TheClassof1877on Accessibility

The University also denied the demands to have Black students approve all appointments to the Human Relations Committee and to allow Black student representatives shared power with the Office of Admission when considering Black applicants.

It is difficult to assess the success of the new initiatives as few records exist prior to 1960 on admissions statistics and student demographics. However, post-1960, the administration began to retain detailed reports of admitted students. Post-1980, the first records of racial and geographic demographics of students are available.

In 1960, records show Northwestern received a total of 5,387 applications across first-year and transfer students, admitted 3,120 students and enrolled 2,021. Admitted students had an average class rank in the 87th percentile and averaged an SAT math score of 578 out of 800.

Even as Northwestern grew in popularity, some administrators recognized the continued lack of diversity and accessibility in the incoming classes. The University offered almost no financial aid in securing residential accommodations, presenting a large barrier to attendance for those who were low-income yet forced to find offcampus housing.

In a Daily Northwestern article published on Jan. 12, 1965, then Dean of Students Roland Hinz insisted Northwestern needed greater diversity.

‘There aren’t enough minority groups here, and there should be even more students from the East,” Hinz said in the article.

Hinz suggested that more students receive scholarships and that the University have a wider cross-section of society.

Following Hinz’s recommendations, Northwestern rolled out a new financial aid program totaling two million dollars.

“We were determined to change the University from being a regional institution to one of national and international distinction,” Clarence Ver Steeg, the Faculty Planning Committee lead member, said in 1968.

The new financial aid program helped Northwestern attract a more diverse student body from all over the world. By 1997 Northwestern received a total of 16,674 applications, admitted 4,909 and enrolled 1,891. Average class rank jumped to the 94th percentile, and enrolled students averaged an SAT math score of 694 out of 800.

Northwestern now

In 37 years, Northwestern moved from a 57.9% acceptance rate to 29.4% from 19601997, contributing to its selective reputation and ever-increasing academic excellence.

But more than selectivity, Northwestern became a University open to young adults from every background. Each step in the University’s history has brought Northwestern closer to former University President Henry Bienen’s vision in his 2000 State of the University address:

“As we reflect upon Northwestern’s remarkable heritage, we now enter the 21st century renewed in our purpose of making the University an institution of the highest order of excellence, not just for the Northwest Territory, but for the entire world. It is the entire world we want to reach, influence and contribute to with our vitality and creativity.”

Today, the University’s admissions committee engenders heartache for many and joys for few. While progress in the diversity and equity of admissions is undeniable, archival research demonstrates just how far the institution has come.