BOSTON--A majority of first-year college students consider their bachelor's degree a step toward graduate school, while education rivals business as a job goal, according to a newspaper survey of 900 students in the Class of 1993 at New England colleges.

"There's a feeling you can't do much with a liberal arts bachelor's degree." Brendan A. Maher, dean of Harvard's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences told the Boston Globe.

"It's sort of a necessary base, but it's not sufficient for gaining entry into a professional career," he added.

The Boston Globe-KRC Research survey fielded the opinions of first-year students at a dozen public and private colleges in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont. It included no margin of error because the survey was a sampling rather than a scientific poll, the paper said.

The survey showed that 82 percent of first-year students have an idea of what they want to do after college.

Business drew the interest of 23 percent, while education had 16 percent, law and government work showed 14 percent each. Communications and medicine each were cited by 12 percent of those surveyed as their chief career interest. Engineering was the goal of 5 percent, while computers, environmental fields and the arts had 3 percent each.

On choosing a career, 79 percent of the students--who could list more than one answer--said their interest in education was in finding "personal fulfillment and enjoyment," while 25 percent said they wanted a good salary and 24 percent sought to help improve the lives of others.

On a similar question with multiple answers possible, 53 percent of the students said college was a step to further educational goals, 37 percent wanted a liberal arts education and 21 percent sought from college the skills to get a job.

On political and social questions, 51 percent said they favored keeping abortion legal in all circumstances and 38 percent in some circumstances while 7 percent were opposed to abortion for any reason.

Despite the interest in education and helping others, 73 percent of the first-year students were opposed to the idea of requiring one year of volunteer service after graduation, while 17 percent were in favor.

On college rules, 77 percent opposed regulating visits by the opposite sex to their dorms, while 16 percent backed parietal regulations. Sixty-eight percent opposed colleges regulating use of alcohol in the dorms, while 25 percent supported rules.

A total of 69 percent were opposed while 23 percent favored removing the legal prohibition against using marijuana. Sentiment was almost even on the question of a U.S. amendment against desecrating the American flag.

As for the money to go to college, 66.5 percent of the students said it was coming from parents and family members, 13.5 percent said they relied on scholarships, 11.5 percent said they earned the money and 8.5 percent had loans.