62 Percent of Jewish Youth in U.S. Receives College Education

Enrollment of Jewish youth in American and Canadian Colleges has dropped from 9 to 7.5 percent of student registrations during the past decade, B’nai B’rith reported today.

A decennial census of Jewish college students, embracing 1,610 schools, found the annual number of Jewish enrollments to be “virtually stationary” at 200,000 for the 1946-55 period, while the total college population climbed from 2,100,000 to 2,700,000 students during the same decade.

But the ratio of Jewish students to their population potential remains “phenomenally high,” said Dr. Maurice Jacobs of Philadelphia, chairman of B’nai B’rith’s Vocational Service which conducted the census. He estimated that 62 of every 100 “college age” Jewish persons in North America are matriculating at institutions of higher learning, compared with the non-Jewish ratio of 27 out of 100. “College age” was defined in the study as the 18 to 21-year bracket.

In a report to the 113th annual meeting of B’nai B’rith at the Mayflower Hotel now taking place here, Dr. Jacobs interpreted the results as “an indication that the Jewish college population may have reached its near saturation point a decade or more ago,” and predicted “a continued increase in the percentage of college students from the general population and very little increase in the percentage of Jewish youth in college.”

He also reported that “the past decade has witnessed the development of a more liberal admissions policy on the part of privately-controlled men’s and women’s liberal arts colleges in the East.” He based this conclusion on “substantial increases” in Jewish enrollment in New England, the Middle Atlantic area and the Pacific Coast.

NORTHEAST HAS 85 PERCENT OF ALL STUDENTS; GAINS NOTED IN IVY LEAGUE

In particular, the 10-year census disclosed an “upward swing” in Jewish enrollments at “prestige” Ivy League schools, Dr. Jacobs said. A rise from 15 to 22. 9 percent was recorded in the eight men’s Ivy League schools. Among their co-ed counterparts–such as Bryn Mawr, Vassar, Radcliffe and Wellesley–Jewish enrollment jumped from 10.4 to 15.8 percent. The study tallied 13,644 Jewish students attending the eight Ivy League colleges–Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, Brown and the University of Pennsylvania–during the 1955-56 semester.

While colleges in the Northeast, including those located in New York City, account for 85 percent of all Jewish men students and 98 percent of Jewish women students, the study also noted a steady decline in Jewish enrollments for New York City colleges over the past 20 years. The percentage figure dropped from 53 in 1936 to 50 in 1946, to 38 for the past school year.

“This seems to reflect an increasing interest of Jewish youth in going to college away from home, and their greater acceptance by institutions outside of New York City,” Dr. Jacobs said. “Another important factor is the greater ability of Jewish parents today, compared with 20 years ago, to subsidize college education away from home.”

The study found Jewish students registered in 903 colleges, more than half of the accredited schools in North America. However, the vast majority are concentrated in 102 schools–those with 250 or more Jewish students.

Another set of statistics showed that publicly-controlled schools enroll 56 percent of all students and 51 percent of Jewish students. On the other hand, private non-sectarian schools account for 22 percent of the general enrollment and 41 percent of the Jewish college group. The spread here is attributed to the greater number of religiously oriented colleges which have minimal Jewish enrollments.