Quotas for academics?

Colleges & Universities Yale University
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This discussion was created from comments split from: My friend is being recruited… Can I still get in???.

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<p>@gibby, somewhat in line but also somewhat OT (apologies OP), are there explicit or implicit quotas for academic roles? I know that students change their leanings over the years; I know that Yale has been trying to work on its STEM retention (so that STEMy kids stay STEMy), but do they have rough quotas of how many lit, econ, math, etc. leaning kids they’re looking for? There’s nothing wrong with tuba players, but you can’t effectively use more than a certain number.</p>

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<p>@IxnayBob: If Yale doesn’t recruit enough students who play the tuba (or violin, piano etc) every two to four years, then I guarantee the orchestras will start complaining to Admissions. So, yes: there are “soft quotas” for extracurriculars as well as some academics – that’s true at Yale, and other colleges. In terms of STEM, Yale Admissions has been very vocal about recruiting students interested in science in the last six years. That said: <a href=“Science recruitment goal attained - Yale Daily News”>http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/01/18/science-recruitment-goal-attained/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I haven’t read about Yale recruiting lit, econ, math, etc in quite the same way as they have STEM. </p>

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<p>My guess is that the second semester “likely letters” fill an important role in rounding out the class. We know anecdotally that quite a few go out to STEM candidates but I personally know two kids who received them who had no STEM intentions at all. Both matriculated.</p>

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<p>From what I’ve read, Yale’s problem with STEM is less the number of students who matriculate, but the number who migrate to non-STEM areas of study after a few semesters. </p>

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<p>^^ @IxnayBob: That’s a general problem for Admissions at any college. Most students (60% from what I’ve read) change their major at least once during their 4 years of college (both my kids did - they each entered college thinking of majoring in one thing, and will graduate with an entirely different major). That’s why most colleges do not use a student’s “intended major” for recruiting purposes, as the data is an unreliable predicator of what major a student will actually choose. FWIW: As Yale has been very open about recruiting STEM majors, my guess is that some applicants in the past have written down a science-oriented intended major on their application thinking it might give them a better chance.</p>

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<p>Just a note for those who might read this for tips on how to get recruited because of academic interest: writing down on your application that you want to major in biology, or chemistry, or classics, or any other major that you think might be in demand at some college, is unlikely to do much to help you unless the rest of your application demonstrates a real interest in (or achievements in) that field.</p>