Part of the admissions process requires that admissions officers select a demographically balanced student body. Ideally they have an already balanced applicant pool to select from. However this is not the case. According to an article in U.S.News & World Report more women than men are applying to college.
Currently about bout 60 percent of college students are comprised of women. With this, colleges face the issue of keeping a balance between men and women. Public colleges are less likely force a balance because of equal protection and Title IX laws, but private colleges have a bit more leeway in who they can admit and will typically try to achieve gender balance. Because of this, admissions departments may often select less qualified men over more qualified women to obtain a semblance of gender balance.
Why does gender balance matter? Some say that because the social aspect of college is a large part of campus life, schools feel that they need keep an even ratio of men and women. Schools would suffer if they became labeled as “mainly women” or “mainly men” institutions. Such labels would prevent either men or women from applying to a given school and could hurt overall application rates in the future. Therefore, schools will continue to rake the application field for optimal balance – even if it means turning away qualified women for lesser qualified men. This turn of events means that the admissions game is becoming more competitive for women, and they should take note and do what they can to stand out in the admissions process.
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