(ECNS) -- Nearly 60 percent of students at Beijing universities want to join the Communist Party of China (CPC) while 70 percent feel pressure from a variety of sources during their time on campus, a recent survey indicates.
Organized by the Beijing Committee of the Communist Youth League, the study collected data from 8,231 students in both public and private colleges across the capital city.
An overwhelming majority of students think highly of the new leadership after the 18th CPC National Congress and care about topics like state governance and Party policies.
Nearly 60 percent "strongly wish" or "wish" to join the CPC. Some 85 percent of students feel proud to be Chinese, and nearly 75 percent believe the "Chinese Dream" will come true.
More than 70 percent of students say they feel pressure from study, finance, interpersonal, emotional, and employment issues, but only 3.3 percent say the pressure is "too much to handle."
In regards to extracurricular activities, 74.14 percent of students favour spending time on the Internet, 34.49 percent asleep, and 28.55 percent socializing.
About 70 percent spend an average of two hours on the Internet each day and 10.7 percent four hours while only 19.3 percent regard the Internet as their most reliable source of information.
The research team calls today's university students in Beijing "a generation with deep Internet integration".
Students spend an average 1481 yuan ($239) each month, and those spending 1600 to 2000 yuan account for 14.48 percent while 21.69 percent spend less than 800 yuan.
The survey also found 83.33 percent rely on their families to cover living costs, 5.45 percent benefit from scholarships, and 4.47 percent rely on income from part-time jobs to survive.
Nearly 34 percent say part-time work helps cover 90 percent of their expenses, making it the second-highest economic resource after family support.
Most students want to work in Beijing after graduation and prefer foreign companies or State-owned enterprises that offer high incomes and good working environments. Less than half want to work in China's inland western areas or at a grassroots level.
A worrying finding is that only 27.71 percent exercise after class, although the awareness of its importance is high, according to the survey.
