Gender Gap in Colleges

According to an article recently published in the Los Angeles Times, the widening of the gender gap on college campuses have caused some alarm. Nowadays, there are more females applicants submitting college applications. Male applicants, on the other hand, have decreased. Thus, college campuses are faced with the question of either accepting the most qualified applicants regardless of his or her sex, or maintaining the female male ratio. For some universities, the balance between males and females on campus is extremely important. This need for balance however is more commonly found in private universities. For example, at Vassar College—initially an all women college—accepted 35% of its male applicants in comparison to 20% of female applicants. Even though the female applicants outnumbered the male applicants, more males were accepted. As for public universities, the discrepancy between female and male acceptances isn’t as apparent. This can be attributed to how public universities look at applicants; there is more of a focus on grades and test scores. Therefore, the importance of one’s gender in applying to college is alarming. Applicants may be more than qualified but small details such as one’s sex can guarantee a “yes” or “no” from a university.