Sex ratio
This doesn’t need to be spelt out. Suffice it to say that at Queen Margaret College in Edinburgh the sex ratio (by which we mean how many of each, not how often) is 80% female to 20% male. Meanwhile, at Cranfield University, more than two-thirds of the students are blokes.
The sex ratio doesn’t just alter your pulling odds (in itself a relevant factor in determining atmosphere), but all sorts of other things: not least whether the place is laddish or politically correct, although more women doesn’t necessarily mean more right-on — sometimes quite the reverse.
The sex ratio is not unrelated to the balance of courses — there are still more men doing sciences than women and vice versa for arts. There are exceptions, however: the School of Pharmacy, for example, is 60% female.
Last updated on: 21 May 2008