The survey summarizes the responses of 9,899 student members of the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) ages 15-32 on their political engagement and views. Key findings include: most respondents check news regularly and prefer online/TV sources like Facebook; over 75% of eligible voters in 2012 voted and over 50% of eligible respondents are registered; top issues are the economy, student loan debt, terrorism and civil rights. Males prefer internet/print news and check news more, while females prefer TV/social media.

2. The National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) presents
the results of the 2016 Presidential Election Straw Poll Survey,
which was administered online to student members of NSHSS in
December 2015.
This report, prepared by Hanover Research, summarizes
participants’ preferences for accessing political news, past
participation in presidential elections, and opinions of the 2016
presidential election candidates and issues.
In total, 9,899 NSHSS members, ages 15 to 32, responded to the
survey.
INTRODUCTION

3. NSHSS is an international honor society founded by James Lewis
and Claes Nobel, senior member of the family that established
the Nobel Prizes. NSHSS recognizes academic excellence
among high-achieving scholars, offering resources supporting
transitions from high school to college, and college to career.
With more than 1.1 million diverse lifetime members (ages 15 to
32), NSHSS scholars are pushing the envelope on changing the
world for both themselves as well as for others around them.
More than 115,000 high-achieving high school scholars are
inaugurated into lifetime membership with the Society annually.
ABOUT NSHSS

4. “With millennials now becoming the
largest voting bloc in the country,
NSHSS recognizes the tremendous
value in conducting a Political Survey
of our members. Our diverse group
of members represents the future
leaders of our country, and
understanding their political interests
and habits can reveal insight into
how to effectively reach out to this
influential generation.”
- James W. Lewis
A NOTE FROM NSHSS PRESIDENT
JAMES W. LEWIS

5. NSHSS members are diverse in their socio-economic background,
geography, religion, gender, and cultural heritage.
• 96% of NSHSS lifetime members reside in the United States.
• 40% of scholars are multi-lingual, with 21% fluent in Spanish. Scholars
indicate fluency in French, Mandarin, Arabic, Hindi, German, Italian and
Japanese among numerous other languages.
• 78% of scholars plan to attend graduate school.
• 24% are first generation college students.
• 77% indicate they are actively involved in their communities through
volunteerism.
• 48% of scholars indicate a strong interest in international experiences.
• 96% seek an internship that will develop their skills and give them
training to prepare for their career.
32%
68%
Gender
Male
Female
White/Caucasian
38%
Black/African American
22%
Latino/Hispanic
19%
Asian/Pacific Islander
12%
Other
9%
Ethnicity
NSHSS MEMBERSHIP

6. RESPONDENTS TO THE SURVEY
White/Caucasian
38%
Black/ African-
American… Latino/Hispanic
19%
Asian/ Pacific Islander
12%
Other
12%
ETHNICITY
In total, 9,899 NSHSS members, ages 15 to 32, responded to the
survey.
GENDER
Male 26%
Female 73%
Prefer Not to
Answer 1%
• Survey results on demographic information show that a larger percentage of male
respondents (37%) are 18 or older compared to female respondents (29%).
• In addition, a larger portion of male respondents are White (Male-42%; Female-
38%) or Asian (Male-13%; Female-10%) compared to female respondents.
• Meanwhile, a larger percentage of female respondents are Black or African
American (Female-21%; Male-14%).

7. News Consumption
Most respondents report checking the news with some regularity,
suggesting that high-achieving millennials like to stay informed on
current issues. They tend to consume news quickly, with more than
one-third spending less than 15 minutes checking the news. The most
popular sources are online newspapers, television and social media.
Voter Registration and Participation
High-achieving millennials seem to be more engaged in politics than
their peers, as shown by the fact that 78% of respondents who were
eligible to vote in 2012 cast a ballot in the 2012 presidential election.
More than half the respondents above the age of 18 are registered to
vote, and 90% of all respondents say they plan to vote in future
presidential elections.
Issues of Importance
The top 5 issues high-achieving millennials consider important are the
economy and jobs, student loan debt, terrorism, civil rights and
healthcare.
KEY FINDINGS

