High female ratio not a problem, BU males say

Ever looked around during a lecture only to find the class is made up mostly of girls?

At Boston University, the total undergraduate population includes 18,534 students. This group of is comprised of 7,516 men and 11,018 women, making the undergraduate population girl to boy ratio roughly 60-40, according to BU officials and The Princeton Review.

‘This is not a BU phenomenon. More young women who graduate from high school apply to colleges than young men,’ said BU spokesman Colin Riley. ‘It’s not unique to BU, but a phenomenon that has been going around the country.’

‘If you go back about 25 years, it was roughly 50-50, and that was when about half of all high school graduates went on to college,’ he said. ‘Now about 62 or 63 percent of all high school graduates go on to college and that increase has been disproportionately female. So that’s why you have this disparity.’

Students had mixed opinions about the girl-to-boy ratio, and said they were unsure if the benefits outweigh the negative aspects of a female-dominated student population.
School of Management sophomore Paul Hlatky said he believed the girl to guy ratio was 70 percent to 30 percent.

‘There’s a lot of ladies around. It’s good for me because I basically think I can get with any lady on campus. It’s great. Women everywhere,’ he said. ‘That’s why I chose this school, actually, it was my number one reason why I came here. I came to college just to get girls.’

College of Arts and Sciences junior James Simoneau said he thought the ratio was a great thing, but he was also slightly indecisive on the issue.

‘Yes, you have a lot of options, but at the same time, I’m in a class where literally I’m the only guy,’ he said. ‘So it’s a problem sometimes, but at the same time it’s nice. It’s a lot more beneficial for the guys, because it’s a lot easier to meet girls when there’s a far larger pool of women.’

SMG senior Ulrich Inge said he is never at a loss for women on the dance floor during his salsa and ballroom classes.

‘In the PDP dance classes there are always more women than men. That’s why there’s always exceptions for guys because they need more of them,’ he said. ‘A guy can sign in any time and get credit for the class.’

Some students say the ratio does not matter when observing ‘the big picture.’
‘It’s big enough to not matter. At parties and when you go out, it doesn’t really matter because it’s pretty even,’ said Sneh Kakileti, a freshman in CAS. ‘I’ve never had a problem with there being too many girls.’

Kakileti said he is in two female-dominated classes, but does not feel discriminated against just because he is a guy.

‘In class there is no advantage to being a boy or a girl,’ he said.

CAS freshman Marina Krykbaeva said class participation is not suppressed by gender, but rather personality.

‘I think it really depends on people’s personalities and who speaks up and who doesn’t,’ she said.

Former Undergraduate Admissions Office employee Camille Beckles said she would inform visitors and prospective students on campus tours that the girl to guy ratio at BU ‘is roughly 60-40, give or take.’

A Los Angeles Times article published on Jan. 25 reported many institutions of higher education admitted to giving special treatment to admissions applications from male students to allow for a certain gender ratio on campus.

Vassar College in New York has adjusted their ratio using these measures, as it was once an all-women’s college. Last year, however, the college accepted 35 percent of the men who applied, making the college only two-thirds women.

The effect the incoming class of 2014 will have on the girl to boy ratio, however, remains unknown.

‘We haven’t been able to go through the new applications,’ Riley said. ‘We’ll know at the end of this month of the applicant pool, and it’s usually very representative of our current enrollment, meaning roughly 60-40.’
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