1600 freshmen were contacted via mail, 800 registered, and 253 of those 800 completed the study. Poor retention rates may be because the students were invited early in their freshman year, within the first month.

• The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) measured social anxiety among participants. The SPAI differentiates between socially anxious and non-socially anxious personalities and includes questions that can have responses ranging from "never" to "always" (ex: I feel anxious in group discussions).
• The Social Skills Inventory (SSI) measures social competence on a scale of 1 (not at all like me) to 5 (exactly like me).
• The College Affiliation Questionnaire (CAQ) uses 13 items to measure academic persistence. The "social integration" subset was particularly relevant to the research team.
• Finally, SAT scores and class rank was provided by the students themselves, and compared to their college registrar's records for accuracy. Class rank was often correct but only the registrar's SAT records were used due to students' poor memory of their performance.