Most US college students favour Democratic challenger John Kerry over President Bush, according to a Harvard University poll.
Just weeks before the November 2 election, researchers at Harvard's Institute of Politics found that 52 per cent of all students want the Massachusetts senator elected president, 39 per cent support Bush, and 8 per cent are undecided.
In 14 hotly contested swing states, the poll shows Mr Kerry leading Mr Bush by 17 points among students.
The data suggest more students are leaning toward Mr Kerry than six months ago, when Harvard last surveyed them. That poll, released in April, found the Democratic challenger leading Mr Bush by 48-38 per cent with 11 per cent undecided.
Forty-five per cent of the students polled feel the country is headed in the wrong direction; 41 per cent feel it is headed in the right direction.
Students feel Mr Kerry, criticised in the past as aloof and failing to take a firm stand on issues, leads Mr Bush in understanding what matters most to them. Mr Kerry also edges Mr Bush 49 per cent to 42 per cent on which candidate is better qualified to be president, the poll said.
The poll also found 84 per cent of college students plan to cast a ballot, as both candidates woo young voters.
Even as researchers predicted a surge in turnout among college students, they warned many who say they will vote will not show up on Election Day. Nonetheless, they expect over half of all college voters to go to the ballot box, up from 42 per cent who voted four years ago.