Campus Diversity at Top Schools

College Search & Selection
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<p>I thought this was interesting, I have noticed a lot of threads with people incorrectly citing diversity. This is the real deal, I think its pretty interesting how some schools have really boosted diversity in recent years. The California/ tech schools have the lead (with huge asian populations). And all the ivies are all about the same!</p>

<p>From USNEWS 2005 - School Diversity index (1.0=highest) </p>

<p>Stanford University (CA) 0.68<br>
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology 0.65
Univ. of California–Los Angeles * 0.65
University of California–Berkeley * 0.63
California Institute of Technology 0.56 </p>

<p>Harvard University (MA) 0.53<br>
Rice University (TX) 0.52<br>
Columbia University (NY) 0.50
Duke University (NC) 0.49
Princeton University (NJ) 0.49
Tufts University (MA) 0.49
University of Pennsylvania 0.49
Dartmouth College (NH) 0.48<br>
Yale University (CT) 0.48<br>
Brown University (RI) 0.47<br>
Johns Hopkins University (MD) 0.47
University of Chicago 0.47<br>
Cornell University (NY) 0.46<br>
Emory University (GA) 0.46<br>
Northwestern University (IL) 0.46
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor * 0.44</p>

<p>Georgetown University (DC) 0.37
Washington University in St. Louis 0.37
U. of North Carolina–Chapel Hill * 0.34
University of Notre Dame (IN) 0.32<br>
College of William and Mary (VA)* 0.30<br>
Vanderbilt University (TN) 0.30
Wake Forest University (NC) 0.22</p>

2

<p>Thanks for the information, slipper1234.</p>

3

<p>California Ivies rock.</p>

4

<p>Here it is for the top Liberal Arts Colleges.</p>

<p>Some shockers here. Like Bowdoin WAY more diverse than Bates, or Washington and Lee WAY below William and Mary. </p>

<p>School Diversity index (1.0=highest) </p>

<p>Wellesley College (MA) 0.55
Swarthmore College (PA) 0.52
Amherst College (MA) 0.50
Pomona College (CA) 0.45
Williams College (MA) 0.44
Haverford College (PA) 0.42
Smith College (MA) 0.41<br>
Wesleyan University (CT) 0.40
Bowdoin College (ME) 0.37
Oberlin College (OH) 0.36
Vassar College (NY) 0.35
Carleton College (MN) 0.33
Middlebury College (VT) 0.32
Grinnell College (IA) 0.27<br>
Hamilton College (NY) 0.25
Colgate University (NY) 0.24
Macalester College (MN) 0.24
College of the Holy Cross (MA) 0.22
Davidson College (NC) 0.22<br>
Colby College (ME) 0.20
Reed College (OR) 0.19<br>
Bates College (ME) 0.15
Washington and Lee University (VA) 0.15</p>

5

<p>It's perhaps my biggest problem with lesser known but still academically challenging schools, some have a 1% black population, and the same for hispanic. I'm all for being friendly and making friends across the board, but when I look at a collegewebsite and I'll be 1 of 9 black students, I start to back away.</p>

6

<p>I think its funny how people "lump" certain schools together, like Princeton and Davidson, when these schools are very different in terms of diversity.</p>

7

<p>What do those numbers mean? Clearly they aren't percentages...</p>

<p>Diversity means different thinks to different people. If you come from a high school that's 99% white, a college that's 80% white will seem diverse. However if you go to a high school like I did where the white population is only around 50%, then no top school will seem diverse.</p>

<p>When I first got to school, many times this thought crossed my mind: "... there's a lot of white people here."</p>

8

<p>Um... does the number serve as a comparative index, statistical variable?</p>

9

<p>Yeah but its not about perspective, its about comparing the different schools to each other.</p>

<p>As for methodology...from Usnews...
Collegebound students who believe that studying with people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds is important will want to consider student-body diversity when choosing a school. To identify colleges where students are most likely to encounter undergraduates from racial or ethnic groups different from their own, U.S. News factors in the total proportion of minority students–leaving out international students–and the overall mix of groups. The data are drawn from each institution's 2003-2004 student body. The categories we use in our calculations are American Indians and Alaskan Natives (Native Americans), Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, African-Americans who are non-Hispanic, whites who are non-Hispanic, and Hispanics. Students who did not identify themselves as members of any demographic group were classified as whites who are non-Hispanic. Our formula produces a diversity index that ranges from 0.0 to 1.0. The closer a school's number is to 1.0, the more diverse is the student population. This methodology was created by Philip Meyer and Shawn McIntosh and published in 1992 in the International Journal of Public Opinion Research</p>

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<p>Thsi would be more useful if it was combined with the international student population, (less Canadian students <g>.)</g></p>

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<p>I would think it probably does include minority international students (who still check the minority box), but I could be wrong.</p>

12

<p>Does that mean my HS which was 60% Asian, 39% white, and 1% everyone else is VERY DIVERSE under this methodology?</p>

13

<p>slipper - your methodology quote specifically indicates that internationals are not counted.</p>