Mirroring a rising Hispanic population in the city, Boston University’s Hispanic population has been steadily increasing over the past 10 years, a feat the Admissions Office attributes to aggressive recruitment methods.
Three of BU’s top-recruited states are California, Florida and Texas — the populations of which have seen large Hispanic growth. The Admissions Office “very aggressively” bolsters its recruiting in these states, said Undergraduate Admissions Executive Director Kelly Walters.
“I think [Hispanic and Latino] attendance rates at colleges are growing at a much faster pace than they are for African-American students,” she said. “There is no doubt that we have seen that trend here at Boston University.
“I think that’s in part a reflection of the changing demographics across the United States,” Walters continued, “but also a shift that’s resulting from the recruitment efforts that my office has implemented.”
Hispanics surpass many other minorities in their steady rise in population in Boston. Hispanic applicants represent eight percent of the BU applicant pool, Walters said, and applications have increased by 5.8 percent in the past year. But over the past 10 years, that statistic has risen by 60 percent.
Hispanic Boston City Councilor-at-Large Felix Arroyo helps Hispanics and Latinos improve their Boston living situations through housing, employment and education assistance, said his chief of staff, Jamie Willmuth, in an email.
Hispanics and Latinos account for 15 percent of Boston’s population — or 90,000 of the city’s 600,000 residents, Willmuth said.
“Legislatively, we have made addressing the disproportionately increased high-school dropout rate a top priority,” he said.
Despite this effort, 50 percent of white high school students attend college, while only about 35 percent of Hispanics and Latinos do, Willmuth said. He said Latinos face financial burdens, large high school dropout rates, poor SAT scores and little support for people learning the English language.
The National Hispanics Institute — a nonprofit organization offering Hispanics information on the college application process – partners with BU to find motivated prospective students, Walters said.
The organization works with “highly motivated, highly driven” Hispanics to combat their biggest challenge in college – their low retention rate, said NHI Enrollment Management Associate Vice President Julio Cotto, a 2003 College of Arts and Sciences graduate.
“A lot of Hispanics have the competitive push to go to big institutes just as BU,” said Cotto, who was originally recruited to BU by NHI. “We work with 100 colleges nationwide. They recruit Hispanics through us.”
Hispanic students are more likely to attend colleges closer to home or colleges that offer good financial aid packages, Cotto said. The decision is also largely influenced by whether a student is an immigrant, first-generation or second-generation Hispanic.
“It is hard to give a blanket statement about Hispanic students,” he said. “I think the second- and third-generation kids are definitely looking to go out of state. When I meet a kid whose parents went to the local college, I find those kids are looking to the Bay Area for the options.”
Although BU does not teach any classes on modern Hispanic diversity in the United States, the issue is sometimes brought up in the classroom, said BU Latin American Studies Director Strom Thacker.
“Migration is an important issue in classes on development,” he said. “My understanding is that second- and third-generation migrants are more likely to go to college. A lot of migration patterns are driven by employment opportunities. Social networks often drive further migration in the future.”
Action for Boston Community Development, a center promoting self-help for low-income individuals, works closely with the Citywide Boston Hispanic Center, a sub-center that helps Latinos with employment and training opportunities.
Many Bostonian Hispanics want to go to college but are unable to do so, said ABCD Director Jenny Tronton.
“Unfortunately, we have a lot of the first generations who do want to go to college, but . . . they can’t because of the immigration status,” she said. “If you are undocumented, you can go to college, but you have to pay on your own, and you can’t get financial aid.”
At BU, the Admissions Student Diversity Board — a group of student volunteers — help the Admissions Office recruit minority students, said ASDB coordinator Stephanie Nuñez.
“It’s good to see more minorities on campus,” the College of Arts and Science senior said. “I would like to think some of it has to do with ASDB and/or Multicultural Weekend.”
Held annually in March, Multicultural Weekend allows ASDB members to recruit prospective students from many backgrounds, Nuñez said.
ASDB recruits students nationwide and locally through college fairs, high school presentations and panel discussions.
“We actually sent out a letter to high school guidance counselors in the Boston area to let them know [what] ASDB offers,” she said.
The Undergraduate Admissions Office works to cater to the rising number of prospective Hispanic students, Walters said.
“Admissions Office has to be very responsive to this particular population of students,” she said. “[It] has to provide financial aid opportunities [and] has to introduce them to the fact that admission is possible.”