Recruitment and Professional Image of Students at One of the Regional Universities in Hungary

Abstract: In this article we study the social recruitment and professional image of students at the University of Debrecen. Social recruitment shows significant differences between the faculties and the branches. The students in the high prestige faculties come from highmiddle class and middle class families. The students of the faculties that were judged having average prestige are from the middle class and the rate of low-middle class students is significantly greater in branches with lower prestige. Important differences were found in the professional image of the students with an education major and not education majors and also in case of the „ideal professional” and the „practical, necessary knowledge”. Both are partly formed by the professional socialization of the students and partly by the stereotypes. As a consequence there are also big differences between the professional image and the future expectations of the students with an education major and with other majors attending the same faculty.

Keywords: Students; Gift Attendance Program; Recruitment; Prestige; Professional Image