<p>Two years ago, I attended a discussion panel consisting of the deans of Admission from UVa, UNC, Duke and W&M. I asked whether they considered gender in admissions. The first three said no, adding that their numbers usually gelled to somewhere in the 57 percent girl/43 percent boy range. </p>
<p>Henry Broaddus, of W&M said “We have found that the student body at William & Mary is happier the closer we get to 50-50.” Is this discrimination?</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>Is it a quota system?</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>And here’s my reasoning: My younger son, a high schooler is into theater. Every time he attends an audition – for a workshop, a play with a set number of roles, etc. – there are WAY more girls auditioning than boys. He usually winds up with a pretty good part and the BULK of the girls go home.</p>
<p>Is this discrimination? No. There are simply more girls applying than boys for specific roles, similar to an admissions office “building a class.” Does that mean my son is less talented than the girls there? I don’t think so. The director has picked the girls best suited for the play and the boys best suited for the play.</p>
<p>I guess Novamom would prefer it if William and Mary did more to boost its application rates among boys so that more boys were applying and it would even out the admit rates?</p>
<p>Anyway. I used to get really worked up about the “my kids are never going to get into school because they are from NoVa,” but the truth is, my husband and I chose to live here, knowing full well that our boys would be challenged and would have the time of their lives with all the opportunities of living a mile from Washington D.C. We knew when we moved here from out of state that it might put them at a disadvantage for attending the school where their mother, father and grandfather went. But what’s done is done. Why worry at this point? My son is a senior. He’s worked hard and done the best he can. Being from NoVa has made him take risks, push himself, do internships and embrace activities he may never have considered. It’s been a great ride. Not perfect. Like many boys, it’s been an uphill climb toward the mesa of the steady, high GPA that many girls occupy from the get-go. But some college – some very good college, I think – will want him. It may be W&M or UVa. Or it may be a private school. </p>
<p>NovaMom may think that I’d be humming a different tune if I had daughters, but the truth is, all of our children have obstacles in their way. I clearly know the ones that stand in my sons’ way, but at this point in time, I can continue guiding them with the hopes that they’ll land in a place where they are happy, they develop a passion for their studies and they make lifelong friends.</p>