<p>Any parents have good/bad experiences with all girls colleges..
i never thought i could see myself at a all girls schools, but lately, the idea has become more and more appealing..
however, most people(parents/friends) think i am crazy for even considering one...they think the only girls who go there are the type that play softball and wear flannel..</p>
<p>Scripps, Mount Holyoke, and Smith have become my schools of focus, and even if your experiences aren't with them, i'd still love to hear about it</p>
<p>I have many relatives who are alumna of women’s colleges (& they will correct family members who say “girls schools!”) Not one of them regrets it. However, a few do play softball and, frankly, we all wear flannel in the winter. </p>
<p>My sister got her MA at Smith and still lives about ten minutes away from the campus. It is absolutely beautiful. The campus is stunning, the town it’s set in (Northampton) is a great town to walk around in plus there is a free bus system that can take your around for socializing or for attending classes at one of the other schools that comprise the five colleges (UMASS, Amherst, Smith, Mt. Holyoke and Hampshire.)</p>
<p>This is all my way of saying, check out Smith! It is an expensive school in an expensive area but I also believe that Smith is pretty generous with need based aid. Also, read the alumna magazine; Smith will connect you to amazing women throughout your life.</p>
<p>Flannel, as in nightgowns? Hmm… I wear them now, but didn’t at age 19.</p>
<p>I’m not sure that my experience of 35 years ago really matters much anymore, but I went to Pembroke (now Brown). I loved the all-girls dorm–Sort of perpetual summer camp. Having lived in both a coed dorm and a women’s dorm, I have to say I the former was a lot more relaxing. Most women’s schools these days seem to have relationships with coed/men’s schools, so you will have men in your classes. </p>
<p>Personally, I think they are great options, and I am encouraging my D to consider them. My husband, who is a professor, has some former students who now teach and Holyoke, and they are very positive about the intellectual quality of the students.</p>
<p>May I suggest that if you need a safety you also consider Mills, which IMO location-wise is far better than Scripps.</p>
<p>St.Mary’s College (right next to THE Notre Dame) is an all-girls school with the bonus of having ND right next door - they seem to coordinate a lot of activities together. Kind of the best of both worlds…!</p>
<p>Smith is terribly expensive. Have your figured out your EFC there? I fully understand that cost can keep a school off of the list. My son is in the same situation with a few schools that would be great matches for him. But your school is out there somewhere!</p>
<p>Flannel, as in nightgowns? Hmm… I wear them now, but didn’t at age 19.
[In Seattle - flannel has other connotations than* Lanz of Switzerland*](<a href=“http://fadedflannel.com/”>http://fadedflannel.com/</a>)
but Smith has great aid- I know several young women who would not have gotten as much elsewhere and they are very happy there.</p>
<p>Both of my daughters were so tired of the female drama that surrounded them through high school, they wouldn’t consider a women’s college, although there were several that sounded interesting…</p>
<p>Two women’s colleges with great aid are Smith and Wellesley. I went to Barnard many years ago and really liked it, but Barnard (because it is in NYC) is a very different atmosphere from Smith and Wellesley. I’ve also spent significant time at Mt. Holyoke, and have friends who’ve taught or attended at Bryn Mawr, Mills (in Oakland). </p>
<p>Among the significant advantages of women’s colleges is not having to compete for attention with male students. Being at a women’s college can also have a particularly good impact if you are interested in leadership roles in extracurricular. A hidden factor of admission to LACs and universities is that the “bar” is higher for women than men, because more women apply to college, but colleges want to keep the ratio at about 50/50. </p>
<p>One of the things I personally liked about attending Barnard was getting to know women both among my fellow students and on the faculty as role models who were absolutely fearless about what women, or a woman, could do. I have continued to appreciate this as I’ve worked full time in a hyper-competitive field, moved cross country, moved and worked abroad, had a family, and dealt with corporate life. I am really glad women’s colleges still exist because I think that they play an important role in preparing the women who want to attend them to be leaders, followers, professionals, great parents, what have you.</p>
<p>Mills a better location than Scripps? I would disagree. Scripps is part of the Claremont consortium, and you’ll have access to Pomona, CMC, Mudd and Pitzer students and classes. It’s the best of both worlds- a women’s college connected to some very appealing coed schools.</p>
<p>I also thought that I could never go to a women’s college, but when I toured Wellesley (only because it was on the way to other schools), I just fell in love. I decided to apply to ED and got in.
And to assure you, I never played softball in my entire life and never heard the word ‘flannel’ until just now.</p>
<p>i gotta admit…
the whole no guys thing seems kinda scary
but the traditions, the campus, the everything…
i mean, i’ve loved just about every women’s college i’ve looked at</p>
<p>i have considered Bryn Mawr.i just failed to mention it…
unfortunately, ii doubt i will have the money to visit
at least not until i am accepted</p>
<p>rocket6louise,
my D (like you, a HS junior) is seriously considering Bryn Mawr. Like you, she’s not crazy about the idea of a women’s college as she’s always had a lot of male friends (not just boyfriends or romantic possibilities) and at one level the idea of surrounding oneself with members of a single gender seems self-limiting, as that seems so unlike real life. On the other hand, Bryn Mawr offers fantastic academic resources, an outstanding history of excellence and achievement, by all reports a warm and nurturing environment, and a culture deep with tradition. It benefits enormously from its close relationship with Haverford, an outstanding (and coed) LAC just a mile and a 5-minute shuttle away. Students at either school can seamlessly take unlimited courses at the other, eat in each other’s dining halls or even live on each other’s campus. A little farther afield, BMC students can (and do) take classes at Swarthmore (via 25-minute shuttle) and Penn (20 minutes by train plus a 5-10 minute walk, depending on where your class is located). For off-campus fun, Philadelphia is a 20-minute train ride away. Best of all, it’s easier to get into Bryn Mawr than Haverford, Swarthmore, or Penn. Not to say easy, but I’ve seen your stats on other threads, and I think you could definitely be competitive. Take a look at their website, and think about it. It’s currently not my D’s #1 choice. But after spending some time there recently, it’s way up there, probably #2 after Haverford.</p>
<p>I attended Douglas College and had a wonderful experience. Of course, it was part of Rutgers University, so there was no shortage of men, but it was nice to only have women in the dorm. </p>
<p>One posted hinted that there would be a lot of drama at a woman’s college - I can say that that was not my experience. Maybe that is due to my personality (I am not ‘into’ drama), but I highly doubt that there would be less drama among the women of a coed dorm.</p>
