Why are so many more women applying?

4thfloor
Sun, 12 Aug 2012 12:09:11 +0000

Seriously, I am still skeptical that the main reason for Brown’s female applicant bias is the relatively lesser appeal of engineering at Brown. I just checked this up: according to [College Navigator - Brown University](College Navigator - Brown University), Brown graduated 92 engineering majors. A sizable major: more than twice Harvard’s 42! Yet Harvard does not have a pronounced female bias.

Furthermore, Brown does have a significant business oriented program; the new entrepreneurship program attracted a whopping 72 majors. By the numbers, this does not appear to be a campus dominated by humanities and fine arts.

The other explanations – the relatively low profiles of fraternities and football at Brown – seem more compelling. Cornell, Penn, and Dartmouth, which do not have a female bias, also have stronger Greek presence, while Yale and Columbia, which do have a female bias, seem to have weaker fraternities. And though Harvard and Princeton, which do not have a female bias, also are not dominated by fraternities (eaten clubs are coed), the football culture is probably stronger there too.

But then, is that really something that people want changed?