A Mixed Bag of Results on 2010 Black Applicants to High-Ranking Universities

Several of the nation’s most selective colleges and universities have reported data on black applicants for places in this fall’s entering classes.

At Northwestern University, overall applications were up 9 percent from a year ago and they have increased by 70 percent over the past five years. Applications from black and Hispanic students increased by a larger percentage than was the case for applicants as a whole.

At the University of Southern California, blacks are 7.1 percent of the applicant pool. This is down from 7.8 percent a year ago.

At Wesleyan University in Connecticut, overall applications are up slightly. Blacks make up 8 percent of all students who applied. A year ago, blacks were 8.8 percent of the applicant pool at Wesleyan University.

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