Arthurs Considers Changes For Admitting Older Women

Alberts Arthurs, dean of admissions at Radcliffe, said last night she "feels comfortable" about a recommendation to eliminate or make optional achievement tests and SATs for women applicants who are over 25 years old.

The recommendation was one of a set of proposals made this week by the Office of Women's Education (OWE). The proposals were the result of an OWE study on older women as undergraduates.

Arthurs, who commissioned the full-year study last year, said she thought it was more important to look at recent accomplishments of older applicants than to rely on outdated scores that measure what has been learned during high school.

Give Credit

"I think we ought to give certain credit to a woman who has been president of the League of Women Voters or PTA president in her community," Arthurs said.

The study, which compares admissions requirements and treatment of older women at Radcliffe with Simmons, tufts and Wellesley, indicates that the latter three, unlike Radcliffe, admit older students through special offices, using different procedures from those for younger applicants.

Arthurs said that the Radcliffe admissions committee has admitted older women applicants "by accident," with no concerted effort at recruitment.

The OWE report recommended a more flexible treatment of adult students in admissions policy, and said undergraduate students would profit from exposure to a "group of mature, exciting, highly motivated people."

Katherine Bauman, a 23-year-old fresh-man, last night disagreed with OWE's recommendation, and said she thinks older applicants should be expected to present the same qualifications as younger applicants.

"We're not charity cases," Bauman said.