<p>Cutbacks</a> planned at Sweet Briar College | The News & Advance</p>
<p>All female LAC I know of is expanding and adding classes, majors, buildings, housing, etc. I don’t know that this is a “all female LAC” issue or that it is just an economy issue. There are plenty of co-ed schools across the nation that are facing more cuts than this school.</p>
<p>Neither of my D’s would even consider visiting Sweet Briar. D1 got mailings from there that were pink and perfumed, and pitched them in the trash. Seems like they are marketing to a previous generation… not my girls who captain sports teams, build robots, and collect insects.</p>
<p>Three girls from D2’s high school (small class, about 55) are headed to women’s colleges this year (Mt. Holyoke & Wellesley, both of them I would consider LACs). One more wanted to go to Mills, but her mom won’t let her because she thought Oakland was unsafe when they went for a post-acceptance visit. I think women’s colleges are mostly doing just fine.</p>
<p>The overall decline is clear–a few exceptions near the top. Staying full by recruiting in conservative countries overseas.</p>
<p>[The</a> Death of Women’s Colleges? - Campus Progress](<a href=“http://www.campusprogress.org/articles/the_death_of_womens_colleges]The”>http://www.campusprogress.org/articles/the_death_of_womens_colleges)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Methinks the News & Advance needs to hire a copy editor.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>…or buy a de-louser. ;)</p>
<p>Fewer than 1% of Smith students come from the Middle East. Meanwhile, applications are at an all-time high, they built what I think is the largest engineering-science complex of any liberal arts college in the nation (thanks in part to Ford Motor Company), and their endowment is booming. This is not the sign of a dying institution:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.smith.edu/news/2011-12/fulbrights.php[/url]”>http://www.smith.edu/news/2011-12/fulbrights.php</a></p>
<p>We should all die so well.</p>
<p>(I should have added that the major increases in students from the Middle East have been at Harvard. Guess they can’t stay full otherwise. ;))</p>
<p>Obviously RMWC (now RC and coed), SB, Hollins and many others are not doing that well. Thanks for the anecdotes though but that is not data.</p>
<p>Ouch sorry to hear this, I have a niece who is a sophomore there. I always thought their pink and green website was at least partly ironic. Back when I was young SB was strictly for horsy girls who didn’t do very well academically at my school. I had the impression they’d gone up in the world, though my niece is horse mad and that was one of the attractions. I have to say though, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to go to such a small school. Her brother though just graduated from St. Johns which is even tinier, and quirkier.</p>
<p>I’m guessing it’s difficult for a small college if there isn’t a large endowment when salaries, benefits and maintenance/upkeep are so expensive. I would also think the universe of students that want to attend a single-sex college is small compared to the universe of all college bound students.</p>
<p>During the recession, co-ed Amherst declared a hiring freeze, cut faculty through attrition, and increased class sizes. They also have a billion-dollar endowment. </p>
<p>As for Sweet Briar,</p>
<p>“The college will eliminate the German and engineering management majors, along with a minor in law and society.”</p>
<p>How many co-ed LACs HAVE engineering management majors, along with minors in law and society? Williams (#1 LAC doesn’t.) Swarthmore doesn’t (doesn’t have an engineering management major). As far as I know, Pomona doesn’t. Williams has one half-time, adjunct Italian professor. But I bet they all attracting students from the Middle East (otherwise they couldn’t stay full).</p>
<p>I’m no particular fan of Sweet Briar (one way or the other), but I fail to see what this has to do with all-women LACs.</p>
<p>Sweet Briar needs to revamp its image. A new name would probably help.</p>
<p>Yes, an image re-make is in order - if they expect to be taken seriously. I grew up in Virginia and even back in the olden days when I was in high school, both Hollins and Sweet Briar had reputations for accepting anyone who could afford them. Of course, it is possible to completely turn a college around. Elon was at the bottom of the barrel when I was in high school and look what has happened there.</p>
<p>Just as mini notes about Smith, I don’t think Wellesley is in any danger of going away soon either. (BTW mini - the D of a good friend just got into Smith class of 2016, so she and my Wellesley D will be friendly rivals.) I just don’t think you can extrapolate the experiences of academically-average-or-weak, isolated schools to the top women’s LAC’s just based on the all-women component.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Mine too. My girls went to the website, but mostly just to say snarky things about the school. In really bad fake southern accents.</p>
<p>I thought Sweet Briar sounded like a cool place when I was researching colleges… I would have liked to have been able to apply. They used to have a pamphlet on their website filled with all their different traditions and whatnot and it sounded like a lot of fun.</p>
<p>My D did an interview with a Sweet Briar person in our city at the very beginning of her search, and the lady was very sweet. I feel sorry for people who are trying to rep that college- they love their college, they love their experience, and it’s swimming upstream to try to get people to be interested. I don’t know, it kind of touches my heart in a way. Not every school can be for-the-brilliant.</p>
<p>Who said anything about top schools only? Fact are they are a dying breed and will continue to be so. Smith has the lesbian niche going for it. W is just the best one left. RMWC was not an easy school that accepted anyone that could pay but still faced declining interest. Went coed. So did several other just below the very few top WC’s.</p>
<p>These are challenging times for many of the smaller, less well known LACs. Being rural, all women and having a name that doesn’t sound serious enough can’t be an asset. SBC is a unique college. It is not the right place for every woman. At times, it has shot itself in the foot with promotional materials that are “cute” or worse. Eeecchhh. That said, a lot of amazing educational opportunities happen there and their professors are often remarkable. Serious students do attend and some could well be described as brilliant. Just like at most other schools…</p>