Minority enrollment increases

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by Maya Balakrishnan

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Minorities comprise 35 percent of the class of 2000. The breakdown of students is 15 percent Asian, 11 percent Hispanic, eight percent African-American and one percent Native-American.

Out of 7,054 applicants, Rice accepted 1,731, and 675 of these students enrolled. The entering class is composed of 314 females and 361 males from 43 states, in addition to the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, as well as 17 foreign nations.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the University of Texas Law School in the Hopwood decision, declaring that race could no longer factor into college admissions decisions. The change is reflected in the decreased number of offers made to minority candidates in the spring of 1996.

Every summer, in preparation for the new application cycle, the Office of Admission researches and updates their publications. Also, they purchase the names of students who report grades and SAT scores from the College Board. From that pool, the Admission Office begins to recruit by sending possibly qualified students general information about Rice. Students are also encouraged to visit the campus.

This recruitment effort intensifies throughout the year and reaches a climax in April, when high school seniors make their final decisions. The effort reaches the deciding student in the form of letters and phone calls made by members of the Student Admissions Council.

Recruitment efforts aimed toward underrepresented minority students begin much earlier. In the third week of February, Rice hosts the Vision program, solely for underrepre-sented minority students who have been, or will most likely be, accepted. The program is presented early in the year to attract as many students as possible.

"We can get students interested in Rice early, whereas in April, students may not be able to attend because of conflicting visits to other schools," Vision '96 Chairman Quinton Nixon said.

The Minority Affairs Committee, a branch of SAC, is responsible for Vision, which was initiated in 1995 by the Admission Office in response to the Rice community's growing concern over the declining numbers of underrepresented minorities. This program, very similar to Owl Day, allows students to stay on campus with student hosts for two nights and to attend classes. But unlike Owl Day, the Vision program provides a forum for students to express concerns they may have.

Vision '95 succeeded in increasing the number of African-American students by 127 percent. However, there are impediments to some students attending the Vision program.

"Often, students cannot attend Vision for lack of funds," Minority Affairs Committee member Fay Yarbrough said. "This year, Rice provided more funding to fly students into Houston."

Director of Admissions Julie Browning believes experiencing Rice influenced many students' decisions to matriculate.

"It is difficult for students to say `no' to an admissions offer after visiting the Rice campus," Nixon said.

This year, the admission committee has implemented a few changes in the application. Because of the Hopwood decision, all references to ethnicity have been dropped from the application. Also, the early-decision option has undergone modifications. According to Browning, the admissions committee believed "that the early-decision option put certain students who were waiting for scholarships at a disadvantage." Now, students applying to Rice are allowed to submit applications to other institutions for regular decision.

However, the bound decision still applies; if accepted by Rice, the student must accept.

This item appeared in the News section of the September 27, 1996 issue.

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