<p>My parents (especially mom) are DEAD set against applying to and going to a womens college, no matter how prestigious. They think that I will </p>
<ol>
<li>be antisocial</li>
<li>become lesbian (they're very conservative and oh so prejudiced)</li>
<li>not be able to find a husband who'll support me while I become a housewife and rear kids<br></li>
<li>not be able to make good job connections (because women will NEVER become successful enough at their chosen industry)</li>
<li>not learn anything</li>
</ol>
<p>What should I tell them to change their mind? I'm aiming for Smith, Wellesly and Barnard. </p>
<p>PS. I already tried the Hillary Clinton thing on them... didn't work -___-</p>
<ol>
<li>You could be antisocial at any college. I don’t think women’s colleges are any less social than coed colleges. If you are antisocial, it’s most likely your choice to be. </li>
<li>Well, I don’t know how to convince them about that because it’s completely ridiculous and you cannot “become” a lesbian from being around all women or women that are gay…it’s like saying that hanging around tall people will make you tall. </li>
<li>LOL that is completely backwards 1950s thinking, sorry that your parents think that way. Many women’s colleges hang out with guys at nearby colleges anyway…Wellesley women with MIT/Harvard guys, Barnard with Columbia guys, etc. </li>
<li>I have heard that women’s colleges actually have pretty strong alumnae networks. I don’t go to one (not in college yet) but any woman I have ever met that has gone to a women’s college has been pretty enthusiastic about her school and loves hiring grads from her alma mater. </li>
<li>Actually, I think you’d learn quite a lot. They have incredibly intelligent professors and crank out some very intelligent women: </li>
</ol>
<p>I address this to your parents, as it appears you already have interest in the great women’s schools.</p>
<p>As a Dad, I am very happy my D will be attending a women’s school this fall. She was admitted to 10 schools, and only two of which were women’s schools. </p>
<p>Rationale for as a parent:
While my D is not at ALL shy, she will get the chance to really shine in an environment that does not have “the guys” trying to dominate. And I am confident that a) she will be more able to compete in the real world after four years of such leadership and b) she will take her natural place as a member of whatever co-ed work group she joins.</p>
<p>2) Your D will get into a better school. Men of somewhat lesser grades are let into Co-ed schools to try to keep up diversity --since more women apply and attend. My D was waitlisted at two co-ed schools of equal prestige, I am convinced she would have been accepted quickly if she were a man.</p>
<p>3) The network is phenomenal. There is a special place in the hearts of women in power for those who went to “seven sisters” (even though there are less than 7 now.) While this will not get her the job/internship/interview, it WILL open doors that may otherwise not open. There are many stories of women helping women. </p>
<p>As I see it, there is just one downside: my D may not have as easy access to meeting boys. But my sense is the community in a women’s school puts academics a bit more to the center of the plate, with boys being just the dessert. That does not mean that there is any higher level of women at women’s schools who never find male mates and have a family -if they want them! Maybe they just have a better long range plan when they are not dependent… and isn’t that what you really want for your Daughter?</p>
<p>The issue of lesbians? Mom and Dad, get OVER it. Your D WILL probably work with LGBT folks MOST of her life, whether out or not. I have found the acceptance and tolerance learned at these schools is good prep for whatever she may encounter in life. </p>
<p>And if predatory behavior is the worry, I am MUCH more concerned about my D going to the co-ed schools to party where, let’s face it, GUYS are the problem. Gay women? I think they know that “No means No” a lot better than the XY chromosome packing dudes do. No one is going to “turn” your daughter. </p>
<p>Your D will grow stronger and smarter at a top women’s school. That’s why I am SO pleased at my D’s choice!</p>
<p>thanks everyone! the college application process has been so hard on my and my family and i’ll do the best i can to make sure i make the right choice for myself (and i KNOW that a womens college is the right choice)</p>
<p>Women’s colleges are wonderful for all the reasons already pointed out; in answer to the worry about finding a husband to support you, etc., I would ask them how many of their friends’ kids actually met their spouses in college. It may have been true of their generation, although I know very few who did, but nowadays (unless, I suppose, you go to a religiously-oriented school) very few do. You can tell them it will be easier to focus on your studies and not be distracted by guys who will only be interested in short-term relationships anyway!</p>
