THE SCENARIO

Texas State University, one of three major public research universities in the state, enjoys a national reputation for academic excellence. It houses 25,000 students, 18,000 of whom are undergraduates. Like its sister schools U.T. Austin and Texas A. & M., it can accept only a fraction of applicants to its freshman class each year, selected according to traditional criteria for academic merit. For the upcoming 1999-2000 school year, the criteria are as follows: students who earn a score of 1150 on the SAT (or 25 on the ACT), who have a cumulative high school GPA of 3.4 or better, or who graduated in the top 25% of their high school class are automatically admitted. The rest are denied.

COMPOSITION OF STUDENT BODY

Number of Students:  Total Student Body: 24,930 Total Undergraduates: 19,530 Total Graduate Students: 5,430 Students by Gender:  Female: 49% Male: 51% Students by Racial/Ethnic Background:  Caucasian: 83% African-American: 4% Hispanic: 6% Asian: 4% International Students: 3% Native American/Pacific Islander: 0% Racial/Ethnic Composition of 6-County Area Surrounding TSU:  Caucasian: 70% African-American: 12% Hispanic: 16% Asian: 1% Other: 1%