College graduates were more likely to say it was still "alive" for them (58 percent), to just 42 percent of non-college graduates who said the same thing. | Getty | Getty Poll: Half of millennials say the American dream is dead

For nearly half of American millennials, the American dream is dead, according to the results of a new national poll from Harvard's Institute of Politics released Thursday.

Among those aged 18 to 29, 48 percent said it was "dead," and 49 percent said it was "alive." Among supporters of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, however, majorities of 61 percent and 56 percent said it was decidedly dead. College graduates were more likely to say it was still "alive" for them (58 percent), to just 42 percent of non-college graduates who said the same thing.


In the race for millennial Republicans' votes, Trump and Ben Carson lead the way but a majority overall said they would prefer a Democrat win next year's general election.

About 56 percent overall expressed a desire for the Democrats to maintain control of the White House, in line with the 55 percent who responded that way in the institute's spring survey. By contrast, just 36 percent said they wanted to see a Republican as the next president, a decrease of 4 points from April.

Among 472 potential Republican primary voters, Trump received 22 percent support, and Carson received 20 percent. Following them are Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, both at 7 percent, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, both at 6 percent. Other GOP candidates polled 3 percent or less.

Regardless of support, GOP primary voters were slightly more apt to label Carson as "qualified to be president" than they were Trump. About 43 percent said Carson fit the bill, while 17 percent said he is not qualified and 41 percent did not know. As for Trump, 38 percent called him qualified, while 39 percent said he is not and 22 percent did not know.

On immigration, Trump has called for the construction of a large wall on the border of U.S. and Mexico, a measure that 70 percent of Republicans aged 18 to 29 percent said they support. Just 31 percent of Democrats said they would support the idea. Overall, 53 percent said they would oppose it and 43 percent said they would support it.

As for their choice for the Democratic nominee, 41 percent of 751 potential primary voters opted for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton, who earned 35 percent. Roughly two in three Democratic voters said that Sanders' identity as a "democratic socialist" made no difference to them (66 percent), while 24 percent said it made them more likely to support him. Just 9 percent said it made their chances of supporting him less likely.

Asked which attributes matter most for selecting a president, 51 percent said "integrity," followed by "level-headedness" (33 percent) and authenticity (26 percent). Experience did not seem to matter much to the millennials participating in the poll —just 18 percent said political experience and 11 percent said business experience are the most valued qualities.

In early fall polling, IOP's findings suggested that millennials were also largely split on whether to send ground troops to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, at 48 percent each. Following the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, however, a full 60 percent supported sending ground troops, compared to 40 percent in opposition.

The survey was conducted online through the GfK Knowledge Panel from Oct. 30-Nov. 9, surveying 2,011 adults aged 18 to 29, with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.