Is the boy:girl ratio at the liberal arts colleges a deterrent at all?

[Anonymous]

My DD is a junior, and is interested in going to a particular region of the country for college. There are a few liberal arts colleges on her list, but they have a 2:3 boy:girl ratio. Maybe this has always been the case, but I didn't realize until looking at the "at the glance" info for these colleges.

Does that ratio matter to many college students? At least if you might be looking to meet a possible partner in college, and if you're straight, it might be nice to have the odds in your favor, or at least 50/50?

Or do the kids not care?

[Anonymous]

Can't you just name the region? Why the secrecy? It would be helpful to know it, and it's not like you'll out her by identifying it.

[Anonymous]

It really doesn't matter. Most of the boys could end up being gay anyway, even if the ratio was the other way around.

[Anonymous]

I don't know why OP can't name the region or colleges.

[Anonymous]

Just pick one near an engineering school - joking. This is kind of sad in 2022. Would this be an issue for a son going to a school w/ more boys than girls

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD is a junior, and is interested in going to a particular region of the country for college. There are a few liberal arts colleges on her list, but they have a 2:3 boy:girl ratio. Maybe this has always been the case, but I didn't realize until looking at the "at the glance" info for these colleges.

Does that ratio matter to many college students? At least if you might be looking to meet a possible partner in college, and if you're straight, it might be nice to have the odds in your favor, or at least 50/50?

Or do the kids not care?

OP, the kids do care, but what are they supposed to do about it? This is a true statistic across the board, including at many major large state universities.

[Anonymous]

It’s something that gives me pause because it’s a well known that this imbalanced ratio means less dating and more hook-ups.

[Anonymous]

My daughter would prefer to go to a college with more girls than boys.

[Anonymous]

I went to college in the 90s and it was an issue then. Can only assume that it’s gotten worse in the decades since.

My recommendation is that it can better socially if schools have a more even balance.

[Anonymous]

You're assuming that everyone is heteo. Highly unlikely.

Also, most people these days get married later. You don't have to meet a partner in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD is a junior, and is interested in going to a particular region of the country for college. There are a few liberal arts colleges on her list, but they have a 2:3 boy:girl ratio. Maybe this has always been the case, but I didn't realize until looking at the "at the glance" info for these colleges.

Does that ratio matter to many college students? At least if you might be looking to meet a possible partner in college, and if you're straight, it might be nice to have the odds in your favor, or at least 50/50?

Or do the kids not care?

This is college in general these days on average...surprised the liberal arts colleges are not more skewed towards girls.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/upshot/college-admissions-men.html#:~:text=The%20ratio%20of%20female%20to,nudged%20up%20to%2057.4%20percent.

[Anonymous]

Went to a large state school with 60:40 girls:boys ratio. Ended up with boyfriend who was frankly not at my level and yes it had an impact. That being said, it wasn't a key factor in my college decision and that's an age to make mistakes and learn what you like, not an age to settle down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s something that gives me pause because it’s a well known that this imbalanced ratio means less dating and more hook-ups.

Yikes. Why do you think that?

[Anonymous]

According to the college counselor at our son's high school, the liberal arts colleges all tend to enroll more women than men. It's just kind of a known thing. I could see some students considering this as a slight deterrent to attending a liberal arts college, depending on how social the student is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Went to a large state school with 60:40 girls:boys ratio. Ended up with boyfriend who was frankly not at my level and yes it had an impact. That being said, it wasn't a key factor in my college decision and that's an age to make mistakes and learn what you like, not an age to settle down.

JMU skews female (perhaps because of its origins as a teacher's college), and my DS likes it there.