8.  Most respondents rely on online newspapers (58%) and websites (35%) such
as Politico and Vox to access political news on the internet.
 National TV stations or networks (70%) are the most popular source of political
news on television, followed by local TV Stations or networks (24%).
 Facebook (49%) is the most popular social media platform for accessing
political news, followed by Twitter (32%).
 Most radio listeners listen to local radio stations (64%) to access political news.
 National newspapers (43%) and local newspapers (39%) are the most popular
forms of print media for accessing political news.
 Only 2% of respondents report not accessing any political news.
NEWS CONSUMPTION
79%
70%
66%
25%
15%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
INTERNET
TELEVISION
SOCIAL MEDIA
RADIO/PODCASTS
PRINT MEDIA
Where do millennials get their political news?

9. 18% 31% 41% 10% 0%
How often do high-achieving millennials
check the news?
Every Day Regularly Sometimes Hardly Ever Never
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
None <15 minutes 15-29 minutes 30-59 minutes >1 hour
Amount of time high-achieving millennials spent
checking the news yesterday

10.  Male respondents are significantly more likely to get their political news
on the internet or in print compared to females.
 Females, on the other hand, are more likely to use television or social
media for their political news compared to males.
 Male respondents are more likely to check the news every day or
regularly for a longer period of time (30 minutes) compared to females.
NEWS CONSUMPTION BY GENDER
77%
71%
69%
14%
83%
67%
58%
17%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
INTERNET
TELEVISION
SOCIAL MEDIA
PRINT MEDIA
Where do you get most of your news on
politics?
Male Female

11. VOTER REGISTRATION AND PARTICIPATION

12. 28% of currently registered voters were eligible to
vote in the 2012 election and 78% of those
respondents cast a ballot in 2012.
An analysis of participation in presidential elections
by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that in 2012, 38%
of 18-to-24 year olds voted in the 2012 election,
comparing to a voting rate of 60.8% for all adults 18
and over in 2012.1
1 File, T. “Young-Adult Voting: An Analysis of Presidential Elections, 1964-2012.” U.S. Census
Bureau, April 2014. https://www.census.gov/prod/2014pubs/p20-573.pdf
VOTER REGISTRATION AND PARTICIPATION

13. Nearly half of all respondents consider the economy one of the most
important issues when selecting a presidential candidate. About one-
third of respondents also selected student loan debt, terrorism and civil
rights as critical issues.
ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE
49%
34%
33%
32%
26%
26%
22%
19%
16%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
THE ECONOMY AND JOBS
STUDENT LOAN DEBT
TERRORISM
CIVIL RIGHTS
HEALTH CARE
IMMIGRATION
GUN CONTROL
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
INCOME INEQUALITY
Issues of Importance to High-Achieving
Millennials

14. ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE BY GENDER
47%
35%
33%
34%
27%
27%
17%
16%
55%
30%
37%
26%
22%
23%
25%
14%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
THE ECONOMY AND JOBS
STUDENT LOAN DEBT
TERRORISM
CIVIL RIGHTS
HEALTHCARE
IMMIGRATION
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
INCOME INEQUALITY
Issues of Importance to High-Achieving Millennials
Male Female

15. CONCLUDING REMARKS
“In the 2015 annual NSHSS Millennial Career Survey, 77% of
NSHSS members surveyed reported that they are engaged in their
community through leadership positions and community service.
Knowing this information, we were not surprised to find that our
members are more actively involved in politics than their peers.
We are proud to learn through our survey that our members not
only take a stand on important issues, but also are actually doing
something about it.
NSHSS rewards the service of our members through scholarships
and grants like the National Scholar Awards, the Sheppard
Leadership Awards, and the Hollister Co. Anti-bullying Awards,
among others. By providing support for our members to work in
their communities, we are giving them a head start to change the
world for the better.”
-James W. Lewis, NSHSS
President

16. To learn how you can connect with NSHSS millennials,
contact:
Beth Pann
Vice President
Email: Beth.Pann@nshss.org
Phone: 1-866-343-1800, extension 535
Web: www.nshss.org