The long held notion that colleges were primarily ‘good old boy’ networks for grooming young men is decidedly dead. Today, more girls than boys are enrolling and being accepted into across the country according to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times.
Equally outdated is the stereotype of colleges being an unofficial marriage market for young women; today more degrees are conferred on women than men.
The question to ask yourself is this…can you use the new gender rules to your favor when scouting colleges? The answer is ‘Yes’. The LA Times reports that due to the paucity of male applicants, particularly for former women’s colleges such as Vassar or Pomona, admissions requirements are more relaxed as these schools strive for better enrollment balance. So if you are a guy still looking for college, applying to these schools would give you a big boost as these schools seek to swell their populations of male students.
Conversely, for the girls, it is important to understand that today’s demographics work against you in many, but not all cases. With so many other girls enrolling in schools across the country, it becomes more difficult to stand out particularly to those schools that have a strong women’s history. However, a review of your application strategy can serve you well. Instead of the prestigious girls schools, particularly private institutions, consider instead the premier state schools. These strong schools deliberately avoid gender enrollment policies and instead focus on sheer accomplishment and merit. While the total number of applicants may be higher, so are the enrollment capacities. In addition, many applicants to the top state schools don’t pass muster while many of the elite students are fighting for limited space in the prestigious (and expensive) private institutions. These factors combine to free up a generous zone of admissions for many accomplished female applicants.
For further reading of the original article, please click the following link: http://www.educationnews.org/higher_education/34144.html
The long held notion that colleges were primarily ‘good old boy’ networks for grooming young men is decidedly dead. Today, more girls than boys are enrolling and being accepted into colleges across the country according to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times.
Equally outdated is the stereotype of colleges being an unofficial marriage market for young women; today more degrees are conferred on women than men.
The question to ask yourself is this…can you use the new gender rules to your favor when scouting colleges? The answer is ‘Yes’. The LA Times reports that due to the paucity of male applicants, particularly for former women’s colleges such as Vassar or Pomona, admissions requirements are more relaxed as these schools strive for better enrollment balance. So if you are a guy still looking for college, applying to these schools would give you a big boost as these schools seek to swell their populations of male students.
Conversely, for the girls, it is important to understand that today’s demographics work against you in many, but not all cases. With so many other girls enrolling in schools across the country, it becomes more difficult to stand out particularly to those schools that have a strong women’s history. However, a review of your application strategy can serve you well. Instead of the prestigious girls schools, particularly private institutions, consider instead the premier state schools. These strong schools deliberately avoid gender enrollment policies and instead focus on sheer accomplishment and merit. While the total number of applicants may be higher, so are the enrollment capacities. In addition, many applicants to the top state schools don’t pass muster while many of the elite students are fighting for limited space in the prestigious (and expensive) private institutions. These factors combine to free up a generous zone of admissions for many accomplished female applicants.
For further reading of the original article, please click the following link: http://www.educationnews.org/higher_education/34144.html
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