| Show Educations Education's Growing Gender Gap Peter PeterY Y Hong Los Angeles Times When admissions officers officers officers cers for Santa Clara University recruit new freshmen they do their best to reach the kind of lof students they'd like to seemore see seemore seemore more of on the Silicon Valley campus boys We make a special pitch to them to talk about the benefits of Santa Clara as we do for other underrepresented groups Charles Nolan Santa Claras Clara's vice provost for admissions admissions' said of the schools school's efforts to boost male applicants Its It's a startling development develop develop- ment to anyone who remembers that Santa Clara was all male until 1960 But the run Jesuit-run school reflects an important tant transformation of American college life A Among ong the undergraduates at Santa Clara 57 percent are female That matches the percentage of US U.S. bachelor bachelors bachelor's bachelors bachelor's bach bach- elors elor's s degrees now awarded to women a demographic shift that has accelerated since women across the country coun coun- co country un- un try began to attend col- col Gender Gap continued on page 6 j- j 4 1 f f E Ej Eo o j 1 o JI JIo o cr I Io o o c a 0 ajr o oe e H jr VI c VIo o It 3 Freshman Jason Clark appears to be in a minority in his class at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara Calif Women are now in the majority on many campuses across the United States s It Gender Gap continued from front lege at a higher rate than men about a decade ago Today many colleges particularly selective residential residential residential resi resi- schools face a dilemma unthinkable a generation generation generation gen gen- ago To place well in influential influential influential college rankings those schools must enroll as many top high school students as they can and most of those students are female Administrators are watching watching watching watch watch- ing closely for the tipping point at which schools scho become unappealing to both men and women They fear that lopsided male-female male ratios will hurt the social life and diverse classrooms they use as selling points Despite employing the same tactics used for years to lure ethnic minority students students students stu stu- stu- stu dents few colleges say they give admissions preferences to boys But high school counselors counselors counselors coun coun- and admissions experts say they believe it is happening At some schools its it's definitely a strategic advantage advantage advantage tage to be male said Chuck Hughes a former fonner Harvard admissions officer who is isnow isnow isnow now a private admissions counselor and author of What it Really Takes to Get into the Ivy League and Other Highly Selective C Colleges ll Vincent Garcia a college counselor at the Los Angeles prep school Campbell Hall said liberal- liberal arts colleges especially can be more forgiving of the occasional B or even a Crom C from rom a boy Sometimes the expectation is is a little bit less than for girls he said At Santa Clara admission standards have risen along with female enrollment and officials say those are not eased for boys But for the past two years the college has targeted special mailings mailings mail mail- mailings ings to high school boys Current students also telephone every accepted male to encourage him to attend something that is not done for every girl So far Santa Claras Clara's change into a major female ity campus has been more evolution than revolution Football was dropped in 1993 Now thousands of students instead fill the stadium stadium stadium sta sta- sta- sta to cheer the women's soccer team Women routinely routinely routinely rou rou- hold most of the campus campus campus cam cam- pus leadership positions If students complain about the gender mix it is usually with a sense of humor My friends tell me meI I should switch my major to engineering if I want a boyfriend joked student government president and studies religious-studies major Annie citi citing g one I of th the few mostly m l ss s's 2 on campus Researchers are divided about the causes and extent of the college gender gap Some say the gap is limited limited limited limit limit- ed to lower-income lower students and minorities with girls from those populations more likely to attend col col- col- col lege and b boys ys more likely togo togo to togo go directly to work or the military Affluent white males areat areat are areat at least as likely to attend college as their female counterparts according to those experts Others say the gap crosses race and class lines Whatever the case the highly selective colleges attracting affluent students are also getting more and academically stronger applications from women than men Mark Hatch dean of admissions at Colorado College said his school admits a higher percentage of female applicants because in some ways they're stronger period The Colorado Springs liber liber- arts al-arts college maintains a 53 percent female enroll enroll- ment We could get to 50 Hatch said but doing so would require easing admissions admissions admissions standards for boys to a point that would make makels us uncomfortable A former counselor at two Los Angeles high JI Ha Hatch h j L college admi admissions As n the e developmental lag rears Its ItS ugly head High schoolboys school schoolboys schoolboys boys are more likely to belate belate be belate late bloomers sometimes not hitting their academic stride until their junior year he explained That Hatch said can hurt u in rank and cumulative grade average Campuses with an even male-female male ratio are now the exception rather than the rule The colleges with very abundant and strong male applicant pools tend to emphasize engineering science science science ence and business or be besuch besuch besuch such marquee schools as Stanford and most most- Ivy League colleges But many of the finest liberal-arts liberal colleges and top national universities such as Georgetown Boston University Emory Brown Tulane a North Northwestern estem enroll more women than men New York Unive University sity which has no engineering engineer engineer- ing school or time big-time sports exemplifies the phenomenon NYU is now among the most sought-after sought schools in the country with more than applicants annually 60 percent female the same percentage that make up its undergraduate enroll enroll- ment But as academic standards standards stan- stan dards have climbed the 60 40 ratio also reflects NYU's refusal to lower admissions standards for males said Matthew NYU's dean of arts and sciences said he was watching closely for any negative effects When J I hear near students have that Double trouble the meeting classroom friends is no longer diverse that's that when policies could change he said A At 60 Percent women those problems haven't haven come up but if lf it turns turned to 80 20 it ferent could be a different different dif dif- matter j |
