University of Virginia Library

Women, Blacks Expand
Entering Class Profile

By NEILL ALFORD III

Women and black students join the
University in an increasing percentage of
the first-year class this fall.

Average College Board scores of the
entering class went up slightly as a result
primarily of coeducation, reversing a
downward trend of several years.

The University enrolled 440 women
among a first-year class of 2,162. A total
of 564 women, including both first-year and
transfer students, accepted admission.

Almost 3,100 women applied for the 550
spaces available this year for both first-year and
transfer female students. Several hundred
qualified female applicants were turned away.

Transition Program

Under a two-year transition program for
coeducation, the University last year admitted
for the first time 450 women, including 100
transfer students, to the College of Arts and
Sciences, the School of Engineering, and the
School of Architecture. After this year, female
enrollment will not be restricted by a quota.

"Statistically speaking, the women and the
men in this year's first-year class are quite
compatible," Ernest H. Ern, dean of
admissions, said.

"Women's scores on scholastic aptitude
tests," he noted, "tend to be a shade higher
than men's on verbal aptitude, and significantly
lower on math."

Ninety per cent of the entering first-year
women in the College graduated in the top fifth
of their high school classes, as compared to 74%
of the class as a whole.

Scholastic Achievement

Mr. Ern states, "Contrary to the national
trend, we are getting more applications from
better students." He cites the larger applicant
pool due to coeducation as one explanation of
the high scholastic achievement of the entering
class.

College Board scores of the class showed an
improvement over those of last year's entering
class, although they did not reach the level of
previous classes. Among students in the College,
mean scholastic aptitude scores are 596 on
verbal and 623 on math. Mean scores last year
were 590 on verbal and 616 on math.

Entering engineering students showed mean
scores of 550 on verbal aptitude and 623 on
math aptitude. Students entering the
architecture school scored an average of 590 on
verbal and 645 on math.

A total of 3,130 women filed applications
for admission to these schools from secondary
school and as transfer students. Of this number
the College enrolled 541 women; the
engineering school, 11; and the architecture
school, 12.

Black Admissions

Although competition ran high among
women seeking admission, the admissions office
reported some difficulty in attracting qualified
black students.

Mr. Ern commented that more and more
predominantly white schools are now actively
working to recruit black students showing high
academic promise. He estimates, however, that
the number of black students enrolled in this
year's class is the same or slightly higher than
the number in last year's class. He declined to
release Admissions Office figures on the
number of blacks accepted at the University
and the number intending to enroll.

Elizabeth J. Johnson, assistant dean of
admissions, noted that many black students are
not accepting admission at predominantly
white schools. They instead choose to attend
predominantly black schools, such as Hampton
Institute and Howard University.

The University's black admissions program
encountered a snag in a late effort by the
College of William and Mary to attract a greater
of black students. In the late spring, the school
conducted a drive to re-attract black students in
Virginia who had previously turned down
William and Mary and had been accepted
elsewhere. Several black students planning to
attend the University decided to accept the
William and Mary offer instead.

Despite the problem encountered in black
enrollment, Mr. Ern said he was satisfied with
the first-year class. According to admissions
office figures, the class contains a high
proportion of student leaders and achievers.

"These are bright, perceptive, involved
young people," Mr. Ern said. "This is a
statistically qualified, quite competitive group."