<p>My daughter attends a women’s college, so gender balance is obviously not a big deal to me.</p>
<p>I also have a son. All things being equal, I would have no qualms sending him to a school that’s 70% women. </p>
<p>If it’s cool with your son, and there isn’t a “male bashing” mentality on campus, I can see it having several distinct advantages :)</p>
<p>I don’t think it would have ever occurred to any of us to have a problem with it. I have no idea what the gender balance is at the schools my sons or daughter attend/ed.</p>
<p>However, during our tour of the Juilliard dorm, the guide did mention that one particular floor was all female, and my dear S said “That’s the one I want!”</p>
<p>Graduate school vs. undergrad. is a factor. Undergrad students are still trying to figure out who they are, what they like, dating, their political views, moral compass, etc. I feel that the more diversity there is on a campus and in its classrooms, the better it is for the students. The 70/30 split will be more noticeable on a small campus. If we’re talking about a larger campus, I’d be less inclined to be concerned about the ratio.</p>
<p>nysmile I do agree with you. </p>
<p>nysmile and packmom, this is a small school (about 1800 undergraduate students).</p>
<p>The only thing I would look at it how your S does with the “softer” class skills. Don’t know how it plays out at the college level, but in HS whenever the class was predominantly female S had problems because of the way the class was taught. More verbal/written more projects. Even in the “hard science” classes. Have not heard that it carried over, but would probably want to sit in on some classes to see.</p>
<p>LOL, my husband encouraged my son to take ballet because it’s such a “babe-haven” (Son wasn’t bit interested, and husband was jesting.) </p>
<p>Currently, same son is such a lame student that probably only a boy-starved LAC would have him 
</p>
<p>So… please… tell what school!</p>
<p>Yes it is an issue. Our son attends a LAC that is 60% female , which when you think about it that means there are 50% more females than males. He enjoys his school but he says sometimes he feels like he’s at a coed woman’s college because the school administration does seem to cater solely to the preferences, likes and mindset of the female majority. One instance should not write the rule, but70% may be too much of an imbalance.</p>
<p>With only 1800 graduates, 70/30 female ratio would be a concern since there will only be 135 men in a graduating class. My S went to an all boy high school with 1500 students, and he was especially interested in competitive men’s sports teams in college.</p>
<p>cbreeze ~ the school at which my son started had an undergrad enrollment of about 1550, with the 70/30 split. Men’s sports were not a problem. They had nine teams (baseball, soccer, basketball, golf, tennis , track and field, lacrosse, swimming and cross country) and the students were trying to get approval to start a football team. As a matter of fact, son said that most students play a sport, even though he chose not to.</p>
<p>That place sounds like heaven on earth for the average male student :D</p>
<p>I would discuss the possibility of him being a bit lonely if it is a small school. As a mom of 2 sons, I know they enjoy their time with just the guys. I think I would have the same converstion with a daughter thinking of attending a 70 male school. Sometime boys just look at it as “wow what a great thing” and do not consider the down side. And that is mom’s job to point out issues he might not think about.</p>
<p>My son started at a LAC with that ratio, and the presence of so many girls was never a problem. I’d note that he was assigned a suite his first year with 5 guys in it, so his personal living quarters had plenty of testosterone running through it. (My son did not complete his education there, but he never complained of “too many girls” – most of the friends he seems to keep up with since then are guys, but I think that’s a function of the housing, as his two closest friends happened to be his suite mates).</p>
<p>In response to curious77’s post above - I think that is a comment that would only be made by a person who didn’t understand the dynamics I just outlined. Boys at a college that is 30% male will have no problem meeting other boys – they will live together and they will find it easy to find each other and hang out together, using that typical male bonding thing that most boys figure out in early childhood. (As a parent of a male, I think it involves a combination grunting and a shared interest in video games). It is the GIRLS who might find the gender imbalance daunting. </p>
<p>If a LAC has 1500 students, then 30% would mean 450 guys. That’s a lot of people. At small LAC’s, everyone pretty much knows everyone else within a few months – its not like the 450 guys are hiding.</p>
