There appears to be a large discrepancy in the ethnicity of the classes at boarding schools. For example, SPS apparently has 2 black students in the entire school. Can that be right?
This is in contrast to Exeter with 181 black students
Do some schools factor in ethnicity more than others?
These numbers are wrong. At SPS, 39% are students of color: 10% Black, 5% Hispanic/Latino, 15% Asian, and 9% Other: http://www.sps.edu/page/about-sps/sps-facts
You’re right. Some BSs really value diversity. Choate is made up of something like 50% students of color. Agree that SPS seems like its diversisty is much lower than they profess. Look at the sports photos posted outside the gym. Very few URMs.
@prepparent, your bias is not based on facts: Choate has 31% students of color (http://www.wickenden.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Choate-Admission-Director-Opportunity-Statement.pdf), while SPS 39% (http://www.sps.edu/page/about-sps/sps-facts).
To verify the SPS figures, I just counted all Black and Hispanic/Latino students in the SPS directory: 90 out of 534, which is 17%. Another 15% are Asian.
One way SPS is able to maintain higher-than-average student diversity is through its regional scholarships, and by offering free tuition to students from families with annual household income up to $125,000.
Really?! 2 black students! My daughters small dorm @ SPS has more than 2 black students! In support of Goatmama, SPS’s student body is quite diverse- not only in terms of race. My daughters friends are biracial, hispanic, black, asian, gay, bisexual, muslim, catholic, jewish, liberal, socialist, republican… Not every student wants to be counted as a stat!
http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/top-twenty-schools-listing/highest-percentage-students-color
40% minority: Groton, Lawrenceville, Milton, Peddie, Andover, Exeter, St. Andrew’s (DE), St. Mark’s, Thatcher, Cate
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35-40% minority: St. Paul’s, Hill
30-35% minority: Concord Academy, Deerfield, George, Hotchkiss, Middlesex, Taft
25-30% minority: Choate, Dana Hall, Miss Porter’s, Westtown
20-25% minority: Berkshire, Loomis Chaffee, Solebury, Westover
15-20% minority: Blair, Brooks, Cushing Academy, Emma Willard, Episcopal High, Kent, Mercerburg, Northfield Mount Hermon, St. George’s, Suffield, Westminster, Williston North Hampton
10-15% minority: Avon Old Farm, Brewster, Hillside, Holderness, Lawrence Academy, Pomfret, Proctor Academy, Putney, Salisbury, Tabor
<10% minority: The Gunnery, Indian Mountain
Very interesting @GoatMama ! Thanks for pulling these together. In this application “round” I have visited schools from the top group down to the 15-20% group. Maybe I’m just used to the high level of diversity at Cate, but the difference between >40% and 15-20% was very noticeable to me. It’s not just the obvious “visible” diversity, but the feeling that there are a lot of different backgrounds on campus and not one dominant socio-economic group.
How is “minority” defined? My guess is that some of the above stats include Asians and some not. On Kent, from their website:
U.S. students come from 29 states, 18% are of color
Students from 39 countries represent 30% of the student body.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Let’s zoom in on the real question being asked, which was:
and dispense with trying to parse lies, damned lies, and statistics. Thanks.
@skieurope , It seems obvious that some do factor in ethnicity more than others but the real question is why? A commitment to diversity? Endowment size? Size and location of the school? % of boarders vs day students?
Anyone really interested in the why can just ask the schools themselves and come back to share what they find. Unless there are posters on this forum who are part of the decision-making processes at any of the schools in question, a discussion based on stats is just guesses, surmises and, perhaps, untruths. @GoatMama’s data simply says that the student population at some schools comprises more students of color than at others. The link posted also states:
So, read these stats carefully; they may not be comparing apples to apples. Also, this metric only considers (loosely) students of color (which is what the OP was asking) but does not reflect other diversity buckets, such as SES, sexuality, nationality, etc. Many characteristics of diversity are not apparent to the eye when walking a campus.
Personally I deplore social engineering to achieve diversity of color. Socioeconomic diversity is true diversity. Economics is really the main dividing point.
Yeah, as long as you have poor people and rich people together, that covers all experiences worth exploring. People of color do not being anything to the table. /sarcasm
Regarding the OP’s question:
What is the specific concern that you have? If, for example, you have a child who is applying who is an underrepresented minority, you might be concerned about how he/she will fit within the school culture. That would seem to be a very important consideration in picking which school to attend. Or perhaps your question is less about the school environment and more about the admissions process?
@AppleNotFar – Yes, student is URM and I was interested in understanding the apparently incorrectly reported SPS statistic. She likes SPS and was concerned about the culture there. I was surprised to see how the statistics were reported on the NCES site prompting the question. If the statistics are incorrect, then it is less concerning.
@heartburner, both @copperboom and I have freshmen girls at SPS. Since neither of us are URM, obviously our perspective is limited and imperfect. All I can say is that the freshmen class has 35% non-White kids, that my daughter’s closest friends include Black, Asian, Hispanic, and White girls and guys, and that I see lots of URMs in leadership positions (Form representatives, student council, club leaders, team captains).
My daughter was awarded a full regional scholarship, and before committing to SPS we asked many questions to determine if the school would be a good fit. After all, no one wants their kid to stick out as a sore thumb. So far she is really happy there, with a very diverse groups of friends in terms of race and ethnicity, geography, social status, political leanings, and sexual orientation. In her words, she has never felt so excited about school, looking forward to every class, enjoying the discussions, doing all readings without cutting corners. There is a very palpable sense of comminuty, and she just feels she belongs there. She couldn’t wait to go back after Christmas break.
I hope this gives you some idea. Best of luck!