Dartmouth College is unaffected by a nationwide downward trend in male enrollment in undergraduate institutions.Since 1992, the percentage of males enrolling in higher education has declined to 44 percent of students nationwide, according to Time magazine.
In contrast, Dean of Admissions Karl Furstenberg said that Dartmouth has not seen a decline in male enrollment. Generally over the past several years the Dartmouth applicant pool has been 53 percent male and 47 percent female, according to Furstenberg.
Similarly, Furstenberg said that enrollment over the past five years has been consistently between 51 percent and 52 percent for men and 48 percent and 49 percent for women.
Dartmouth statistics underline Time's findings that the elite colleges and universities across the country are not experiencing the gender imbalance.
Nationwide, the shortage of males enrolled in institutions of higher learning is attributed to several different theories, but few concrete factors, according to Time.
One theory is that more men are lured into the high-tech industry, which does not necessarily require a bachelor's degree. Some name this the "Bill Gates Syndrome" after Gates dropped out of college and eventually went on to become the chairman of Microsoft and a billionaire.
However, statistics show that high-tech industry jobs account for only nine percent of the workforce.
Another theory Time articulates is that in low-income families a larger percentage of men compared to women head straight from high school into fields of mechanics and repair, as well as family-owned businesses.
Straight out of high school, some men see the immediate benefits of being paid as opposed to facing loan debts and similar salaries after college.
A third reason for the decline in male enrollments Time suggests is that there is a lack of male role models among school teachers which leads to a culture that does not promote academic achievement among males.
Additionally, in inner cities, the lack of encouragement in the academic realm often lures more men than women into crime and gangs and away from studying.
It is important to note that the gender imbalance is not seen much among middle and upper-class Caucasians, but rather among minority groups such as blacks and Hispanics.
Among blacks, for example, college enrollments are 63 percent female and 37 percent male. Hispanics show a similar, albeit less dramatic gender gap, with women comprising 57 percent of college enrollments among the Hispanic community and men only 43 percent.
At Dartmouth, the minority enrollment has been between 20 percent and 30 percent over the past several years.
Some schools have made an effort to recruit more males in order to bridge the gender gap. According to Time, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill highlight their math and science programs in order to encourage male applicants.
Also, DePaul University in Chicago sends out extra mailings to prospective male students.
Dartmouth does not feel the need to do special gender recruiting. "All of the recruiting that Dartmouth admissions undertakes is equally directed at men and women," Furstenberg said.
Furthermore, "Dartmouth has achieved gender parity, reducing the need for any gender specific admissions efforts," according to Furstenberg.
Time indicated that the national trend is part of how women are reaching parity in college as they have won increasing equality in society over the last few decades.