<p>only if they had a good football team LOL.</p>
<p>northeastmom, I’d say the answer is “It depends,” with yes as a real possibility. My son was admitted to two schools with 70/30 ratios, Vassar and Sarah Lawrence. Here are the things on which it might depend:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Do they have the needed academic program? Schools that were girls schools might have less math and science but I think Vassar and Sarah Lawrence have beefed up their math/science. Sarah Lawrence allows people to work one-on-one and to craft their own programs. Both match my son’s interests. In addition, it is good for writing, one of my son’s interests.</p></li>
<li><p>Does your son want a school with a jock-y culture and good football teams? These schools have men’s sports teams but you are not going to find a football team like the Nebraska Cornhuskers.</p></li>
<li><p>Will your son be comfortable in that social scene? Both schools are 70/30. I’ve read that in both cases, about half of the 30% are gay. So, a boy who is straight and a nice kid will have a lot of interested girls. I told my son that if he went to SLC, he would have to bar the door when he wanted to get work done. But, both schools are hip and edgy. My son found Wesleyan to be too edgy when we visited. I think both would be edgier.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>We never visited either. My son thought that Wesleyan and Vassar were similar but that Wesleyan was stronger. He thought SLC was different; likely less work but more opportunity for self-direction. So, it was on our visit list, but he fell in love with another school before we got there.</p>
<p>Vassar is 60/40 not 70/30 according to their website.
from [Vassar</a> College || Prospective Students FAQ](<a href=“http://admissions.vassar.edu/applyprospective_faq.html#ratio]Vassar”>http://admissions.vassar.edu/applyprospective_faq.html#ratio)</p>
<p>When we visited Vassar and hung around one of the cafes we really didn’t notice that there was a preponderance of women. When I attended Harvard, I believe the ratio was about 60/40 in favor of the men. Most of the time I didn’t notice, but my first semester I did take a German class where I was the only female. I had this sense that I was holding up my half of the human race. It was a bit of a weird feeling, but it never happened again. I don’t think it’s necessarily a problem and I agree it’s probably a better situation for a guy than the average engineering school.</p>
<p>I agree it’s most likely to be an issue if male sports or such are an important interest.</p>
<p>Shawbridge, my son is not interested in a jockey culture or he’d be looking at a different set of schools. He does not care about college football. He is interested in humanities much more than math/science, but note that they do have a very good nursing and business program, so I would think math/science geared toward those majors are solid.</p>
<p>Well calmom, after raising 2 boys I think I do understand the dynamics of male bonding. And being placed with 5 guys who decided to attend a 70-30 school may not be the right group of friends for every guy. And I have to wonder, while your son did not say it was the male-female ratio for leaving the school, perhaps it did have an impact. Obviously it was not the right place for him if he left. My opinion is that it is a factor that needs to be raised in the decision-making process and it is incumbent upon the parent to make sure that the boy understands that a 70-30 mix has impact other than there being plenty of girls to date. Just as my sons did not want to apply to tech schools with the reverse ratios, I would point out the issues. I understand the issues quite well thank you.</p>
<p>What’s wrong with a S’s going to a school that’s 70% female? Unless he is a so-called “man’s man”, he’d probably have a blast.</p>
<p>I’d be more worried about a hetero D going to a school with such an imbalance because of the lack of romantic possibilities for her.</p>
<p>Well, there is a dark side to being a handsome lad at a strongly female dominated school. My tall, good looking nephew spent a semester on campus and was hugely, constantly pursued. He said that women showed up on his doorstep at all hours of the day and night, mostly wanting “help” – from how to do a math problem to moving a sofa up three flights (lots and lots and lots of requests for moving help). He moved off campus the next semester just to get some sleeping and studying time. </p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong. He loved helping. He loved being adored. But every girl with a sofa to move had him on the top of her list and it was exhausting.</p>
<p>I can confirm that Vassar is 60/40. I have yet to meet an unhappy boy there.</p>