Education & Careers » women in college

Harrison College offers scholarship for working mothers

adam — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:48:45 +0000

Harrison College recently announced that it will offer a scholarship for working moms who wish to pursue a college education, the Evansville Courier and Press reports.

Officials told the news source that the new scholarship is geared toward helping women who are working or reentering the workforce and have a child under age 18 at home. The program will provide the recipient with $2,500 per year toward an associates and bachelors degree program at the school's online campus.

They added that, in order to qualify, students must maintain at least 3.0 grade point average and be in academic good standing with Harrison College. Furthermore, applicants must submit a 500-word essay providing reasons for pursuing a college education and they must present recommendations from a co-worker and a family member.

The school offers bachelors degree programs in accounting, business management, nursing, information technology, healthcare management, human resources and criminal justice, among others.

According to a recent report from Babson-Sloan, nearly eight in 10 online students are currently working toward a four-year degree.

College Gender Gap

Diane — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:21:47 +0000

At colleges there are many more applications from women than men, yet the number of both sexes accepted is about the same. At the College of William and Mary 7,652 women and 4,457 men applied for this year’s freshman class. But the college accepted 45% men and 27% women. Same at Pomona College 21% of men were accepted and only 13% of women were.

A 2007 analysis showed that the admissions rate for women averaged 13 percentage points lower than for men. There are arguments that the men were stronger candidates or they applied for programs like engineering and science where women’s numbers were lower. However, that doesn’t make up and explain those numbers.

But some schools like the University of California admissions depends purely on statistical measures of academic achievement and the disparities don’t occur there. Generally a lot more women than men apply to college but at UCLA the university accepted almost the same percentage but accepted more women which ultimately makes the freshman class have more than 800 women than men.

In the past, schools have admitted to giving more preference to men in order to maintain the gender balance on campuses. Most students of both sexes prefer it that way, but is it fair? If schools accepted equal percentages of each sex then that would mean women outnumber men by more than 2 to 1. While this may make the college experience more enjoyable for those accepted what about those that weren’t?

Is it fair to be sending the message that women have to work twice as hard as men in order to be accepted into college? It’s just like the past. It used to be that women had to work twice if not three times as hard to make it into college and that really hasn’t changed, except that the numbers of women in college has skyrocketed. Just look at UCLA they admitted more women than men and it hasn’t ruined anything.

Despite what everyone wants to think, there is gender discrimination in the applications process. There has to be a more gender-neutral way to balance student acceptance at colleges. In colleges nationwide 57% are women; which brings up the question why so few men are applying and graduating from college. Experts don’t know the reason behind the gender gap or a solution but they recognize that something in education needs to change.

Girl Power: Women Rule in the Classroom

Marcus Varner — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:28:06 +0000

We, the male population, had it coming, I suppose. After centuries of keeping women down with often unfair social mores and sometimes ridiculous fashion demands, we had to expect that someday there would be a backlash, that one day the “fairer sex” would come out swinging, eager to dispel those centuries of oppression. Well, newsflash for all you guys out there and congratulations to all the ladies: that day has arrived.

Women are officially kicking boys’ butts in the classroom. That’s right, the ivory towers once inhabited almost solely by men have been invaded and repossessed by women. According to statistics, 60 percent of college students are now female. Women earn 170,000 more bachelor degrees annually than their male counterparts. The ratios of females to males at business and medical schools are steadily rising, and at law schools, women now hold a majority. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of boys from elementary to high school are struggling to meet minimum requirements.

Where did this trend come from? A few theories exist. One claims that females, who tend toward cooperation, collaboration, multi-tasking, and sitting quietly, are socially better suited for the traditional school system; boys, who crave adventure, competition, and physical activity, tend to be square pegs in round holes, so to speak, in school. Other theories suggest that the feminist movement, with its constant barrage of “girl power” messaging, and the relative silence from the male side is responsible for this dramatic shift. For nearly 40 years now, girls have had armies of supporters telling them they carry the torch for those who didn’t have the chances they did. Boys, on the other hand, have had very little to fight for; encouragement usually involves athletics rather than academics.

Two bastions of male domination still remain, however: management and salary. Males still vastly outnumber females in management roles. Average male salaries in comparable positions uniformly outpace those of their female counterparts.

It may just be a matter of time before those women who now fill universities spread into the companies of the world. It may just be a matter of time before women come to dominate business, politics, and life as we know it. It may be just a matter of time before men find themselves wearing really uncomfortable corsets and having to watch their figures. (Kiss your 32 oz. steaks and belching contests goodbye!)

All of Mom’s advice about being nice to girls totally makes sense now. Back then, it was about chivalry. In the future, it may be about survival.