Diversity and GPA

Colleges & Universities A-Z Bucknell University
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<p><a href=“http://www.bucknell.edu/documents/InstitutionalResearch/CDS2007_2008C.pdf[/url]”>http://www.bucknell.edu/documents/InstitutionalResearch/CDS2007_2008C.pdf</a>
<a href=“http://www.bucknell.edu/documents/InstitutionalResearch/CDS2007_2008B.pdf[/url]”>http://www.bucknell.edu/documents/InstitutionalResearch/CDS2007_2008B.pdf</a>
After looking over 2007-2008 Common Data Set , I am interested in Bucknell alumni , students, and parent perspective on 2 points.</p>

<p>1- Is the University looking to make the campus more diverse , I see that only 225 students are African American or Hispanic , about 6% of the student body.</p>

<p>2- Average high school GPA of incoming freshman is 3.54 ? Considering the competetive nature of Bucknell , I would have guessed the avg GPA would be higher.Is this accurate , and is there a median GPA published anywhere?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for your input.</p>

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<p>I am a BU alumni and have a child attending BU in the fall as a first year. Your question disturbed me for several reasons–

  1. Many of my “white” daughter’s close relatives (ie cousins, nieces, etc) are hispanic or african american–so what! If BU has 6%, 20% or 50% “protected classes,” it would not make her education better or worse.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>When I went to BU , the percentage of black/hispanic students was probably less. However some of my closest friends were from the group we now claim as adding to the diversity percentage (ie, black, hispanic and even gay!)</p></li>
<li><p>Studies (this has not been widely studied, or at least with conclusive evidence) show that students can be equally educated in homogeneius or diversified groups.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>So my point is, if you are open-minded at BU, you’re OK. If you are closed-minded and bigoted at BU, you will be this way anywhere. If you are at BU for a world class education, you can get it. Be open, be curious and be adventerious. And go for the most challenging courses. You will get a world class education.</p>

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<p>morrismm :Thank you for your reply , I did not intend to disturb with the inquiry.</p>

<p>Bucknell is appealing for its world class education and long record of academic success.</p>

<p>My question is not whether you can receive a world class education but is Bucknell as an institution is satisfied with minimal minority representation on the campus.
The issue goes to the “bubble environment” at numerous liberal arts universities.
Bucknell is not alone with this diversity dilemma.</p>

<p>I am not looking to debate the merits of campus diversity , there is another long winded thread on this forum for that.</p>

<p>Thanks for your consideration.</p>

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<p>as another alumnus, i can tell you that bucknell is definitely trying to diversify its campus. unfortunately, the schools that face the hardest time diversifying are generally small, rural and not very diverse. unfortunately (in this regard), bucknell is fairly small, rural and not very diverse.</p>

<p>progress is being made, however. comparing the 2002 and 2008 common data sets is an easy way to look at increasing minority enrollments. since 2001-2002, minority groups have seen the following levels of growth in enrollment:</p>

<p>international, 78%
black, 15%
american indian, 23%
asian, 26%
hispanic, 29%</p>

<p>obviously, the overall numbers still arent great. but continually increased funding for ‘campus enrichment’ is planned and, as such, i would expect continued minority enrollment growth going forward.</p>

<hr>

<p>on the gpa question, keep in mind that all schools are free to report gpas in whatever form they wish. given the high percentage of bucknell students who graduated in the top deciles of their high schools classes, an average gpa of around 3.6 likely refers to unweighted gpa in academic classes only. top decile numbers are perfectly comparable from institution to institution, but they are a much better indicator of high school performance than reported average gpa.</p>

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<p>As a Bucknell student about to begin my sophomore year, I agree with ericatbucknell—Bucknell IS making progress in diversifying its student body. But most importantly, Bucknell has embarked upon what I believe to be a unique program called the Bucknell Community College Scholars Program, which will enable low-income community college students to complete their undergraduate education on our campus. And while it does not address diversity (maybe as directly as Brave Ulysses would like it)–I think it does address getting different types of students on campus. I think about five community colleges are partnering with Bucknell as part of a national initiative by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. From what I have read about the program, Bucknell is one of eight universities (Amherst, Cornell, Mount Holyoke, University of California-Berkeley,University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, and the University of Southern California) to partner with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation in an effort to increase the opportunities for high-achieving, low-income community college students to earn a bachelor’s degree from a selective school.Through the program with the Cooke Foundation, community college students who are good students will have the opportunity to transfer to a school such as Bucknell to continue their education. While I don’t think it addresses everything in the diversity arena–I do think the program will add students who might not ever have a chance to attend a place like Bucknell. Sure, not every student from this program will be African American or Hispanic. But more importantly, Bucknell is continuing to recognize all kinds of students as potential Bucknellians. The kids here are great, hard working students–so I’m not sure what Brave Ulysses is implying about the school by saying the average freshman incoming GPA being at 3.54. Hey–we’re not Yale, Harvard, Princeton kids–and that’s a good thing IMO. Most everyone on our campus that I have met (or by my observation) appears to be bright, very focused, hard working, energetic–and most importantly friendly and nice. I was drawn to Bucknell because I knew I would get a great education–and I am getting one that is challenging, as well. A 3.54 is good starting point for most freshmen–but be advised getting A’s here is not easy. The great thing about Bucknell that I like most is that it’s a place to make friends easily…ericatbucknell would agree with me-and you can trust his appraisals from all of his posts about Bucknell–and if you are accepted here–you will get a super education–AND be surrounded by a lot of very nice people-it doesn’t get any better than that–that’s why we are all so loyal to Bucknell!</p>

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<p>just to add to aberdeens point, bucknell has also recently implemented a campus enrichment scholarship program, which offers scholarship money to underrepresented minorities, among other desired groups. further, the university has also partnered with the posse foundation, which now sends about 20 low income, high potential, ethnically diverse, urban students to bucknell every year. a chief diversity officer has also been hired.</p>

