Who belongs and where?

Reform in the late 19th and

early 20th centuries
Elaine Goetz & Paola Carrera
Themes
● Universities moving away from admitting
the poor to learning about the poor

● Evolution of admissions processes and the

creation of the admissions office.
Discretion left to administrators to accept or
deny students.

● Enrollment fears of new students groups: ”white flight”

● Disruption of the traditional student

“The University of the Poor": The University of
Michigan's Transition from Admitting Impoverished
Students to Studying Poverty (Jana Nidiffer & Jeffrey P.
Bouman)
● “This has always been, and we are proud of the fact, the University of the poor.”
--James Burrill Angell, President, University of Michigan (1877)
● Reasons for moving away from “University of the poor”
○ Quest for prestige
○ Relationship of expertise and professionalism to middle-class ethos of universities
○ Liberal protestantism

● Ethics of Tuition/Cost of attendance

○ In State vs Out of State
University of Michigan Cost of Attendance
An Academic Gresham’s Law: Group Repulsion as a
Theme in American Higher Education (Wechsler)
Rich & Poor Women & Coeducation
● Difference between becoming a ● Threat to men
gentleman and academics ● Certain professions restricted by sex

Blacks & Whites

Jewish Students
● Institutions wanted to avoid “Race
Mingling” or “Social Equality” ● Threatened character of institution
● Lack of social life but persistent to ● National sentiment
complete education

White male students creating segregated extracurriculars

The “Jewish Problem” at Yale and
Princeton (Karabel)
● Suggestion of limiting overall number of students and reducing number of
“undesirables”
● Yale
○ Jewish students denied scholarship assistance
○ Legacies given priority

● Princeton
○ Educate leaders, not bookworms
○ Personal interview and reference letters used for admissions

This was the beginning of today’s admissions model

Yale University Coat of Arms

Activit
y
● Examine the “old way” of admissions
● Compare two applications from Harvard. One from 1935 and one
from 2016.

● Discussion
○ Admissions today
○ Holistic admissions
Discussion
● Share experiences of the admissions process
○ Undergraduate
○ Graduate Programs
○ PhD

● What are some examples of school’s supporting certain groups of students?

○ Low Income SES
○ Women
○ Religious Groups
○ Cultural Groups

● How can institutions balance quest for prestige AND serving diverse student
populations?