Let’s talk about the infamous female-to-male ratio.
I’ve heard ratio numbers ranging from “1-to-1” to “12-to-1.” Granted, the first was from an optimistic friend, and the second from a considerably frustrated classmate.
The most recent information from APU’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions claims that the ratio is 2-to-1.
To put that into perspective: If we were somehow able to gather the entire student body onto the football bleachers, women would occupy two out of every three seats.
Now, we must ask ourselves the question that inevitably follows: Why is APU blessed with so many women?
Is this a result of attending a Christian higher education institution? Or does this reflect a rising national trend in the United States?
The answer could be a bit more complex than we think.
“It might be a stereotype, but maybe girls are more centered in their faith,” Marley Wallace said, a sophomore journalism major.
Wallace may be onto something.
Dr. Michael Bruner, assistant professor in APU’s School of Theology, had something to add on this topic. He speculated on what reasons lie behind this female majority. “I wonder if our focus on ‘God First’… that is, putting someone else before ourselves, just more naturally appeals to women than men,” Bruner said. “This could be more appealing to women naturally, or [women] could be more culturally encouraged to be able to put others first.”
Bruner was careful that his choice of words remained respectful to both men and women. He explained, “[APU] has a focus on the whole person. As a school, we try to take seriously our mission to the world, and maybe that isn’t as naturally attractive to the postmodern guy.”
In the most recent survey, a 2002 Gallup Poll comparing male and female religious views revealed that women are more likely to be members of a church, believe that “religion can answer today’s problems,” read the Bible weekly and so on.
Overall, the Gallup Poll showed that women surpass men in every category of religious participation.
Could it be the emphasis on faith that draws so many women to APU? There may be another factor at play.
Faith in God isn’t the only only aspect contributing to the rise of women in higher education. National statistics show that women are more likely to attend college, public or private, in comparison to their male counterparts. A Pew Research Center analysis of 2012 U.S. Census Bureau data shows that women of every represented race in the study were more likely to attend college after high school. A chart from this study shows that a higher percentage of both women and men attend college than in previous years. However, the gap widens as the percentage of women attending college climbs higher, and men are left behind.
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, this rise of women in higher education may also be caused by the growing rights of women in the United States. After 1980, there was a resurgence of feminism that taught that discrimination in the work force would no longer be tolerated.
Women became more concerned about their education and less concerned about finding a husband. According to the research, the median age of marriage increased in 1981 from about 19 years of age to 25 as a result of this change in attitude. The research also demonstrates that the introduction of the “pill” contributed to women the “possibility of a greater investment in professional careers.” In summary, women were empowered to pursue their full potential.
APU’s faith-based mission, combined with its standing as an institute of higher education, means fewer men and more women on Cougar Walk, in campus housing, in chapel and pretty much everywhere else.
We’re not alone—Christian universities such as Biola, and Point Loma Nazarene also have a 2-to-1 female-to-male ratio.
The mystery behind the APU ratio may just be solved.