<p>^^^This is why you should visit the school and make your own judgement.</p>
<p>"Ms. Tatum, who is black, says she is perusing college guidebooks for her son, a high-school junior, as he begins his college search. Specifically, she's looking for statistics on the proportion of black students and faculty members. "Students of color do better in places where they are not tokenized," she says. "
Ironic. Wouldn't a disproportionately large number of black professors indicate tokenism?</p>
<p>Would a disproportionately large number of white professors indicate racism?</p>
<p>Wouldn't a school with 100 percent female students represent sexism?</p>
<p>Fair question - which is precisely why Ashernm's speculation makes absolutely no sense.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Wouldn't a disproportionately large number of black professors indicate tokenism?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The list of colleges with a disproportionally large number of black professors (or non-white professors) would be very short indeed.</p>
<p>On a side note: I totally concure with AdmissionsRep that looking at the history of colleges is a particularly useful tool for evaluating many aspects of campus culture, including diversity and the racial climate. While the history of signficant Af-Am enrollment only goes back four or five decades, determining when each school lifted its "jew quota" could be useful in considering campus culture on diversity issues. I believe it is also useful to look at the composition of the school's governing board. Is it just white males? Are women represented proportionally to enrollment? Are there black board members? Jewish board members? Looking beyond the viewbook verbiage is required if you want to get a real picture.</p>
<p>A second useful tool is to do some campus newspaper searches. I would, of course, look at the enrollment data by race and the make-up of the faculty and tenure-track faculty.</p>
<p>A second note: I disagree with Ashernm on the importance of diversity in the college selection process. Personally, I view a diverse student body (and a culture of interaction) as a very important criteria. Having said that, I do think that you have to evaluate each school in the context of its geographic region and/or degree to which the school pulls from a national customer base. For example, even if Vanderbilt had prioritized diversity as heavily as Harvard, I doubt that it could have achieved the same numeric results.</p>
<p>Compare with the presence of black professors at colleges in general. If a college has a disproportionately large number of black professors, than more likely than not it is engaged in efforts to diversify its faculty, which would qualify as tokenism in my book, as opposed to hiring the most able candidate.</p>
<p>Blacks are under represented in obtaining Phds. They currently obtain about 9% of Phds.</p>
<p>If students must lobby the school to obtain professors of 'color,' ie, schools are reluctant to hire black professors of their own volition, then black Phds are either of insufficient quantity, or of insufficient quantity, or both. Or, for some reason, after recieving a Phd, they exit the academic field (unlikely). </p>
<p>The argument would be consummately solved by a comparison of productivity, via comparing journal publication rates. Alas, I cannot currently find as much. For now, I revert to my other arguments. If you care to argue, at least try to refute the logic instead of making a blanket attack.</p>
<p>"determining when each school lifted its "jew quota" could be useful in considering campus culture on diversity issues."
If everyone followed your advice, the campuses would be a lot less diverse, making me quite literally scratch my head at your advice. I don't think any jews are refraining from applying to elite schools because of percieved discrimination. Jews are quite overrepresented at most elite college campuses. Harvard was 20-25% jewish, and columbia 40% I believe, before the quotas were instituted. Harvard ostensibly instituted a quota to lessen discrimination, as it contended that a critical mass of jews would ignite more hatred. Why not be a trailblazer and go where few of your own ethnic group are? Why xenophobically cluster with your own race? Why not let the OP decide how much of their own group is necessary?</p>
<p>I'm sorry if I did not experience any revelations or epiphanies when first working with other races. ;)</p>
<p>tongue firmly in cheek:</p>
<pre><code> I know the feeling about being a minority. You see, I am an episcopalian at a school that is overwhelmingly presbyterian WASPs. We have to gather in small groups-we spot each other by noticing who is using 'old money'. But we hear the whispers from the other students "pseudo-catholics", "anglophiles", "why don't you go to sewanee where you belong!" and other perjoratives. But, I wanted to experience the entire spectrum of WASPs-from the methodists to the lowly baptists, so I came here-and I don't regret it.
