More women, better odds for freshmen men??
Higher perecentage of women on campus reflects national trend
Juliana D'Amico
Issue date: 9/11/08 Section: News
If every Hillsdale College freshman started dating tomorrow, 45 single women would still roam Hillsdale's campus.
The 2012 freshman class is full of females, bringing the all-school men-to-women ratio to 42-58.
"This year we had a lot more girls," Assistant Director of Admissions Andrea Yeutter said. "That's pretty atypical."
Dean of Women Diane Philipp said Hillsdale is not the only liberal arts college with more females. Many schools are receiving more females' applications than ever.
Some call this a national trend, while others suggest that this is normal for liberal arts colleges while a higher male population is normal for colleges that specialize in technology.
The gender gap between men and women will only increase because more women and fewer men are attending college, says data released in 2005 from the National Center for Educational Statistics. Female college and university students have outnumbered men since fall 2003.
Regardless of this increase, Hillsdale's policy of non-discrimination remains the same.
"We [in admissions] don't ever try to sculpt our student body," Yeutter said. "Gender is never a criterion in admission, so we never know from year to year what our male to female ration will be."
Yeutter said Hillsdale has a more equal ratio than most liberal arts schools.
"The only reason we ask [applicants] to indicate whether they are male or female is so we can address them properly and if they enroll put them in the right dorm," Yeutter said. "Hillsdale has always been a pioneer in educating women - we were the first college in the county to put a non-discriminatory clause in our charter."
Giving men an advantage in applications may be easier than trying to shuffle students among dormitory halls - one reason Koon Residence keeps switching between a male and female dormitory - but Hillsdale accommodates the students they admit regardless of housing problems.
Yeutter said admitting students based on gender flies in the face of fairness.
"Hillsdale truly believes in equality, in the worth, value and dignity of human beings in their ability to live to their fullest potential," Yeutter said.
But accommodating a higher number of female students is not an easy task.
"Housing was a challenge," Philipp said.
Philipp said six freshmen are living in Benzing Residence, which usually only houses upperclassmen.
Philipp also said all the seniors who wanted to live off-campus received permission this semester.
The college owns several houses that the maintenance department fixed up to house more females.
The 2012 freshman class is full of females, bringing the all-school men-to-women ratio to 42-58.
"This year we had a lot more girls," Assistant Director of Admissions Andrea Yeutter said. "That's pretty atypical."
Dean of Women Diane Philipp said Hillsdale is not the only liberal arts college with more females. Many schools are receiving more females' applications than ever.
Some call this a national trend, while others suggest that this is normal for liberal arts colleges while a higher male population is normal for colleges that specialize in technology.
The gender gap between men and women will only increase because more women and fewer men are attending college, says data released in 2005 from the National Center for Educational Statistics. Female college and university students have outnumbered men since fall 2003.
Regardless of this increase, Hillsdale's policy of non-discrimination remains the same.
"We [in admissions] don't ever try to sculpt our student body," Yeutter said. "Gender is never a criterion in admission, so we never know from year to year what our male to female ration will be."
Yeutter said Hillsdale has a more equal ratio than most liberal arts schools.
"The only reason we ask [applicants] to indicate whether they are male or female is so we can address them properly and if they enroll put them in the right dorm," Yeutter said. "Hillsdale has always been a pioneer in educating women - we were the first college in the county to put a non-discriminatory clause in our charter."
Giving men an advantage in applications may be easier than trying to shuffle students among dormitory halls - one reason Koon Residence keeps switching between a male and female dormitory - but Hillsdale accommodates the students they admit regardless of housing problems.
Yeutter said admitting students based on gender flies in the face of fairness.
"Hillsdale truly believes in equality, in the worth, value and dignity of human beings in their ability to live to their fullest potential," Yeutter said.
But accommodating a higher number of female students is not an easy task.
"Housing was a challenge," Philipp said.
Philipp said six freshmen are living in Benzing Residence, which usually only houses upperclassmen.
Philipp also said all the seniors who wanted to live off-campus received permission this semester.
The college owns several houses that the maintenance department fixed up to house more females.
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