<p>Just emphasize that as a straight woman, you won’t have tons of guys to sleep around with, where as at a coed school, anything can happen! Also, if they just want you to get married and raise kids, why bother going to college and spending all that money? Find a nice boy, get knocked up, and skip the whole college thing all together! Geez, I would NEVER give my daughter the types of messages they have given you about their confidence in you and your gender. Good luck with that…</p>
<p>Haha they are very old fashioned. I think the reason why my mom wants me to marry a rich person is so that I could live the comfortable work-free life that she never got to live. And I guess the college thing is backup in case we get divorced? I don’t think it’s a matter of gender roles but there’s definitely some homophobia and ignorance thrown in there.</p>
<p>Missy7: Really funny WikiAnswer link you posted. One of the advantages of a single sex college is purportedly “chastity”. Clearly the author of that WikiAnswer has never been to a women’s college. Last I checked, women’s colleges do not have bars and fences around them like prisons. My D is at MHC and there are plenty of boyfriends visiting constantly, and not merely for the cafeterias. There also seems to be quite a few students who go to Amherst and UMass (including their frats) on weekends to “hook up”. When I was in college, I frequented Wellesley. On weekends, the dorms there seemed co-ed and many Wendys spent parts of weekeds at neighboring colleges with their boyfriends, or looking for one (or just a “hook-up”, though it was not called that then).</p>
<p>I agree with the rest of the posts, above. But note that students at all women colleges learn to be self-confident, to be in favor of women’s rights, to be tolerant of other’s views and preferences, and to be hard working.</p>
<p>By the way, most women’s colleges are close to other colleges which are populated with pre-meds, pre-laws, and pre-BSchool boys, if that’s your mom’s goal for you. And I think the women from the women’s colleges are viewed (incorrectly) by those boys as girls deperate to meet boys.</p>
<p>In India there are a lot of engineering colleges, and almost all of them provides engineering courses for women also .So it is not a big issue .You are going to persue engineering course,it would not be matter of worry. Top Engineering colleges in India provides the excellent facilities for girls student also.</p>
<p>Also remind them that many women’ colleges (Smith, MHC, Scripps, Bryn Mawr, Barnard) all have relationships with schools that admit men so you won’t be completely “segregated.”</p>
<p>I would also ask the OP to show her parents the facts: most women have to support themselves as some time in life! Prince Charming sometimes has a life crisis and moves on to a new model. And if not, he grows older and usually dies before his partner…</p>
<p>So women preparing only to be married in this era is women preparing to be poor. I have a lot of respect for those who work from home and may raise great children, and often it is only a woman who can handle this. But having no marketable skills is a recipe for disaster, so the MRS degree is at most…a minor. </p>
<p>And I can attest, strong independent women make better partners! </p>
<p>Focus on the main meal that is a college education and let marriage can be the cake.</p>
<p>Wow! I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of parents discouraging their daughter from going to a women’s college! Good for you, exploring your options and making your own decisions! I graduated from a women’s college (Mount Holyoke College) and I loved it!</p>
<p>If you have attended a women’s college (as opposed to a co-ed college), you are:
twice as likely to attend graduate school
twice as likely to earn your PhD
twice as likely to go to medical school
more likely to graduate
score higher on standardized tests
report greater satisfaction than coed counterparts with the college experience
only 1% of female college grads come from women’s colleges, yet they represent 20% of the women in Congress and 30% of female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies
grads of women’s colleges outnumber all other female entries in Who’s Who</p>
<p>My daughter goes to MHC, is thoroughly heterosexual and LOVES the college! She likes not being distracted by boys while studying, but there are plenty of boys around in the Five College Consortium which includes Hampshire, Amherst and UMass- Amherst. I work for a theological seminary that just appointed its first female president, a graduate of MHC (who is married - to a pastor - and has children.) My sister graduated from Smith and is an attorney specializing in education. She’s made a ton of connections through her alum network. She booked our recent, amazing family reunion at an incredible, extensive B&B owned by a fellow Smithie she met at a college reunion. Women’s colleges rock!</p>
And of course there are even more women beyond that.</p>