More Women, Minorities Apply to Class of 1980; Recruiting Drive Credited

Minority applications to the Class of 1980 rose slightly from last year, while the number of women applicants rose to the highest level ever, L. Fred Jewett '57, dean of admissions and financial aid, said yesterday.

Black applications increased 3 per cent, from 615 to 633 applicants. Spanish-speaking applicants rose 16 per cent to 247 up from 212 and native American applications rose 13 per cent from 14 to 19, Jewett said.

Total female applicants climbed 8 per cent, while male applicants declined by 2 per cent.

Total applications number 11,260 in a roughly 2 to 1 male-female ratio. Last year, less than 11,000 students applied to the colleges in a 2.3 to 1 male-female ratio. This is the first time the newly-combined Harvard-Radcliffe Admissions Office will admit students under an equal access program.

The groups reflect an "across the board rise in quality by both traditional and subjective measures," Jewett said. "If the quality is there and the numbers are there, hopefully it will mean more admits," Sylvia Simmons, associate dean of admissions and financial aid, said yesterday.

Qualified Success'

Jewett attributed the rise in minority applicants to a recruiting drive he termed a "qualified success." Under the minority recruiting program initiated last fall, the admissions office singled out ten urban areas for intensified minority recruiting efforts, expanded alumni participation, and increased contact with community groups and student search organizations.

Jewett termed alumni efforts "uneven to some degree," but said he found "good cooperation" in general.

"It's a good beginning of the program, but by no means a complete success," he said, adding the increase was "not as much as we had hoped, but I do believe we've reversed the trend of last year."

The number of black applicants to Harvard declined by 25 per cent between 1971 to 1975, with the number of applicants to Radcliffe remaining steady.

Though the male-female ratio of the minority applicants has not yet been determined, Jewett said he believes the numbers of black women applying had declined, and the numbers of Spanish-speaking women applicants had risen.

Simmons said yesterday it is too early to determine the causes for the drop. Calling the drop in male applicants "statistically insignificant," Jewett said the rise in female applicants is due to increased alumni and staff efforts to recruit women.

Jewett said three of the ten targeted areas accounted for much of the increase in black applicants, citing the New Jersey-Philadelphia area, Washington D.C. and Atlanta, Ga., as the "growth" areas.

The Southwest and Midwest registered rises of approximately 25 per cent in women applicants, Jewett said, the highest increase nationwide.