 currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students, 63% of those students who are likely to vote in the upcoming election say that a presidential candidate’s vibe matters. Only about 1 in 10 (12%) disagree.

Half of student voters (50%) believe a candidate’s vibe matters just as much as their policies.

What’s more, college students surveyed indicate that a political vibe shift has occurred in the past couple of months.

Among all students surveyed, about 6 in 10 students (61%) say they are more energized politically now than they were two months ago. Nearly half (49%) say they are more optimistic about national politics.

Students of color are more likely than white students to say they’re now more optimistic about national politics. About 6 in 10 Black students (58%) and 53% of Latino/a students report feeling more optimistic about politics over the past two months compared to 44% of white students.

Additionally, 68% of Black students, 62% of Latino/a, and 58% of white students say they are more energized politically now than they were two months ago.

Changes in Presidential Nominees Motivated Students to Register to Vote in 2024

More than 2 in 5 students (41%) say that Kamala Harris replacing Joe Biden as the presidential nominee motivated them to register to vote.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, an even higher percentage of students who say they were motivated to register to vote by this change are also Democrats (61%). However, about one-quarter of students who are Republicans also say that Harris replacing Biden motivated them to register (24%).

Among students who say they are worried about a Harris presidency, 31% say the shift from Harris to Biden motivated them to register to vote. Among those who say they are worried about a second Donald Trump presidency, 58% were motivated to register to vote by the change.

Students Support a Candidate Age Cap

It’s not just “a vibe” that students are considering in their options for the next president. The majority of students (68%) also agree there should be age restrictions on running for president (e.g., younger than 80 years old). Only 15% disagree.

Among survey respondents who support age restrictions, 65% also support Harris as Biden’s replacement and say they’re relieved by her replacing Biden in the race for president in 2024.

Political Trust Among College Students Ticking Up — for Once

According to our survey, 37% of college students say they trust the U.S. political system. That’s a 14 percentage point increase from when we asked the same question in March of this year. It’s also a marked jump from our survey ahead of the 2020 election.

Further, half of students surveyed in spring (50%) did not trust the U.S. political system, while only 1 in 3 students (33%) surveyed this fall say the same.

Far more students now say they feel represented in national elections (45% vs. 29%) and believe the 2024 presidential election will be a free and fair election (52% vs. 39%) compared to spring.

LGBTQ+ students are less likely than straight, cisgender students to say they feel represented in national elections (37% vs. 48%).

Millennials are much more likely than Gen Z to say they feel represented in national elections (63% vs. 40%).

Methodology

This survey was conducted from September 16-23, 2024, and was fielded by Pure Spectrum. Survey participants included 1,000 respondents nationwide who were currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program. Of all students surveyed, 916 reported that they are registered voters or plan to register before the November 2024 presidential election and plan to vote or are undecided if they will vote. Respondents were 18-39 years of age, with the majority (77%) ages 18-24, and currently pursuing an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, or professional degree. The respondents for the survey were screened by various quality checks, including systems like Relevant ID, and responses were manually reviewed to ensure consistency and accuracy.

A note on gender: BestColleges also surveyed nonbinary/gender-nonconforming students but did not surface enough participants in this group to reliably report on their responses.