The RAP Report

An ad hoc Undergraduate Council committee, established last November to Review the Admission Process (RAP), brought in its report last month. Its central recommendation urged that steps be taken to increase the diversity of the Dartmouth undergraduate body, especially in terms of minority, foreign, and economically disadvantaged students.

The starting point for the study, the report stated, was concern over "the more homogeneous racial composition and socio-economic background of the Class of 1986, in comparison to other classes." Stepped-up recruitment efforts and reaffirmation of a strong commitment to financial aid, including abandonment of an "admit-deny" policy, are actions the College should take to achieve greater diversity in its applicant pool, the report said.

RAP recommended that more recruitment effort focus on areas of minority population, and that undergraduates now enrolled be used more extensively, especially when they are on exchange, off-campus, or leave terms. The "Take Dartmouth Home" program, administered by the Afro-American Society in cooperation with the Admissions Office, could well be expanded to produce more applications from other minority groups the report said. Alumni living abroad, it added, should be encouraged to participate in enrollment work, with the aim of getting more foreign students to Dartmouth. International students, RAP found, comprise 1.5 per cent of Dartmouth's student body, in contrast to 7.1 per cent at Harvard, 7.8 per cent at Brown, and 5.5 per cent at Princeton.

Of its recommendations related to the financial aid needed to support greater diversity in the student body, RAP listed abandonment of "admit-deny" as most important. "It would allow the College once again to provide aid to all who demonstrate need," it said. The report also proposed a special financial-aid endowment and suggested that scholarships for foreign students be funded by a portion of the John Sloan Dickey Endowment for International Understanding.

Dartmouth's admissions staff was characterized as "both sincere and committed to its work," but its recruiting efforts have been handicapped by limited resources, the report stated. Besides more funds for the admissions program, RAP recommended mended the addition of one or two staff members whose primary responsibility would be minority recruiting.