Studies of the political orientations of 1,055 college students revealed that the plurality of students in an eastern, big-city, private...
GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions
Studies of the political orientations of 1,055 college students revealed that the plurality of students in an eastern, big-city, private university was liberal, whereas in a state-supported, southern college, the plurality was conservative. Orientations were independent of the student's region of origin, and the trends were much more pronounced in seniors than in beginning students.
Which of the following hypotheses is best supported by the observations stated above?
Passage Visualization
| Passage Statement | Visualization and Linkage |
| Studies of the political orientations of 1,055 college students revealed that the plurality of students in an eastern, big-city, private university was liberal, whereas in a state-supported, southern college, the plurality was conservative. | Establishes: Institutional correlation with political orientation Concrete Example:
Key Pattern: Different institutional environments correlate with different political pluralities |
| Orientations were independent of the student's region of origin | Establishes: Geographic background doesn't determine political orientation Concrete Example:
Key Insight: Where students come FROM doesn't matter - where they study DOES |
| the trends were much more pronounced in seniors than in beginning students | Establishes: Political alignment strengthens over time at each institution Concrete Example: Eastern Private University:
Southern State College:
Pattern Recognition: Time amplifies institutional influence |
| Overall Implication | INSTITUTIONAL INFLUENCE PATTERN: The data reveals that colleges actively shape political orientations through institutional environment rather than simply reflecting pre-existing student beliefs. The strengthening of trends over time suggests an ongoing influence process during the college experience. |
Valid Inferences
Inference: The institutional environment of colleges influences students' political orientations during their time at the institution.
Supporting Logic: Since political orientations correlate with institutional type rather than students' geographic origins, and since these political trends become more pronounced from freshman to senior year, the college environment itself must be actively shaping student political views over time. The independence from regional origin eliminates pre-existing geographic bias as an explanation, while the strengthening trends over time demonstrate an ongoing influence process.
Clarification Note: The passage supports institutional influence but does not specify the mechanisms (curriculum, peer groups, faculty influence, etc.) through which this influence occurs.
This suggests students start college with orientations similar to their parents but diverge over time. While the passage shows political orientations become more pronounced from freshman to senior year, it provides no information about parental political orientations or any comparison between students and their parents. We cannot infer anything about parent-child political similarity from the given data.
This hypothesis is strongly supported by the passage. The key evidence is that political trends were much more pronounced in seniors than in beginning students. Since orientations were independent of students' region of origin (ruling out pre-existing geographic bias), and students become increasingly aligned with their institution's political plurality over time, this suggests that college experiences are actively shaping their political orientations during their time at the institution.
This directly contradicts the passage, which explicitly states that orientations were independent of the student's region of origin. A southern student at the eastern private university would be just as likely to be liberal as an eastern student at that same institution. Regional background doesn't determine political orientation - institutional environment does.
This overstates the case by claiming that public vs. private status is the determining factor. While the passage shows correlation between institutional type and political orientation, we cannot conclude this is the sole determining factor. Other institutional characteristics (geographic location, urban vs. rural setting, etc.) could also be influential, and the passage doesn't isolate public/private status as the only variable.
This assumes students become more conservative with age, but the passage shows students at the eastern private university actually become more liberal over time (since the liberal trend is more pronounced in seniors). The hypothesis about financial pressures is completely unsupported by any evidence in the passage.