Conservative activists and politicians have long argued that colleges indoctrinate and brainwash students into becoming liberals. On Wednesday, the Trump administration fed into these complaints, threatening to cut funding from public universities that dont support religious student clubs a move lauded by Christian groups that insist conservative students face discrimination on college campuses.

A new nationwide survey that followed students at 116 colleges from their freshman to senior years suggests that what actually shapes political views during their education is much more complex.

Students personal political identities didnt seem to shift significantly during their four years at college, according to data collected from the fall of 2015 to the spring of 2019 for the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey , led by researchers at North Carolina State University, Ohio State University and the nonprofit Interfaith Youth Core.

What did change, however, is how students felt about political liberals. The survey suggested that students appreciation for both conservatives and liberals increased during freshman year. But by the time they graduated, positive attitudes toward conservatives dropped back to freshman-year levels, while opinions about liberals continued to improve.

Students attitudes toward political conservatives declined more sharply during college than their attitudes toward any other identity group the researchers asked about.