Brown University Shows Widest Gap in Acceptance Rate Between Male and Female Applicants in Ivy League

Brown University has the largest acceptance rate gap between men and women among all Ivy League universities. The number of accepted applicants who identify as women has remained about equal to men, making the admission process more selective for women applying to the University. In the 2021-22 application cycle, only 4.06% of women were accepted to Brown, while 6.73% of men were accepted.

Since the 1980s, female enrollment has consistently surpassed male enrollment in higher education. In the past 20 years, the proportion of women to men applying to universities has also increased. Brown, however, has maintained a female-dominated applicant pool. Last application cycle, just under 63% of Brown's applicant pool identified as female, compared to Yale's 58%. Cornell has only seen female applicants outnumber male applicants in 2021. For Princeton, the applicant trend has shifted to more women than men just in the last two years. 

Brown's humanities programs, its perceived liberal political landscape, and resources such as the Sarah Doyle Center for Women and Gender may serve as motivating factors for women applicants. Additionally, gendered labor markets may play a role in the increasing number of female applicants to universities, with fields such as education and healthcare requiring college credentials.

However, experts say that universities may need to put a thumb on the scale to achieve a desired gender ratio, resulting in much lower acceptance rates for women than men. This practice may lead to legal challenges under Title IX's Equal Opportunity clause if balancing gender ratios is seen as discrimination against female applicants. The impending Supreme Court decision on affirmative action may also impact admissions policies around gender, as plaintiffs might challenge the "compelling interest" of universities to consider gender composition.