</code></pre>
<p>what do you mean by "lowly baptists"?</p>
<p>Women's Airforce Service Pilots that attend California Bapist University :p</p>
<p>I think the "jew quota" issue is particulary relevant to an over-represented minority group today: Asian-Americans.</p>
<p>The percentages of Asian-American students vary widely, even among colleges that are virtually identical in terms of median SATs, region of the country, etc.</p>
<p>When I see these kinds of differences, even where it is unlikely there would be differences in the applicant pools, I have to at least suspect that there may be quota-caps in place at some schools. Or, if not explicit caps, then something in the target admissions profile that favors white students over Asian-Americans at some schools.</p>
<p>For example, I find it puzzling that Emory is 16% Asian-American and Duke is 12% Asian Amercian. Yet, two schools in the same region that cater to largely similar customer bases are so much lower: Davidson (2%) and W&L (2%).</p>
<p>I do not know how to explain those stark differences. However, if I were the parent of an Asian-American applicant, I would be encouraging some research to further explain it. If Asian-Americans are simply not applying to Davidson and W&L, then I would ask myself why? If they are applying and not being accepted, then I would be curious about that as well.</p>
<p>Emory is also highly Jewish while Duke is less so. I think the applicant pools are a little different. Davidson and WL are not nearly as nationally known names as Emory and Duke, Asians tend more to go the "brand" name schools.</p>
<p>Notice the numbers at the Girls Schools in Eastern Mass:
Wellseley College - 28% Asian
Smith College - 12% Asian
Mount Holyoke College - 12% Asian
Simmons College - 5% Asian</p>
<p>
[quote]
Davidson and WL are not nearly as nationally known names as Emory and Duke, Asians tend more to go the "brand" name schools.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That would not explain the disparity with similarly "ranked" LACs, some of which have a serious geographic disadvantage in attracting minority students:</p>
<p>Haverford 14% Asian-American
Carleton: 9% Asian-American
Vassar: 9% Asian-American
Grinnell 5% Asian-American</p>
<p>The top-3 ranked LACs are:</p>
<p>Swarthmore: 16% Asian-American
Amherst 12% Asian-American
Williams: 9% Asian-American</p>
<p>HYPSM are:</p>
<p>MIT: 28% Asian-American
Stanford 25% Asian-American
Harvard: 16% Asian-American
Princeton: 13% Asian-American
Yale: 13% Asian-American</p>
<p>No matter how you slice it, 2% is a very low percentage of Asian-American students at an elite college today, given the over-representation at the top of the applicant pool.</p>
<p>none of those schools are in the south; Davidson's tendency to use $$ to recruit student-athletes does not work in the favor of many asians who want significant financial aid at the expensive schools, and the asian with 2200+ SAT's usually has many options to choose from and as Barron's said-with a choice, in the south, they choose the more well-known college. To suggest that a college that is 86% WASP and only 2% asian-that they 'favor' the whites in admissions is ludicrous-it's quite the opposite-but you can only lead a horse to water-can't make them drink it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
To suggest that a college that is 86% WASP and only 2% asian-that they 'favor' the whites in admissions is ludicrous...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You suggested that Davidson has an institutional priority of favoring athletes in the admissions pool. So, if you are neither white nor an athlete, shouldn't you consider the likely fit with a school that does not prioritize its appeal to students like you?</p>
<p>Based on the published 2% statistic, there are fewer than 10 Asian-Americans in the average freshman class at either W&L or Davidson. Regardless of the rationale, that is a very small number.</p>
<p>WHICH Asians? First-generation Pakistanis? New immigrants from Tuva? 6th-generation Chinese Americans? American Caucasian citizens living permanently on Guam? Upland Hmong from Fresno?</p>
<p>" So, if you are neither white nor an athlete, shouldn't you consider the likely fit with a school that does not prioritize its appeal to students like you?"</p>
<pre><code> Yes, they should, they apparently do, and they choose to go elsewhere. So what??
</code></pre>
<p>I think there are much more important things to worry about. In the galaxy of top schools Asians are, if anything, overrepresented.</p>
<p>Three more points of reference:</p>
<p>UVa: 11% Asian-American
W&M: 7% Asian-American
UNC-CH: 6% Asian-American</p>
<p>These percentages, at large state universities in North Carolina and Virginia indicate to me that there is sufficient diversity in the local applicant pool to support more than 2% Asian-American enrollment.</p>
<p>ID, you seem to be contradicting yourself;</p>
<p>on the one hand you say that asian amercians should be more greatly represented at Davidson and W&L and the demographics support that they should be, but on the other hand, you keep implying that an asian american should carefully investigate the schools and think twice before attending one. As Barron's said, they have many places to choose from.</p>