How do grad schools feel about women's colleges?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>There is a lot of controversy (not sure if that's the right term) involving women's colleges. Some people don't see the need for them. I was wondering, what do grad schools think? Will there be the same type of skepticism when it comes to women's colleges? If two (female) candidates of very similar caliber were applying to, say, medical school, which one would the medical school choose?</p>

2

<p>Women’s colleges are among the highest producers of students who go on to get PhDs. They also have significantly higher than average admission rates to medical school. For example, Wellesley has an overall 71% acceptance rate, Mt Holyoke has an 80% acceptance rate for the average premed student, Smith has an 88% acceptance rate for premeds with at least a science GPA of 3.3 and a 28 MCAT. The national average is 45%.</p>

3

<p>Bryn Mawr has a post-bac medical program for students who have completed their undergraduate degrees but want to go back and complete med school requirements. These are the same courses undergrad students take. The post-bac program is considered one of the best nationally and has VERY close relationships with top-tier med schools. As an undergrad, you would benefit from the same pre-med advisors and programs. More on the program here: <a href=“http://www.brynmawr.edu/postbac/linkages.shtml”>http://www.brynmawr.edu/postbac/linkages.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>Totally anecdotal data but my D’s best friends at BMC are all (3 years after graduating) either in graduate programs or about to go to grad programs. Four friends out of a group of six, who had been friends since they were freshman, are already enrolled or are going on to some excellent graduate graduate programs: Yale–MFA (Dramaturgy), Harvard School of Public Health, MIT–Urban Studies, Pace–Architecture (same friend was also accepted a Penn for architecture).</p>

5

<p>I don’t think grad schools look at them differently. For instance, I met a successful lawyer, who graduated as valedictorian from Smith College and went on to go to Harvard Law School. If you are a qualified candidate, attending a women’s college will not make you any less competitive. </p>