FOCUS SIDEBAR: Ruling has not hurt admissions

While some schools are worried recent changes in the Education Department's minority scholarship policy may hurt their recruiting, the new policy will have little, if any, long-term effect on minority applicants to the University, several Ivy League admissions officials said last week. "I don't think you're going to see any reaction [among minority applicants]," said Glen Singleton, the Universtiy's west coast admissions director. "Penn and schools like it won't see an effect for a while." Because the University distributes financial aid according to students' need -- not race, background or merit -- it is somewhat immune to the effects of the new policy. All of the Ivy League schools have the same scholarship policy. Even so, according to Singleton, the Bush Administration's attack on scholarships could send a negative message to minorities who are on the verge of considering higher education. "To stunt minority applications, to deter or lessen minority student's interest in higher education is . . . just bad," he said. Other Ivies report they have also run into few problems when recruiting minority students since the controversy. Harvard University's Director of Minority Admissions Jennifer Cary said Friday that "as of last week we had didn't see any effect." "Harvard, like the rest of the Ivies, has a need based financial aid program," Cary added. Cornell University's Director of Admissions Nancy Hargrave Heiflahm said Friday that "the timing of ]the announcement[ was after the majority of off-campus recruiting" had been completed. "My concern is looking ahead, not perhaps for this year," Heiflahm said. "Students might not apply to Cornell or similar institutions because they believe what they read in the paper and think they cannot afford it." She added that "it can hurt most students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds." Some non-Ivy universities are especially hard hit because they grant specific scholarships for academics, sports and minority status. University of Virginia Minority Admissions Officer Michael Mallory has received "a lot of calls" about the Bush Administration's ruling. Virginia has several scholarships aimed specifically at minority students, but according to Mallory, the ruling has not affected those awards. Mallory predicted that if the scholarship ruling is enforced, there will be lawsuits nationwide. "In the future, ]if the ruling is enforced[, more students will stay in-state," he added. "Virginia will still maintain its good enrollment figures."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.