Columbia Admissions Problems: No Campus, No Alumni Aid

The gray-flanneled gentlemen who invade the distant regions of the United States selling Eastern colleges to Western students have an extremely difficult task. In the territory of strong state universities, of community ties, fraternities, and low tuitions, they must speak of something which is at best a reputation. They must build almost solely upon this reputation to outbid the local universities. It is a hard job for everyone, but for the few overworked men from Columbia University, the task may often seem insurmountable.

These men sell a college which is just not very well-known. Where the name of a Big Three school may bring recognition, Columbia, if anything, brings to mind a picture of a school in a huge, teeming city. For in an area dominated by the campus they must sell a side-walk college, and they haven't the manpower or the money that other competitors have.

As Bernard Ireland, director of Columbia's undergraduate admissions says, "Our greatest single problem is convincing people from outside our area to come here instead of other schools. Other Ivy colleges, particularly Princeton and Dartmouth are campus schools, and they have heavy attraction. The chief objection we get from the boys is that they want to get out of the city. You hear it from the New York boys and you hear it from outsiders who are wary of schools in a city." Ireland admits that it takes a good deal of convincing to point out to prospective students that Columbia probably offers as much extra-curricular life as any other Eastern school, and probably more social life than a school like Princeton or Dartmouth.

As a matter of fact, probably the second biggest problem for Ireland is finding ways to contact outstanding secondary school students. "We've never gone in for recruiting, and, quite honestly, it isn't that we don't approve. We just don't have the program Harvard has, The way we get men right now is pretty much a chance thing. We have some alumni effort, but it's only occasional work, not nearly so intensified as say, Harvard. Some of the Deans visit schools, and some undergraduates talk at their schools, but there's no set system."

Alumni Support Weak

But right now, Columbia is still searching for a stronger, more reliable program that will strengthen the whole admissions system. A large fault of the weakness can be attributed to the alumni; compared to the old Princetons, Harvards and Yales, they lack tub-thumping spirit for the alma mater. The result is the college for the most part finds itself doing too much of the contact work, and has no strong organization outside of the immediate New York area.

Because of the problem of getting widespread geographical representation, at Columbia more than most Ivy schools, it is easier for the Western applicant to be admitted. Ireland says that "since we do want to spread our student body as much as possible we admit a much higher proportion of qualified students from the outlying area." Ireland frankly admits that he would like to have more Western applications--although he personally feels that currently no matter how many applications Columbia receives, it will stick to its ideal three part ratio: one third of the students from the metropolitan area, one third of the students from within a 50 mile radius, and one third from the rest of the United States. This ratio, however, is right now more an ideal one than a working one, for in the present freshman class, the ratio goes 45 percent to 30 percent to 25 percent. No one around the school will outright admit it, but the feeling is that Columbia has too many New York students and would like to expand a little geographically. But recruiting weaknesses have necessitated such a hit-or-miss system that there is little hope for any change at present.

Obligation to New York

The admissions people have taken somewhat of a resigned attitude towards the whole problem. They would like to see better distribution, but they don't worry too much about the current college. "After all," as Ireland says, "we do have a certain obligation to New York City."

"But if you took away the third from over 50 miles it would completely change Columbia," according to Ireland. "A very high proportion of our campus leaders comes from that group. And Columbia itself would become very provincial. Here in New York you have too many people who thinks the sun rises and sets on New York City." Certainly football coach Lou Little would be quite upset if the third group were suddenly taken away. Of 34 men on the varsity team, eight come from the metropolitan area, nine from the suburban area, and 17 from the more distant regions.

Statistically, an average class at Columbia lines up something like this: 75 percent of each class comes from the top two fifths of its high school class. Seventy-four percent comes from public schools. Since the school is located in the city, jobs are easy to find.

Columbia, however, does not have the endowment for undergraduate scholarships to compete against other Ivy schools. It lacks the alumni system to contact promising high school seniors. Finally, each time a prospective student is interviewed, the legend of the college in the city cement, among the skyscrapers and the elevated trains, must be over-come.