<p>I think part of the reason why high school girls are outperforming boys and why there is a higher representation of females in higher education is because girls mature faster than boys. This is SO evident in my high school class. The girls have all the leadership positions, have incredible speaking skills, and amazing work ethics whereas the boys tend to “wake up” junior year and realize that they need to stop slacking off. By then it’s much too late though…</p>
<p>This definitely depends on which school or program you’re applying to–sometimes it’s easier for girls, sometimes it’s easier for guys. There’s no accurate blanket statement like “it’s easier for a guy.”</p>
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<p>Do you mean a white female listing an intended major of psychology, rather than some type of engineering, computer science, or physics?</p>
<p>Totally depends on what school and what you’re planning to study. At an engineering school, girls have the leg up! </p>
<p>“Do you mean a white female listing an intended major of psychology, rather than some type of engineering, computer science, or physics?”</p>
<p>I imagine that with the STEM courses girls may have a leg up. The admissions counselor that I was speaking to was talking about general admissions. We were not speaking of a specific major.</p>
<p>I agree with a lot being said here. Girls have been encouraged and given a lot of attention in schools the last 15 or so years. They are excelling past a lot of boys. Add to that, and our Headmaster in his experience bemoans this, that boys are consumed by video games and other distractions, and the are falling far behind. My sis in law (now 60) was a real feminist. She had two boys (now 26 and 22). She is a rocket scientist (literally). She has cut back her research jobs, and started to teach. When she started to substitute at public high schools about 12 years ago, she thought she’d find a bunch of downtrodden, ignored girls. I tried to tell her otherwise, but she had to see it herself. The boys were the ones ignored. She was shocked. She now teaches at a state university in California (science) and finds the same thing. Now she is an advocate for the boys.</p>
<p>well you won’t get pregnant like me. guys are the worst -____-</p>
<p>will being pregnant at my interview effect my college chances?</p>
<p>True story: when we toured a highly regarded private university in CA with my S2, the tour guide bluntly told us the school had what he dubbed a “penis package,” due to the 70/30 split of females/males in the student body. School was striving for more balance, and thus males not only had an easier time getting in, but were also given more merit $ as an incentive to attend. S2 was accepted but chose another school. However, a male friend of his did end up attending and indeed he was given very generous aid.</p>
<p>Brown last year</p>
<p>M: 1288/11383 = 11,3%
F: 1471/17359 = 8.5%</p>
<p>Pomona last year</p>
<p>M; 474/2802 = 17%
F: 522/4351 = 12%</p>
<p>That’s a pretty significant difference to be honest. I should have looked into this more before applying.</p>
<p>It’s quite obvious that females have a better chance at MIT (males have a much more competitive environment to face).</p>
<p>In some areas, just as it’s easier for women in others! I’ll certainly be taking into considering this inequality when applying :). Standard oven temperature graph haha</p>
<p>Read Helen Smith’s Men on Strike. It gives an insight not just to the lack of men in education, but also in marriage and fatherhood. Here is a link to an interview of hers:
<a href=“Welcome To "Girlington": Helen Smith On How College Is Becoming A Hostile Working Environment For Men”>http://www.forbes.com/sites/jerrybowyer/2014/01/28/welcome-to-girlington-helen-smith-on-how-college-is-becoming-a-hostile-working-environment-for-men/</a></p>
<p>Basically here are a few of her points:
- 70% of adults now have a college degree, and more men are seeing college as a “commodity” (because it is so common now) that isn’t worth the effort.
- The environment of colleges is becoming, according to her, more women-centric and hostile to men. 60% of college students are now women, legitimate college majors exist for women’s studies, and rules and codes-of-conducts made by colleges leave loopholes where women can accuse men of sexual assault freely without a high chance of the man being innocent and them facing repercussions (think of the girl who was “drugged” at a fraternity party when in reality she was drunk on her own accord).
- Men are finding other alternatives to the ever-rising price of college, such as trade schools, community colleges and apprenticeships, that suit their financial situation to a higher degree than college.</p>
<p>Basically, she is stating that college (like marriage and fatherhood) is having higher risks and repercussions than benefits because of a change in society and a view towards men in education/marriage/fathership.</p>
<p>It is deemed favorable by a college to have a 50/50 M/F ratio. It makes the colleges more appealing to both genders. Although note that this is not a concern of public schools as they are typically gender blind.<br>
Other schools that do not have to worry about gender imbalance: Top tiered, Colleges with STEM and colleges with Big Football. They are attracting plenty of male applicants.
Everyone else is competing for the male student. So a very good second tiered school might have lower admission requirements for a guy so that the school can try to keep obtain the 50/50% ratio.</p>
<p>I consider myself a feminist, and I am concerned about the gender imbalance at most colleges. Rather than blaming women or affirmative action for the situation, we should be looking into why so many boys are ill prepared for college. What are they doing in high school? How many boys in high school are actively engaged with reading and writing? Or, are too many of them majoring in goofing off or doing the bare minimum… Our emphasis on sports as a vehicle to get to college may also be backfiring. There are (of course) many well-qualified young men, but there are too many who are adrift</p>
<p>@opine
I consider myself an egalitarian humanitarian (in regards to opportunity and as should all good people, IMO).I agree we should continue to study and fix the gender imbalance problem (as we have done in the past for the lack of females in tertiary education). I’m against the system of affirmative action to benefit males, just like I think it wrong for AA to benefit females. </p>
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<p>Don’t know where she got her numbers from, but <a href=“http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p20-566.pdf”>http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p20-566.pdf</a> (table 1, page 6) says that college degree holders (associates or bachelor’s degree or more) were 39.0% of the people age 25-34 in 2009 (30.9% if including only bachelor’s degree or more holders).</p>
<p>@opine1</p>
<p>Pinpointing youth male behavior as “majoring in goofing off or doing the bare minimum” is absolutely absurd. Goofing around in high school and even in college is not exclusive to either gender. Trying to shift the blame to young males as a way to explain gender imbalance is inane. </p>
<p>I didn’t read through all the posts, so sorry if this was already written. My father, who loves analyzing college stuff for fun, says that it’s easier for females to get in if the school or major is a STEM branch. If it is a humanities major, its harder for females and easier for males because so many females love psychology. I’m also not trying to be sexist, just adding my $.02.</p>
<p>This is such an old thread, but I agree with @RedSn0w, @opine1. You’re trying to blame the victims of a systematic problem. It’s not their fault, they’re being discriminated against by a system built to help women. </p>