<p>the main problem, as mentioned in passing above, is that it is very difficult to attract minority students to a campus with few enrolled minorities. hopefully the kinds of programs mentioned above will help to establish a larger critical mass of diversity on campus that will, in turn, attract more diverse students going forward.</p>

<p>regardless, diversity–in all its forms–is definitely a university priority. heck, it is one of five main goals of the university going forward as established in the schools thematic document, ‘the plan for bucknell.’ </p>

<p>[The</a> Plan for Bucknell || Office of the President || Bucknell University](<a href=“http://www.bucknell.edu/x37863.xml]The”>http://www.bucknell.edu/x37863.xml)</p>

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<p>Eric & aberdeen , thank you for your thoughtful and enlightening replies.</p>

<p>Just a quick note about my queries , they are not meant to imply anything and are not asked with a predisposed agenda.
I ask questions and look for perspective from those that have first hand knowledge so I can educate myself on a particular issue.</p>

<p>You both have answered in away that I can better understand the University and help me with decisions down the road.</p>

<p>Eric, your link led me to this page which was very helpful. </p>

<p>[Enhance</a> Diversity || The Plan for Bucknell || Bucknell University](<a href=“http://www.bucknell.edu/x37878.xml]Enhance”>http://www.bucknell.edu/x37878.xml)</p>

<p>Enhance Diversity
Bucknell will adopt an unwavering commitment to diversity in all its forms. This commitment will be carried out within a civil, supportive, and nurturing environment of open exchange.</p>

<p>Last part of my question , is there a median freshman GPA published ?</p>

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<p>The average GPA of an incoming student in the class of 2011 was 3.66 unweighted according to:</p>

<p>[Profile:</a> Class of 2012 || Bucknell University](<a href=“http://www.bucknell.edu/x22022.xml]Profile:”>http://www.bucknell.edu/x22022.xml)</p>

<p>The full stats for the class of 2012 aren’t available yet, but I’m sure they’ll be provided in the next few months.</p>

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<p>the 3.66 is the avg of admitted , 3,54 is the avg of the enrolled , i was looking for the median to see if it deviated from the average.</p>

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<p>My D really liked Bucknell and it is at the top of her list, pretty much on an equal par with one other school. Bucknell’s advantages - academically rigorous and challenging, it’s a good fit, she loves everything about it, it is closer to home than the other school (3 hours vs. 8 hours), better program in her area of interest. Advantage of the other school - academically up and coming and building a good reputation (but not at the level of Bucknell), it’s a good fit, she loves everything about it, the program in her area of interest is solid (but not at the level as at Bucknell), and, a biggie, COA is significantly less and she is likely to get some good merit aid/scholarship aid so that the bottom line cost to us will be under $20K/year, possibly significantly below $20K.</p>

<p>This is where I get to the diversity part of the post. Although she is only one-quarter, she does qualify as Hispanic (I’m 1/2 - my father originally from Central America). She is interested in engineering (mechanical or civil/environmental), has great scores, grades, very challenging HS curriculum, good activities. So, here’s the diversity question:</p>

<p>So for a high-achieving Hispanic female looking at engineering is Bucknell’s commitment to increasing its diversity serious enough to result in any significant aid?</p>

<p>Because absent $15-20K in grants/scholarships, Bucknell probably won’t make the list for serious consideration, and to truly be competitive, it probably needs to offer more like $25K so that our out-of-pocket is under $25K/year. It will have to compete with our state university (a very good one) that will probably be somewhere around $10-12K and possibly even less; a large Mid-Western university and a large Southwestern university that cold offered major dollars (as in less than $10K cost to us) based solely on Hispanic status, SAT scores, and National Hispanic Merit finalist status (these have stayed in as financial safeties and because she is somewhat tickled to get the offers); a neighboring state small university (a good one) that is very affordable and that has already offered some scholarship funds (and has been lusting after students from her high school - she would be the first); the other school at the top of her list; and the “Public Ivy” that her parents attended and her brother attends (which she loves, and is “perfect in all ways”, except that it doesn’t really have the right programs for her and it is kind of expensive for a public - out-of-state tuition with 7-8% increases every year her brother has been there). There is also another well-regarded PA private university known for its engineering that is on the list but we have the same concerns with its cost as with Bucknell and, while my D likes it, she likes Bucknell and the other school at the top of her list significantly more.</p>

<p>I think that Bucknell is the best fit for her but there are at least three other really good alternatives that are likely to be significantly less expensive, and a couple of other options that would be acceptable, especially considering the bargain prices. </p>

<p>Anyway, I would appreciate any comments on Bucknell’s financial support of its diversity efforts. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>k9, bucknell is currently looking at making some modifications to its financial aid policy, so im not sure anyone is in a position to answer your question. that said, the current scope of the diversity effort comes in the form of campus enrichment scholarships, which are worth $6,000 (above need) annually. </p>

<p>anyway, my recommendation for EVERYONE this year is simple: apply early and often with an open mind. bucknell might come through with a great package while a similar school might offer a horrible one. or bucknell might be the school that offers the weaker package. its just difficult to predict much at this point because spendable income from endowment is WAY down across the board, so schools are going to have to get a bit creative with budgets next year. some of that creativity will be manifest in financial aid, which is a huge institutional expenditure.</p>

<p>that might mean more merit/targeted aid at one school to keep up sat and diversity numbers at the expense of a financially diverse class. it might mean the elimination of a merit program at a peer school in order fulfill greater need-based financial aid demands.</p>

<p>right now, theres no way of knowing which school is which. so spend the extra $50 and apply to both. this year more than most, it will likely be worth it.</p>